A podcast for birth moms, by birth moms. Ashley Mitchell and Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard have a decade between their adoption placements. They address raw and real emotions and experiences, and have other birth mom guests on the show to join in on the conversation.
The Twisted Sisterhood podcast is an absolute gem that shines a light on the often overlooked and dark side of adoption. As someone who has personally experienced the ups and downs of being a birth mom in an open adoption, I can attest to the authenticity and relatability of this podcast. It feels like therapeutic sessions every week, with each episode touching on topics that I have encountered throughout my own journey. The episodes featuring discussions about birth fathers and dating hit particularly close to home, making me nod my head in agreement throughout. This podcast serves as a reminder that I am not alone in my struggles and that there are others out there who can empathize with my experiences.
One of the best aspects of The Twisted Sisterhood podcast is its ability to provide open and honest conversations surrounding adoption from a birth mother's perspective. The hosts, who are both hilarious and uncensored, bring a level of authenticity and vulnerability that is truly refreshing. Their willingness to tackle difficult topics head-on creates a space where anyone interested in learning more about adoption can benefit from the insights shared. The realness and rawness displayed throughout every episode make it an essential resource for anyone wanting to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding adoption.
While it's challenging to find any major faults with this podcast, one potential downside could be its specific focus on birth mothers' perspectives. While this makes sense given the hosts' personal experiences, it may limit the appeal for those looking for a more comprehensive exploration of adoption from all angles. However, it's important to recognize that this niche focus is what sets The Twisted Sisterhood apart from other podcasts on adoption, as it provides unique insights into the birth mother's experience.
In conclusion, The Twisted Sisterhood podcast is an amazing platform created by incredible women who have managed to put into words the thoughts and feelings many birth mothers experience but struggle to express themselves. This empowering podcast offers realness, rawness, and love in every episode. It fills a much-needed gap in the adoption conversation by providing an open and honest space for birth mothers to share their stories, struggles, and triumphs. If you're looking for a podcast that will make you feel seen, heard, and understood, The Twisted Sisterhood is an absolute must-listen.
We were thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Gretchen Sisson for today's episode. Gretchen Sisson is a sociologist who studies abortion and adoption in the United States. She is the author of Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood, based on hundreds of in-depth interviews with women who have relinquished infants for domestic adoption over the past 60 years. Gretchen is a researcher, a mom, an ally to birth mothers in the adoption community, and so much more. Posing challenging thoughts that society, and even our community, has long hesitated to ponder, we valued this conversation with Gretchen and of course, this incredible book. FIVE stars for Relinquished from the Twisted Sisterhood Podcast. We hope to keep this conversation rolling in our community! More about Relinquished: A powerful decade-long study of adoption in the age of Roe, Relinquished reveals the grief of the American mothers for whom the choice to parent was never real. Adoption has always been viewed as a beloved institution for building families, as well as a mutually agreeable common ground in the abortion debate, but little attention has been paid to the lives of mothers who relinquish infants for private adoption. Relinquished reveals adoption to be a path of constrained choice for those for whom abortion is inaccessible, or for whom parenthood is untenable. The stories of relinquishing mothers are stories about our country's refusal to care for families at the most basic level, and to instead embrace an individual, private solution to a large-scale, social problem. We are in a political moment in which adoption is, increasingly, being revealed as an institution devoted to separating families and policing parenthood under the guise of feel-good family-building. Rooted in a long-term, qualitative sociological study, Relinquished is an analysis of hundreds of in-depth interviews with American mothers who placed their children for domestic adoption collected over a decade. The voices of these women are powerful and heartrending; they deserve to be heard as a response to this moment. You can purchase the book on Amazon, Bookshop, or your local bookseller! :) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twistedsisterhood/message
Happy New Year, sisterhood! This week is about the three R's no one told you about: Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities. What is it that we owe our children? What role should we play in this arrangement, and will that change over time? What can we do to best support our kids and have a positive relationship over time? We cover so much about this complicated lifelong relationship. Tune in! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twistedsisterhood/message
We are so grateful that we got to sit with Lacy, a great birth mom friend of ours :) Lacy Shaw is a birth mom nearly 10 years post-placement, navigating life and parenthood with two littles in Southern California. There's so many gems in this episode. We cover generational effects of our decision to relinquish, what life looks like after a decade of post-placement, how this decision affects us when we parent other children, and so much more. This episode will leave you thinking. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twistedsisterhood/message
Mercedes is a birth mother from St. Louis. At 20 years old, she pursued adoption for her daughter and dealt with the child welfare system in the process. Because of this experience, Mercedes is passionate about connecting foster youth to their biological families in every role she undertakes. Mercedes has over a decade of experience serving families engaged with the child welfare system, most recently as a Field Operation Specialist for Missouri Children's Division, overseeing the St. Louis Region with the support of data for the implementation of legislation and improvement planning. She is passionate about gathering and analyzing data to impact policies for youth and families. Mercedes graduated from the Minority Professional Leadership Development Program (MPLD) with AdoptUSKids, where she developed a language resource group to address a language barrier that adoption recruiters faced when working towards permanency for their Hispanic youth. In short, Mercedes is an absolute rockstar. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twistedsisterhood/message
We are back with the second episode of season 3 of the Twisted Sisterhood Podcast! Today, we talk about stereotypes and stigmas... but it's not what you think. We have grown tired of the usual conversation surrounding stereotypes and stigmas and how this doesn't foster inclusivity or bring anyone closer to community, healing, or understanding. We reject the idea of a hierarchy within the lowest rung on the adoption ladder. We encourage you to listen to today's episode with an open mind and discover how to bring people into your circle. Show Notes: Relinquished by Gretchen Sisson Lifetime Healing Foundation - Find a support group near you! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twistedsisterhood/message
Welcome to Season THREE of the Twisted Sisterhood Podcast! We have a great season lined up for you, you'll be hearing all about the projects that are happening in the adoption world, as well as policy changes, new books and documentaries, and hearing from more birth moms about their experiences. Show Notes: AdoptChange.org for the Adoption Provider Search, state law information, and more on how to get involved with change in adoption Ethical Family Building Lifetime Healing Foundation - Find a support group near you! Adoption Unfiltered book, releasing December 1st! Pre-order on Amazon or Bookshop Adoptees United - Stay updated on current legislation regarding open birth records for adoptees Adoptee Rights Law Center - Greg Luce, Esq. - Find out more about open records and the steps to obtaining an original birth certificate in your state. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/twistedsisterhood/message
In this episode, we address the curious event of switching roles in the adoption community and how we can stand in the gap for others. Kelsey talks about the loss of her grandmother, and what it felt like to watch her dad grieve his birth mom. Ashley and Kelsey dive deep into what experiences they have had where others have filled in the gap for them, and how they have filled in the gap for other people. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Erika Gonzales is a 30 year old birth mom from California. She is just over four years post-placement in an open adoption and she is here to be an ally for fellow birth moms and help normalize healthy, close relationships between birth parents & adoptive parents. In this episode we talk about the feeling of "not being in the club" when you have a healthy open adoption, classism in adoption, and what systems are in place that perpetuate the need for adoption to occur. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Our first ever non-birth mom guest is on this week! Stephie Predmore, an adoptive mom living in the middle of Illinois with her husband, daughter, and menagerie of cats and dogs. She is passionate about advocating for better adoption education and offers adoption advising for hopeful adoptive and adoptive parents. Stephie is a former ANLC client, the law center that was the focus of the TIME Magazine article that came out last week. Stephie came on this week to talk about what her process was while reading it and the days that followed, to come to terms with the ugly part of adoption and find her role in the fight for change. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Today, an article in TIME Magazine came out titled, "The Baby Brokers: Inside America's Murky Private-Adoption Industry" and we took a deep dive into it. We go over the article top to bottom and help explain the ins and outs in a deep dive. To read the article: https://time.com/6051811/private-adoption-america/ To watch the accompanying video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ijqNpSqswtM&feature=youtu.be --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Today we are speaking to Chelsea Moore about the problems with how open adoption has been talked about and advertised. Chelsea is a birth mother, eight years post-placement in a semi open adoption. Her daughter is a transracial adoptee. She came to talk to us today to share what it's like to long for openness and her feelings about how agencies should be providing more transparency around the process, especially when it comes to creating openness plans that best suit the child. Chelsea hails from Texas, but now resides in Oregon. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
This week we are honored to have Becca Houston on the podcast discussing pre-birth consent. Becca is a birth mom in an open adoption to a gorgeous 6 year old boy. She placed through LDS Services, now disbanded, in 2015, and got to choose a family after meticulous specifications. She's here today because her heart has been forever changed after her unplanned pregnancy at 17 turned her into a mother and birth mother for the rest of her life. Becca has become passionate about protecting and preparing the hearts of expectant moms and educating them on all the choices and options they face in unplanned pregnancy. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Ashley and Kelsey are back for Season 2... fashionably late! We give a preview of what to expect this season, a little about what we have been working on, and why you should be excited to tune in to this birth mom podcast. We are so excited to be back! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Jori is our guest this week! Jori is a transracial adoptee from foster care and a birth mom of 12 years. She grew up in Delaware and now lives with her husband and children in Utah. She found herself in an unplanned pregnancy as a student athlete in college, and found herself completely changed after placement. On this episode, Jori discusses her experiences with racial issues, how her spirituality was impacted during placement, and how important trauma therapy has been as an adoptee and a birth mom. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
This episode, Kelsey and Ashley discuss how different it is to date after placement. Relationships have a new dynamic, there's more nuances to marriage and partnerships, and we seem to bring our good ol' suitcase full of adoption baggage everywhere we go. When do birth moms drop the "adoption bomb" on the new significant other? They discuss all the good, bad, and ugly about finding love after placement. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Shonda is a birth mom of almost 6 years, and is an adoptee from foster care. She is a full time nursing student, working two jobs, and living life as fully as she can. Her heart is focused on educating others on adoption and what role birth parents take in the whole spectrum of adoption. She speaks a local schools and events, started a support group in her Montana town to better support birth parents, as well as setting up and running events to bring all members of the triad together to share sacred space and stories. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Welcome to our guest, Sarah! Sarah is a two time birth mother of an 18 and almost 17 year old that were both adopted by the same couple, 19 months apart. She is an advocate for adoption education through her @adoptioneducationkeys page and is passionate about consistent, continual, free post-placement care for birth mothers everywhere, as a member of the Lifetime Healing Foundation team and a contributing author of the Knee to Knee curriculum for birth mother groups across the country. In this episode, we speak to Sarah about what it's been like to place with a family that goes through a divorce. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Birthdays can be emotional and exhausting days for birth moms, and everyone handles them in different ways. In this episode, Kelsey talks openly about her son's upcoming birthday and what she does to celebrate and commemorate the day. Ashley and Kelsey dive into discussion about how our bodies hold trauma around these milestones, and how it affects us as birth moms. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
This week we get into the nitty gritty of birth fathers. We discuss the difficulties we faced in pregnancy, the complex feelings we face now, and our healing and moving forward to cultivate a healthy open adoption relationship, centered around the child. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
This week we sat down with Muthoni, a birth mom of 3.5 years to a beautiful baby girl. She has an open adoption and that has helped immensely with her healing. She resides in Texas and for the last three years, she has found a community of women who share the same bond of adoption. In this episode, we get into conversation about delayed grief, relationships after placement, race and diversity, and of course, Tiger King. Join us this week as we get to know Muthoni! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
We are back! It's been a whirlwind over the past month... COVID19 is sending us all into a frenzy. But we are here, giving you a virtual hug in true social distance fashion. We see you, we hear you, we are standing with you... 6 feet apart. Join us for an unedited, unfiltered episode because friends... it's a shit show. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Ashley and Kelsey dive into the latest buzz around the adoption community: the enneagram. The enneagram is a typology of nine inter-connective personality types, but it's more than just finding out what your number is. It can unlock the process of self-discovery and truly getting familiar with yourself. Ashley and Kelsey discuss the basics this week: their type, their go-to behaviors, and how they support each other in friendship when they have two very different perspectives and personalities. They also talk about how birth moms have to be willing to do the work in their healing process, by getting to know themselves and others to pursue healthy relationships. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
In this episode, Ashley and Kelsey talk about their ability to share their stories and what kinds of influences have tried to block their honesty. They also touch on family dynamics after adoption and what is difficult about coming to the table when people are offended by your grief. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
This week we have the pleasure of introducing our very first guest, Amy Erickson. Amy placed a daughter into a closed adoption at the age of 17 and was reunited after 18 years. She has since managed to secure her seat on the rollercoaster of adoption reunion, learning to navigate this often complicated relationship. The last 7 years for her have been full of self-discovery and the realization that adoption affected her in more ways than she ever knew, even after being told that she could move on as if it never happened. She has built a community around her of other birth mothers that have been instrumental in her healing journey. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
Welcome to the Twisted Sisterhood's very first episode! Ashley and Kelsey introduce themselves and talk about challenges they have faced in their adoptions and how social media has affected the adoption community. They also answer the very important question: what has been the roadblock to your healing as a birth mom? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/twistedsisterhood/message
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