Dan has barely told anyone the his whole story until this episode. He shared that he was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as an infant. Then his son’s rare medical condition and his wife’s ability to share her heredity while he could not was a catalyst for his search. Dan is thankful for the warm … Read more
Before becoming an adoptee advocate Rich was searching for his own identity. As a child, his older adopted sister vengefully told him their mom wasn’t his real mother. It made him wonder who the other woman could be. When he was in college, his adoptive parents gave him an envelope of non-identifying information. Many years later they handed … Read more
Joseph is a really outdoorsy guy who lives in Edmonds, Washington, about 30 minutes north of Seattle. He likes mountain biking, trail running, camping and skiing. Joseph grew up in a family of several children, some biological, and one other adoptee you might already know. He told me that he never could have pinpointed what it was, … Read more
Steve, from London, Ontario, Canada shares his story of being adopted after his mother lost a child. Steve and his mother never connected, in fact, she stifled his social development and seemed to be holding him back because he didn’t look like their family, and didn’t fit in. As a teen, Steve was out on his own in the streets when … Read more
Kyle tells the story of growing up, towering over his mother and sister and looking very different from them, but being loved. Locating his birth mother he was amazed to see someone he looked like but struggled to get along with as she battled her own pain. In the end, he was able to truly connect to … Read more
Katherin called me from Atlanta, Georgia. She grew up in a challenging environment with an adoptive mother on dialysis, an adoptive father who disengaged from parenting, and life lessons that taught her to suppress her emotions. Seeking connection, Katherin turned to the affection of men to fill the emotional voids in her life. In reunion, … Read more
Amy shared her story with me from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She learned about her adoption before her teen years—a revelation that left her in shock but also helped her make sense of her family dynamics. In college, Amy’s coming out created a rift within her family, leaving her worried that pursuing an adoption reunion might lead … Read more
Virginia spoke to me from New York. When she was young, her single mother struggled to raise her and her two younger brothers, battling addiction and mental illness, which ultimately led to their family being separated. While Virginia was reunited with her mother, she was not reunited with her brothers and was devastated by the … Read more
Bobbi, who lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, reached out as an ally to the adoptee community. After we chatted, she realized something important about her own journey. She shared her tale of generational kinship adoption, the heartbreaking discovery that her beloved granny had likely endured an assault, and the DNA discoveries of multiple adoptees who … Read more
Jean, from Boulder City, Nevada, shared that her raising parents had their flaws, from addiction to enablement, but she knows they loved her and they did the best they could with what they had in their toolbox. Searching for her birth mother, the woman was found quickly, their resemblance was shocking, and after discovering some … Read more
