146 – You Were Who I Always Needed

Michelle, from Ohio. She talks about the challenge of her childhood, craving a connection, but having the one she shared with her Dad snuffed out.  Her search, which began with Adoption Network Cleveland where she found an ally in a birth mother in the group. Along the way Michelle felt the shame of her simple … Read more

145 – Tommy Davidson, Living In Color – What’s Funny About Me

Comedian television and film actor, and all around entertainer. Tommy Davidson has seen it all. He launched his comedy career in the Washington DC area. Capitalizing on his innate ability to entertain people and make them bust out in laughter.  But his earliest days were grounded in trauma that as an adoptee, he didn’t face until … Read more

144 – Gullah Girl

Brandi, who called me from myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is an inquisitive person adopted in to a family with a history of scholars, which is rare for a black family in the south.  DNA led Brandi to a cousin who was determined to help her figure out their biological connection and which of two men … Read more

143 – He Really Stepped Up

When Susan, from Irving, Texas, found her natural mother, she learned she was conceived in transit when two young lives collided, then never saw one another again.  Her birth mother’s life seemed too chaotic the women to make a deeper connection. The woman ended things abruptly when Susan didn’t behave the way she wanted.  Susans’s … Read more

141 – That Wasn’t The Real Me

Gloria called me from Texas where she grew up with Mexican parents. In younger days she tried to find the ways she looked like her family. In adulthood, following the whim of some co-workers, Gloria did a DNA test naive to what it could possibly reveal. In a matter of months she was plunged into … Read more

140 – I Wanted To Be My True Self

Darryl, from Australia, admits he had a challenging childhood from his relationship with his adoptive father, to their family’s need to move around a lot because they were so poor, and his experience learning he is a late discovery adoptee. Darryl describes himself as a person for whom the truth is very important, so as … Read more

139 -A Sense Of Peace And Calm

Wendy, from Minnesota, had a lot of information about her natural mother and assumed the woman would want to know her, but that wasn’t the case. They corresponded once, solely for her natural mother to share clinical information, then the door closed. Wendy said finding her paternal sister Jen, a woman she could have met years … Read more

061 – I Know They May Not Love Me…

Stephanie grew up in a very wealthy family in South Carolina and you’ll hear discuss the family’s fortune, but pause before you pass judgment on how easy life must have been. Her story is filled with manipulative behavior, malicious intentions, and a foundation created from lies. You’ll also hear Stephanie’s intelligence and tenacity to get her … Read more

Goodbye 2020

Listen, I can’t even pretend it was easy to podcast during what has been an absolutely crazy year. Before I sign off season 7 I need to cover a few things.   I’m grateful to be able to say thank you to some wonder folks who’ve committed to supporting the Who Am I Really podcast this year. … Read more

136 – Your Absence Has Gone Through Me

To date, I’ve only interviewed a few guests who weren’t adoptees, and this will be another one. Today you’re going to meet Anne-Marie from Southern California who drafted an impassioned submission to be on the Who Am I Really podcast. At first I wanted to stay true to the focus of the show, sharing adoptee … Read more