Complicated family connections have defined Aliciette Dockery-Cornelius’ life, a journey marked by resilience, rebuilding and an unwavering faith that ultimately led her to reunite with her long-lost siblings.

Born and raised in Sacramento, near Center Parkway and Valley Hi Drive, Dockery-Cornelius’ early life was a series of transitions. She remembers living “a good little life” with her great-grandma as early as age 4 or 5, then her grandma, before returning to her mother.

At age 11 or 12, she was taken by Child Protective Services after she says her mother started having babies who were born with crack cocaine in their systems. This initiated a tumultuous period in the foster care system. She recalls “horrible” conditions at the Children’s Receiving Home where she was initially taken,

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