By Katie Lannan, State House News Service May 13, 2021 Katie Lannan, State House News Service Born and adopted in California, Joan Strauss decided after her birth mother’s death from Covid-19 last year that she would seek access to her sealed birth records. Strauss, now an East Brookfield resident, is an author and filmmaker who through that work has followed other adoptees in their quests for similar information. She said she knew when she submitted her application to California officials that it could be denied, but still burst into tears when she got the call back telling her the application wasn’t enough and she’d need to hire a lawyer and fly there to appear in court in person.