200 – Puzzle Pieces Coming Together To Make Me Whole

Laurie, from Washington state, grew up as an emotional child crying frequently, but no one ever asked what was wrong? They simply wrote her off as being sensitive. When Laurie’s adoptive sister was found by her birth mother, Laurie was shocked at how much they looked alike and it ignited her desire to search. In … Read more

199 – Patty Gave Me Life Twice

Pippa, from California, Pippa grew up in a wonderful Irish family where she and her brother were supported and loved. When her brother’s birth mother found him, it catalyzed Pippa’s desire to return to Ireland to find her birth family. In reunion Pippa found a birth mother who had suffered a lot of loss in … Read more

004 – Lucky Online, Connecting When You’re Not Even Looking

Growing up in Leah’s home everyone was comfortable with adoption. Her adopted mom is an adoptee, and her two siblings are adoptees, though they are biologically related to one another. The kids were made to feel special because her parents chose them. But no matter how much love an adoptee receives, sometimes knowing that their origins … Read more

198 – So Many Twists And Turns

I think of Pam, from outside of Richmond, Virginia, as a late discovery adoptee who learned she was adopted when another child spilled the tea. Speaking with her adoptive mother about the news she was adopted, Pam learned that she was supposed to be placed temporarily, not adopted into another family. Pam’s reunion journey has … Read more

197 – Why Such A Secret?

Lisa and I connected right before she was going to meet her biological father for the first time and a cousin she’s completely enamored with. Lisa shared that she was adopted as an infant into a failing marriage where divorce soon followed. While other people outwardly noticed how different she looked from her brother, she … Read more

196 – A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child At A Time

Rob called me from right here in Maryland. Trigger warning. Rob shares his harrowing story of his childhood surviving, mental and sexual abuse under the guardianship of his parents. After their deaths Rob went into foster care and became homeless, navigating life with his belongings shuttled from place to place in trash bags. Rob fought … Read more

075 – I’m Good On My Own, I Know Who I Am

In her adopted family Tameko’s parents just assumed that as an adoptee, she was misbehaving, but when her older adopted brother showed up he actually started framing her for terrible things, trying force her out. Even worse, he abused her. On her search, she read a description of her birthmother that humanized her, but the first pictures Tameko saw … Read more

091 – I’m In The Middle Of Two Stories

Ashley had one of those moments where talking to her biological sister felt so familiar it was like texting and and responding to herself.  But her birth mother’s pain and uneasiness over Ashley’s desire to learn anything about her birth father was too much for the woman, and their relationship suffered. When she found her birth father … Read more

084 – There’s A Certain Sense of Completeness

Neal’s search didn’t take off until he was 66 years old! He got a DNA kit for his birthday and within months he was in touch with his paternal family. Ohio’s open original birth certificate help him learn his birth mother’s name, but he couldn’t find a single maternal connection during his search. This episode was just about to be wrapped up … Read more

074 – I Feel Some Of It Too

Serena told me she had a similar experience to what a lot of adoptees feel, even though she grew up with her birth mother. I’m always talking about empathizing with others, so I wanted to hear her story. Serena told me about her birth on a Native American reservation in Arizona then her mother moving away. She was adopted by … Read more