245 – Anybody Alive Is Off Limits

Curt, from in Las Vegas, Nevada, felt like something was off in his family when he was a kid, so he he set out to find his own way. As an adult, Curt got curious about locating his birth family, but chickened out on submitting a DNA sample to launch is search for reunion. On … Read more

244 – Love is Meant to Multiply

Patrice, from Northern Virginia, said that in her house adoption was never discussed when she was a kid. So her curiosity led to a secret search as an adult. While her birth mother had no plans to meet Patrice, in reunion, her birth father told everyone about his long lost daughter. Unfortunately, the loneliness of … Read more

243 – Out of the Turtle Shell

Sharon, from Springfield, Missouri, grew up in a small town as part of a large family. After leaving home, she became pregnant and was abandoned by the birth father. Following the placement of her daughter, she suffered in silence for years. For decades, Sharon hid her pain behind a smile—until the day her daughter found … Read more

241 – Abandoned at Birth: Searching for the Arms that Once Held Me

Janet spoke to me from her home in Nantucket, Massachusetts. She grew up with an adoptive mother who presented to the outside community as a saint whom everyone loved. But at home she was unkind to her family. Janet said she spent her whole life wanting to know her birth mother when she finally found … Read more

242 – Maintaining My Present Peace

Here is the edited version with improved grammar: Baya called me from Basking Ridge, New Jersey. She was raised in Germany by parents who grew up in post-World War II Germany, along with an abusive older brother. In her town, everyone knew Baya was adopted, and she even knew who her birth mother was. However, … Read more

240 – I Was Hoping That Somebody Would Love Me

Jim, from Gilroy, California, Jim was born in the early 1960s in San Jose, California. His adoption story is complex, shaped by the trauma and loss his adoptive parents faced after losing their youngest biological son. For Jim, the love he sought from his adoptive father was elusive, replaced by emotional and physical abuse in … Read more

239 – Stolen From My Homeland

Moses is an adoption trauma educator and therapist, but his own personal journey as an adoptee is one of hardship and resilience. To use his words, Moses was stolen from South Korea at the age of two, by his famous mother, to grow up as part of a transracial, international, and high profile family. However, … Read more

102 – It’s Always Maybe

Breanna learned that she was fostered then adopted but for financial gain and she described her home as a hostile environment. Her adopted mother was abusive, and Breanna ultimately ran away from home to the military. But before bootcamp she contacted her birth mother, and learned the hard truth about her conception. In reunion, she was forced to watch … Read more

041 – I’ve Finally Gotten Myself To A Sense Of Peace

After two years in foster care, Janet was adopted into the foster family. An interracial woman, she grew up in a white midwestern community in Ohio. Janet recalls the love she felt from her family and the isolation of being one of two people of color in her town. Through the International Soundex Reunion Registry (ISRR.net) she … Read more

122 – Deep Rooted Issues Of Shame And Guilt

John called me from Charlotte, NC, but his story starts in Ontario Canada. He shares how he grew up in a strict home and how even though he was mischievous, he didn’t think his actions warranted his unceremonious delivery to boarding school. After decades of dedication to his search, he finally discovered his birth mother’s identity, accidentally uncovered deeply … Read more