'The Inner Sea' Portrays Biological Mother's Bittersweet Journey of Adoption

Kate Stapleton stood with her feet in the waters of the Great Lakes and peered out into the horizon. She searched for answers on how to provide the best life possible for the baby she conceived in an unplanned pregnancy.

Her life forever changed, Stapleton went through a journey of sacrifice, love, and music that ended in ways she never could have imagined.

Stapleton's story is chronicled in the documentary "The Inner Sea,"  Screenings of the documentary are available for parishes, schools, and pro-life organizations in the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

"I've always included the fact that I'm a birth mother as part of my identity," said Stapleton. "It's a huge part of my life, it's something I've always mentioned and written about."

Stapleton was 21 and had not graduated from college when she discovered she was pregnant.

"It was a huge shock," said Stapleton. "It was like I was falling off a cliff."

"I did not have a career. There really wasn't family support for me as a single mother," Stapleton said. "The birth father was also young. We had broken up. We weren't meant to be together."

During this distressing time Stapleton never considered abortion. Her priority was the wellbeing of her child.

Stapleton stayed with her great aunt in Chicago during Advent and walked the shores of Lake Michigan.

"The whole goal in that Advent was to contemplate whether or not adoption was the right choice for my child," she said.

She resumed playing a three-octave harp she had played in high school but had set aside during college.

"I played the harp partially because it was calming to me, and it was beautiful and something that I could learn and take with me. But it was something that I hope would Top right photo: Stapleton, left, and Burt walk the shores of Lake Michigan. Photos provided by Kate Stapleton
Above Photo: Kate and Casey Stapleton, pictured in front of their blue bus that serves as "home" when on the road as they travel for musical performances and Shakespeare productions.communicate to my child ... I thought, 'This is a beautiful sound, and it's pressed against me and hopefully this child will hear this music and know (he or he) is loved.'"

Stapleton remembers going to Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

"I was meditating about Advent and preparing the space for a child within me thinking that the next year I wasn't going to have a child. This was a really deep and bittersweet moment that was also profoundly beautiful."

Playing the harp and the adoption decision were connected for Stapleton.

"I ended up having time and a passion for it because I was pregnant with nothing else in the world other than this little harp for this period of time," said Stapleton.

She entered an open adoption, which allowed her to be involved in selecting her daughter, Brigid's, adoptive parents.

She later married Casey Stapleton, who was a Catholic high school religion teacher who plays guitar. The duo now pursues music full time and travel in a renovated, 40-foot-long bright blue school bus that serves as their home on the road as they travel for musical performances and Shakespeare productions. Their six children, who are homeschooled, travel with them.

"I think there's so much beauty in my life as a result of playing music and being able to play music with my husband," said Stapleton.

The adoptive family and Stapleton lived on "other sides of the country," she said. Stapleton sent Brigid (Burt), now 24, letters and gifts over the years and visited her for the first time when she was three years old.

"She was raised by incredible parents. What I hoped for in adoptive parents was definitely true," said Stapleton.

Burt attended college at Franciscan University at Steubenville, Ohio. The Stapletons lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so Burt spent a lot of time with them. The Stapletons had a guitar and Burt started playing it.

"We were able to support her and watch her as she developed into an incredible musiciBrigid Burt (center) and her fellow Acaciawood band members, Aislin Hilgeman, left, and Luna Oppus, chat as they travel with the Stapletons to perform a concert.an," Stapleton said.

Burt and two musician friends formed the band Acaciawood.

"They came and recorded in our attic, so we were able to be there for a part of her musical development, which was really amazing," said Stapleton.

In a stirring part of the documentary, Burt joined the Stapletons on stage for a concert. Burt and Stapleton also walked the shores of Lake Michigan, where Stapleton made her decision for adoption.

Through music, they stay connected. Burt asked Stapleton to play harp for Acaciawood's recently released song, "Maria Walks Amid the Thorns." Stapleton's husband, Casey, recorded and produced the song.

Kate Stapleton said "The Inner Sea," which her husband encouraged her to film, captures the grief and sense of loss that a mother experiences when placing her child for adoption. It also captures how it can also lead to brightness and hope.

"I'm grateful to God for writing this story," said Stapleton. "Because it's defninitely not one I could have written. The twists and turns are pretty crazy."

When women are faced with crisis pregnancies, Stapleton said, "Your life is going to be wildly different no matter what happens."

"In that moment, in that barrenness ... it's so hard to see into the future and to see how much beauty and brightness and hope can happen when we open ourselves up to love and we open ourselves up to grace ... Be open to life, don't be ruled by fear."

The Stapletons are currently offering screenings of the documentary and invite local parishes, schools, and pro-life organizations to view it. For more information on how to book a screening, visit theinnerseafilm.com.