Podcasts about adoptees on

327 | Beth Yu Simpson, MSW, LICSW On today's episode I'm in conversation with Beth Yu Simpson: a therapist, educator, and founder of AIRE Roots. Beth shares how mentorship, community-building, and her own lived experience as a Korean adoptee have shaped her work, including her focus on ancestral healing and adoptee-centered care. We also dig into the gaps in social work education around adoption and what meaningful change could look like.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

326 | Sun Yung Shin My guest today is Sun Yung Shin, poet and author of the new book Heart Eater: A Memoir of Immigration, Belonging, and How We Find Ourselves in Language. Sun Yung's work examines the complexities of transracial and transnational adoption, identity, and the limits of what some adoptees can ever truly know about their origins. We discuss some of the pressures adoptees carry to make sense of their stories, and why we need to move beyond the expected search-and-reunion narrative.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

325 | [Healing Series] Narcissism in Adoptive Parents with Katy Perkins, LICSW-S This is a special episode in our healing series where I interview therapists who are also adoptees themselves, so they know from personal experience what it feels like to be an adoptee. Today we are joined by Katy Perkins to talk about a hot topic in our community, narcissism in adoptive parents. We talk about what it would have looked like to grow up in a family with a narcissistic parent or one with narcissistic tendencies, the impact it could have had on us as kids and now into adulthood. I was fascinated by everything Katy had to share in this conversation and I hope it's helpful for you!   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

324 | Diana On today's episode we are welcoming Diana to the show to share her story of being adopted from Russia at age two. Diana unpacks how early separation, institutional care and adoption shaped her mental health and sense of identity. This episode has mentions of childhood sexual assault, suicidal ideation and disordered eating. Please take care when deciding to listen.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

323 | Lisa Olivera, MFT So honoured to welcome back Lisa Olivera, MFT to explore her new book When the Ache Remains. Lisa shares how becoming a mother has brought up new layers of both loss and connection, and we both open up about recent, painful relationship ruptures.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

322 | Monique Pangari, MEd, SEP I'm so excited to introduce you to today's guest, Australian adoptee and somatic psychotherapist, Monique Pangari. Monique shares about her experiences as a teen mom, what lead her to search for her origins, and how she discovered the man she believed was her father was not biologically related to her. She also reflects on how her lived experience shapes her work supporting adoptees including the concept of personal sovereignty. - I apologize, I inadvertently left off a verbal content warning; this episode has mentions of suicidal ideation, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Please take care when deciding to listen. *   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

321 | David McCarty-Caplan, Ph.D. Today's guest is Dr. David McCarty-Caplan, a researcher, consultant and a Colombian-born adoptee. After becoming a father himself, David began searching for his biological family, leading to a reunion with his mother and siblings in Colombia — an experience that deepened both his personal journey and his professional research. We talk about his scholarship, including how families and communities can better support adoptees in developing a stronger sense of belonging. Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

320 | Erick Wolfmeyer Today's guest is Erick Wolfmeyer, a contemporary quilt artist known for his bold, large-scale textile works. Erick shares his experiences of being relinquished twice by his mother, their fraught reunion, and the DNA discovery that upended his identity yet again.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

Lora K. Joy/Lora Alegria is a returning guest.Lora is a domestic, same race adoptee who is fully estranged from her adoptive family and reunited with both maternal and paternal biological family. In 2022, she legally changed her name back to her birth name and Lora's biological mom reclaimed her through an adult adoption. Lora has self-published 3 illustrated books and a blog at www.myadopteetruth.com. She also co-led the publishing of the adoptee anthology The Flourish Experience.Lora is the Secretary of Adoptees for Family Preservation (AFFP), a nonprofit organization committed to raising awareness of adoption industry practices. Lora co-leads a peer support group on estrangement through Adoption Knowledge Affiliates. And she is a Producer for the Adoptees On podcast.Resources: https://www.adoptionknowledge.org/peer-support-groups.htmlMusic by Corey Quinn

319 | Kristina Richie Today's guest is Kristina Richie, TikTokker and author of Unraveling Adoption: Weaving Between Two Worlds. She shares some of her story with us, including how her birth mother gained custody of her when Kristina was 16 years old. We talk about how the secrets in her adoptive home shaped her identity, future romantic relationships and attachment patterns.  We do mention suicidal ideation and suicide at a few different points during this conversation so please take care when listening   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

318 | Diego Vitelli, LMFT Today I'm joined by Diego Vitelli, a Colombian adoptee and adoptee-focused therapist. Diego shares his own adoption story with us, including what it has looked like for him to have been assigned an artificial date of birth. We also talk about the accuracy of using terms like "reunion" and "adoption trauma".   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

Haley Radke is a Canadian domestic adoptee, the founder of Haley Radke Media, Inc., and host of Adoptees On, one of the most successful and longest-running adoption-related podcasts in the world, with over 1.5 million downloads globally. Haley's commitment to centering adoptee stories has made her a sought-after expert within the field of adoption, and within the realm of podcast storytelling more broadly. Her project-in-progress, On Adoption, is investigating adoption's impact on adoptees and birth/first parents. You can find her at adopteeson.com, adoptionpop.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.Music by Corey Quinn

317 | Kailee Pedersen Today's guest is the multifaceted Kailee Pedersen: from software engineer to opera singer to novelist! Kailee shares about being adopted from China, growing up in Nebraska, navigating racial isolation and the complexities of searching for family across borders and systems. We also talk about her debut gothic horror novel Sacrificial Animals—how family legacy and intergenerational trauma show up on the page—and her upcoming novel The Minimalist, which features adoptee characters. There is one brief mention of suicide in our conversation.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

316 | Jennifer Lauck Today we are honoured to have with us New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lauck, whose memoirs have shaped how so many understand the adoptee experience. Her landmark book Blackbird is celebrating its 25th-anniversary edition this year. In our conversation we talk about Jennifer's childhood, how she first met Nancy Verrier, and her synchronicities in her reunion with her birthmother, Catherine Diane. We mention abuse at multiple times during this conversation, including sexual abuse, so please take care when listening.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

315 | Alé Cardinalle, MSW Today's guest is Alé Cardinalle, an adoptee advocate who has taught millions of people on TikTok about the complexities of adoption. We talk about what reunion is like when it's international and everyone speaks a different language. One of my favourite things about Alé is how much she loves her adoptive parents, she will loudly say how she had a privileged, love-filled life and even with all of those positives, adoption is still a trauma and has deeply impacted her. We also talk about pregnancy loss and how Alé's experiences make her uniquely suited to talk with empathy to hopeful adoptive parents.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

314 | Nik Chang Hoon Today's guest is memoirist and poet, Nik Chang Hoon. Nik shares his journey of identity and language reclamation, including returning to Korea and reuniting with his birth mother in secret. We also talk about estrangement, healing, and his powerful writing that invites us to look deeper at the pain and resilience of finding one's place between families and cultures.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

313 | Molly Gaudry Today's guest is Molly Gaudry, author of Fit Into Me: A Novel A Memoir. This interview is one of the first ever Molly has given surrounding her adoptee identity. Relatable to anyone who has contradictory or missing narratives in their origin stories, Molly shares the complexities of using literary defense mechanisms in her writing to push readers away from her personal truth. We also talk about her brain injury and recovery, how that physical vulnerability and even intimacy sometimes felt safer to share about than her adoption experience.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

Bonus | Adoptees for Family Preservation Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

312 | Lynelle Long Lynelle Long has been an adoptee advocate for nearly thirty years. The founder of Inter-Country Adoptee Voices (ICAV) Lynelle has built a network of thousands of adoptees around the world to both connect with each other and to effect change at each level of government, as high up as the United Nations. Today we get to hear some of her personal story, including her choice to have her adoption discharged in 2022, and about her role as an active observer to the Hague Convention. Lynelle also has some advice to adoptee advocates for our efficacy and longevity in adoption reform spaces. We do mention sexual abuse at a couple of points in this conversation, so please take care when listening.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here!   Find out more about Adoptees for Family Preservation here!   Support Haley's new podcast here!   This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

311 | Sasha Hom Sasha Hom lives an extraordinarily unconventional life. I'm so excited to introduce her to you. She's a writer, goat farmer, mother, and her new book Sidework is incredible. Today we talk about her experiences as a Korean adoptee, adopted to a Chinese American couple in California. Sasha tells us about her trips to Korea and China, we talk motherhood as adoptees, and how important writing is in her life.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

310 | Mirella Stoyanova Mirella Stoyanova is our guest today, and I don't normally say this, but this was one of my favourite conversations in recent memory. Mirella is a therapist and writer, and her insights dazzled me. We talk about her experience being adopted at age 5, and what coming to America from Bulgaria was like. We discussed the what-ifs of kinship adoption, living in the both/and of grief and gratitude, and she shares an insight that stops me in my tracks: do adoptees reflect an existential crisis back to society?   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

309 | Megan Hunter, MBA It's such an honour to bring you today's guest, Megan Hunter, MBA. Megan is known as the Conflict Influencer, and is the co-founder of the High Conflict Institute. We get to know Megan's personal story today, including her reunion story. Megan shares about how she first connected with her birthmother, about a gut-wrenching experience with her biological father that resurfaced an adoptee wound, and she offers us advice in navigating new reunion relationships, including both the complex and the beautiful sides.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

308 | Alexandra Mann Who among us doesn't love a good movie? And how many times have you been watching a film and, jump scare, some terrible adoptee trope comes out of nowhere. Today's guest, Alexandra Mann had that happen one too many times and what grew out of that all too common adoptee misrepresentation in the media, was the Adoptee Film Fest which is now in it's second year (spotlighting adoptee filmmakers, telling adoptee stories). Alexandra shares about her personal story as a domestic, transracial adoptee from Hong Kong, and how therapy preserved her relationship with her adoptive parents after a giant secret came to light. We do have a mention of suicidal ideation in this conversation so please listen with care.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

307 | [Healing Series] The Nothing Place with Pam Cordano, MFT I'm so glad to be back with you after our summer break! Today's episode is a special episode in our Healing Series that truthfully I've been scared to do and I've intentionally been waiting to do because of this fear. This concept has been on my show topic list for several years, ever since I heard the words, “The Nothing Place”, for the first time. I believe that naming and describing this idea to you could be so deeply helpful for adoptees that we just have to go there today. This could potentially break open a block we've had in describing the true complexities and impact adoption separation has on us. Pam Cordano, MFT, one of our favourite adoptee therapists is here to tell us about The Nothing Place, the glaring gaps in attachment theory that don't address adoptees' very real separation trauma, and how examining this part of us can unlock a new sense of grounding and belonging that we haven't been able to access before.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

306 | [Healing Series] Money and Worth with Marta Isabella Sierra Cifuentes, LMHC For our last episode before our summer break, we're talking about adoptees and money! Marta Isabella Sierra Cifuentes, LMHC is back and teaching us all about money, worthiness, the obvious commodification of children, the basics. Marta said it best in this episode, ”if you're adopted, it's not even about the money. It's about belonging, respect, feeling seen, feeling acknowledged, mattering to the other people and equality.”   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

305 | Maria Diemar and Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom We have two incredible adoptee activists with us today. Maria Diemar and Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom, both adopted in Sweden, joined up to elevate adoptee causes in some very impactful ways. Maria is the subject of Lisa's latest graphic novel, The Excavated Earth, which exposes a horrific story of how thousands of Chilean babies were literally kidnapped and stolen to be sold for adoption to Sweden and many other countries. You won't believe some of the shocking details that Maria and Lisa share with us today. Lisa also shares a few thoughts with us on the findings of the South Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

304 | Dr. Michele Merritt Today's guest is Dr. Michele Merritt - a philosophy professor who's coined the new term Adoptism to describe the ways adoptees are marginalized. Michele shares some of her personal story, including the curiosity she always had about where she came from. We discuss what led her to start critiquing adoption publicly and the barriers to publishing these critiques that some academic journals put in place, like the classic, “I know one adoptee and they don't feel that way”. We do mention suicide during this conversation, so please take care when deciding if this a safe episode for you to listen to.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

303 | Craig Mod Craig Mod the author of Things Become Other Things: A Walking Memoir joins us to share his story. We deep dive into Craig's recent reunion with his birthmother including the complexities of searching in the digital age when so much of our information is publicly available. Being fairly new to adoptee-land, Craig also gave Haley a chance to talk through some of the things that complicate the usual sunshine and rainbows view of adoption. Update - Craig will join us for our July book club when we will be reading Things Become Other Things. We do make reference to sexual assault briefly at a couple of different points during this episode, so please take care when deciding if this a safe episode for you to listen to.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

302 | greiby medina Today we're pleased to introduce you to greiby medina (they/them), author of The One Who Loves You the Most. greiby was adopted from Honduras at age two-and-a-half to a single white mother. We discuss changing names, why greiby is not a fan of the term “coming out of the fog”, and being afraid people won't like us because we're adopted.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

301 | [Healing Series] Wounds of Childhood with Anna Linde, Sexologist This is a special episode in our Healing Series where we bring on adoptee experts to tackle issues that may impact our mental health. Most often we're talking with therapists but today I invited Anna Linde, a sexologist, to talk with us about the impacts of childhood sexual abuse on adopted people. This issue is so prevalent in our community and yet hardly anyone ever talks about it. We've talked about so many difficult things on the show that I think we're finally ready. So although we do keep this to a high level discussion, please take care when deciding if this a safe episode for you to listen to.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

300 | Haley's Sisters We've reached our 300th episode! I found my paternal side of my family 14 years ago, and I discovered that I had three younger siblings. So even though I'm the only adoptee on today's show, I thought you'd enjoy this peek behind the curtain, exploring what was it like for my young sisters when they were told at age 9 and 12, that they had a surprise older sister.   Full Show Notes and Transcript Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

299 | Dr. Abby Hasberry I'm so excited to welcome Dr. Abby Hasberry back to the show today! We are celebrating her brand new book, Adopting Privilege: A Memoir of Reinventing My Adoptee Narrative. Abby is a therapist, a scholar, an adoptee and a birth mother. We get into all of it: coercion in adoption, parenting after placing a child for adoption, reunion from both sides, we even talk about sororities! Abby also addresses why so many adoptees go on to place a child for adoption themselves.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

298 | Kit Myers We've been waiting several years to have today's guest on, and when better then to celebrate his brand new book! Professor and critical adoption scholar Kit Myers is with us to talk about his new book, The Violence of Love: Race, Family, and Adoption in the United States. Kit is an adoptee from Hong Kong, and he shares some of his personal story including a recent reunion he got to experience a couple of months ago. We also dive into culture camps and what happened when society tried to “destigmatize adoption” for the sake of adoptive parents.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

297 | Adé Carrena I don't think we've ever had anyone on the show that shares today's guest's profession! I'm thrilled to introduce you to Chef Adé Carrena, she's the subject of a beautiful new documentary called Bite of Benin. Adé is passionate about using food as a storytelling tool and has worked to bring West African flavours and spices to a global audience. She shares some of her personal story with us today, including being taken at age ten to the United States with her sister to be adopted. We do mention some difficult topics in this episode, so take good care when deciding to listen.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

296 | Connor Howe I'm so excited to introduce you to our guest today! We are talking all about open adoption with Connor Howe, who probably already know as adopted_connor from his many videos online. We talk about his personal story, including what it's like to grow up with a sibling that is your adoptive parents' biological child. We also discuss what lead Connor to get in front of the camera to critique adoption in such a public way.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

In this episode, we welcome Beth Dubber, a busy still photographer and an adoptee who later became a foster-to-adopt mom. Beth shares her multifaceted story, including her experiences with IVF, adoption, and navigating life as both an adoptee and an adoptive parent.She discusses the challenges of infertility, her sobriety journey, and surviving breast cancer. Beth opens up about the emotional and psychological aspects of adoption, societal perceptions, and the complexities of her experience. She emphasizes the importance of support systems like foster family agencies (FFAs) and the necessity of open conversations regarding trauma in adoptive families. This episode offers insightful perspectives for anyone interested in adoption, fostering, and overcoming personal hurdles, while always maintaining a sense of humor. Links:The Primal Wound (book she recommends)You Should be Grateful (another book discussed)Paul Sunderland lecture on Adoptees and addiction Adoptees On podcast00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome00:38 Beth's Family and IVF Journey02:51 Challenges and Triumphs of IVF12:49 Adoption and Foster Care Decision16:07 Adoptee Experience and Support30:21 Facing the Fear of Loss31:14 Parenting Reflections and Challenges31:38 Expressing Emotions and Providing Safety33:15 Navigating Racial Identity and Adoption35:55 Adoption Conversations and Normalization39:59 The Impact of Family Dynamics43:57 Co-Parenting and Living Arrangements46:57 Adoption Process and Challenges55:55 Addressing Pre-Birth Trauma01:00:09 Resources and Final Thoughts

295 | Lee Herrick We are starting the year off with such a delight, Lee Herrick, the California Poet Laureate, joins us today! Lee recently released his latest poetry collection, In Praise of Late Wonder, which is focused fully on the topic of adoption. Today we talk about what it means to feel significant as an adoptee, why writing prose felt a little more comfortable than a whole memoir, and we word nerd out a little on crosswords and wordplay.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

294 | Kathy Mackechney, LCSW We are doing a hybrid Healing Series episode with adoptee and adoptee therapist, Kathy Mackechney, LCSW. Kathy shares part of her story with us, including how she was prepared for rejection during her reunions, but was instead surprised by eager acceptance. Getting into the therapy of it all, Kathy is an Internal Family Systems practitioner and has developed the idea that not all of our parts get adopted. We unpack what that means, including that somewhere inside us we can access who we may have been, had we not been separated from our original families. Kathy is one of the first, if not the first, adoptee therapist(s) to have an entire chapter published in a clinical text that focuses on how to work with adoptees - it's literally the chapter we should assign our therapists to read!   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

293 | Dr. Julie Lopez, PhD, LICSW This is a special episode in our healing series where I interview therapists who are also adoptees themselves, so they know from personal experience what it feels like to be an adoptee. Today I'm so pleased to welcome back Dr. Julie Lopez, author of Live Empowered! We are talking all about how labels can be highly problematic for adoptees. We discuss how nonsensical the term “reactive attachment disorder” is when in fact most of us are just having perfectly normal reactions to an abnormal situation. Dr. Julie is an expert in implicit memory continues to inspire us that change and growth is always achievable and how we can access our pre-verbal traumas.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

292 | Shelby Redfield Kilgore Shelby Redfield Kilgore is a Korean adoptee and filmmaker. You can watch her documentaries and videos on YouTube alongside 800,000 other folks who've already had the pleasure. We talk about Shelby's passion for sharing adoptee stories and how that shifted in tone over the years. We also talk about her health struggles and the impacts those have had on her reunions and motherhood.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

291 | Kae Wangare Leonard Today we welcome Kae Wangare Leonard to the show. Kae is a writer, athlete and artist, born and adopted in Kenya by white Americans. She shares some of her story with us, including what does home mean when you've lived in multiple countries. We discuss what it means to be an adoption abolitionist, and we have a little disagreement whether Kae's art, poetry and prose is therapeutic or not!   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

290 | Kristal Parke Today's guest is filmmaker and fellow podcaster, and fellow Canadian, Kristal Parke! Kristal is the subject of the documentary, Because She's Adopted. Today Kristal shares some of her story with us including her non-paternal realization, her road to sobriety, her visits back to the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba, and meeting many of her biological family members, including her biological father. Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

289 | Bruce Porth Part 2 Today is part two of a two-part episode that we began last week, with our friend Bruce Porth. Today we talk a little more about reunion and what it looks like when someone is being dishonest with you, and also about using breathwork and psychedelics as healing modalities. Have you ever met one of those people that when they speak you just have to listen to every word? Bruce is one of those people for me. We hope you enjoy getting to know him better with us.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

288 | Bruce Porth Part 1   We are so fortunate to hear from Bruce Porth today; he is one of those people that only speaks when he's got something thoughtful and insightful to share, and today's conversation is no exception. Bruce shares about his childhood, some difficult relationship circumstances, his path to uncovering the impact adoption and family separation had on his life, and what reunion has looked like. This is part one of two, and don't worry, next week we'll release part two where Bruce shares more about the healing modalities he's used, including breathwork and psychedelics.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

287 | Ande Stanley On today's show we're welcoming Ande Stanley, creator and host of the podcast, The Adoption Files. Ande is a late discovery adoptee, only finding out accidentally when they were in their thirties. We talk about how that happened, and the reactions of adoptive family members to Ande finally being in on the secret everyone knew but them. We also discuss how Ande found their way to the adoptee community and how some initial bad interactions, instead of deterring them, instead lead the way to Ande becoming a community builder.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

286 | Grace Newton, MSW Today's guest is Grace Newton, MSW, a Chinese adoptee, author of the prolific blog, Red Thread Broken, and one of the co-authors of the Adoptee Consciousness Model. We discuss the reasons for the rise and fall of international adoption from China, and how the critical adoption scholarship of Chinese adoptees is on the rise, including Grace's own contributions. Grace also gets more personal, sharing about her relationship with her Chinese American fiancé and how their love story and family have helped her on her racial reclamation journey.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

285 | [Healing Series] The Seven Insights into Adoptee Attachment with Pam Cordano, MFT Today's episode is a special episode in our Healing Series, where I interview therapists who are also adoptees themselves, so they know from personal experience what it feels like to be an adoptee. We're joined by Pam Cordano, MFT, talking all about the seven challenges of adoptee attachment, which include profound ongoing chronic misattunement, disconnection from our instincts, and commodification.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

284 | Dr. Alice Diver Today's guest is the remarkable Dr. Alice Diver, law professor and outspoken adoptee advocate. Alice has written multiple journal articles and books on the topic of adoptee rights, including her latest, Genetic Stigma in Law and Literature: Orphanhood, Adoption, and the Right to Reunion. Alice shares some of her personal story with us, and then we dive into her work including language in adoption, where you'll hear such gems as “surplus people” and “substitute families”. We also get to talk about how adoptees are viewed by the law in comparison with adoptive parents.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

283 | Cam Lee Small, MS, LPCC We have a returning guest, adoptee therapist Cam Lee Small back with us today. Cam has a brand new book out, The Adoptee's Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment, published by a faith-based press. I recently got to meet Cam in real life, and he's just as warm and genuine as he appears on the Internet. In our conversation today, Cam and I talk about how most churches have majorly missed the mark in serving adoptees, we address how “gotcha day” misses the “lost-ya day” and the grief of adoption. One of my favourite things Cam shares in his book, and we do address it today, is that just being an adopted person take an extraordinary amount of cognitive and emotional bandwidth.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

282 | Alison Larkin Alison Larkin is here today, and we are so so honoured to have her with us. It's likely a lot of you already know Alison, but for those who are new to her, she is a stand-up comedian, voice artist, audiobook narrator, actress, producer, screenwriter, and bestselling author of The English American. Today we get to hear her story which includes reunions with both birth parents, seeking out a therapist after meeting Nancy Verrier, and how she finally came to truly fall in love in her fifties only to have her fiancé die suddenly during the pandemic. Alison recounts this in her brand new one-woman show, called Grief…A Comedy which is embarking on a world tour this summer.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.