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
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
Rick’s birthmother relinquished him into foster care where he was terrorized as a toddler. He was eventually adopted around age 6 but always felt like an outsider. At 16 years old he reunited with his maternal family who informed him his mother was institutionalized for paranoid schizophrenia. Their reunion didn’t go at all how he had … Read more
Born in the Panama Canal Zone, Stephanie was adopted by a US military family stationed there in 1961. She was never told she was adopted, but she always knew there was a family secret. When she was 43 years old Stephanie discovered the secret was her own adoption. Because she was born in the Panama Canal … Read more
Brittney, from Connecticut, grew up knowing but not closely connected with her biological mother . After a bombshell moment where her mom revealed the truth about her paternal parentage, Brittney felt like she was left to clean up the mess of lies. She was conflicted about searching for her birth father because of her loyalty … Read more
Gabe called me early one morning from Salt Lake City, Utah. Gabe is a black transracial adoptee, and a transgender man from a family and community that didn’t know how to talk about who he is as a person. After a tough time coming out to his adoptive family, Gabe’s reunion revealed his birth parents’ … Read more
Andrie, who lives in Duluth, Georgia, learned she was adopted as a kid, then started coping with the rejection she felt by making up stories about her birth parents, a habit that carried into adulthood. Searching for her truth, Andrie found her birth father, but has chosen to distance herself from him When she met … Read more
Daughter Dee lives in Maryland with me. Dee had a wonderful upbringing in Philadelphia, PA where she was cherished and celebrated on her birthdays. When she was fresh out of college Dee’s adoptive mother passed away. Dee learned she was adopted and her world turned into a question mark while mourning. As a late discovery … Read more
Samantha, from south Florida, watched her adoptive mother reunite with the son she placed for adoption. Samantha found herself anticipating her own reunion one day, so she decided to take action. When she located her birth mother, she learned the woman was very young when she gave birth, was told to forget about the whole … Read more
Emma described her adoption with words and concepts like “purchased”, “captor”, and “Stockholm syndrome”. Those aren’t the ideas behind a healthy parent child relationship When she decided to find her birth mother, Emma would not be deterred by the redacted information her case worker gave her, so she took action… illegally, to steal her birth … Read more
