Adoptees On

238 | Lora K. Joy returns to the podcast today to share about the process of legally changing her name and being adopted back by her biological mother. We talk about all the healing work and therapy she's persisted in to find acceptance of herself and about how it feels to own the truth around her story. Full Show Notes Here This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological,...

237 | [Healing Series] Identity Marta Isabella Sierra, LMHC returns to discuss a model of attachment that is so helpful for adopted people to consider. Instead of attachment styles being seen as a spectrum, Marta teaches us about the Nested Model and understanding the layers of complexity that can add to adoptees’ experience of attachment. We even do a role play of how to have some challenging conversations if you’re struggling in any relationship. Full Show Notes Here This podcast is...

Shannon Gibney, an award-winning author of multiple books, and her brand new release, The Girl I Am, Was, & Never Will Be: A Speculative Memoir of Transracial Adoption, returns to the podcast! Today Shannon shares some of her reunion story with us, how her long-time friends supported her through some pivotal life events, and how her relationship with her adoptive family has evolved over the years. We talk about the brand new book, and patrons will get the opportunity to join Shannon for an...

235 | Happy 2023! What a way for us to begin the new year! One of the people we most highly esteem in the adoptee community is here, JaeRan Kim Ph.D.. JaeRan is an adoptee scholar, community leader, and author of the prolific blog, Harlow’s Monkey. Today she shares some of her personal story and how she landed in critical adoption studies. She also teaches us about the brilliant new model she’s developed with several adoptee scholars to help us move beyond “out of the fog” language and...

234 | [Healing Series] Positive Racial Identity Abby Hasberry, LMFT-A join us to talk about the importance of adult adoptees developing a positive racial identity. We can’t develop that as children (nor as adults) when racial mirrors and cultural experiences are nonexistent. Abby shares some tools and strategies we can use to do this work of racial reclamation, and she addresses a common fear and question, “but is this cultural appropriation?”. Full Show Notes Here This podcast is for...

233 | Patrick Armstrong We are so excited to welcome Patrick Armstrong to the podcast! Patrick is a fellow adoptee community builder and today he shares his experiences growing up as a Korean adoptee in all-white spaces. He’s moved from rejecting his Asian identity, to a period of reclamation of identity, language and culture, and now feels that he’s in a place of fully accepting himself. We hope this conversation will be encouraging, especially to those of you who have struggled to affirm...

232 | [Healing Series] Identity We’re excited to have Marta Sierra, LMHC back on the podcast, one of our favourite adoptee therapists! Today Marta talks with us about identity development as adult adoptees. We talk through some of the ways adoption trauma can mean delayed development, and that finding out who we really are is possible in adulthood. Marta also advises us that sometimes doing healing work and discovering our preferences and values can upend our lives. Full Show Notes...

Thank you to each one of you who has listened to an episode of Adoptees On! Each adoptee who listens is an integral part of our community, and we are feeling especially grateful for you making this possible today. Haley Radke and Carrie Cahill Mulligan are celebrating 1,000,000 downloads of the Adoptees On podcast! Join us as we take a look back at our first episode together and talk through some of our changes of perspective over the last six and a half years. We also answer some of your...

230 | Marcy Axness, Ph.D. Today we are excited to welcome Marcy Axness, Ph.D.. This episode is a mix of a history lesson about adoptee activism and the psychological impacts of infant and mother separation. Marcy has her Ph.D. in Early Human Development, and brings a unique expertise and lens to the adopted person’s experience. We discuss what it’s like if we bring consciousness to our experiences and how we can be always moving towards healing but also that, unfortunately, there will...

229 | Tiffany Henness Today we get to introduce you to our friend, Tiffany Henness. Tiffany shares her story of growing up in an open adoption, and how it isn’t the panacea that many hold it up to be. We discuss how she came to explore race, adoption, and faith and what shifted her perspectives on all of those topics. Now, Tiffany is an adoption and racial literacy expert who writes, speaks, and leads others to unpack the complexities of these experiences. Full Show Notes Here This...

228 | Grace Kelly We have to admit this is the first featured guest we’ve had on the show who is not adopted. We are excited to introduce you to Grace Kelly, who has successfully had her adoption reversed in Australia and now works to help other Australians annul their adoptions. We discuss the impact having her adoption reversed has had on her personal healing journey and Grace also shares about the importance of our language, including why she doesn’t use the term adoptee. Full Show...

227 | Adoptee Remembrance Day Adoptee Remembrance Day is commemorated annually on October 30th. It is a day to remember our adoptee friends who have died by suicide. On this day we also acknowledge the adopted people who are without citizenship in the very country they were taken to as infants or children. We think of those who have suffered abuse at the hands of their adoptive parents and grieve those who have been murdered by the people who promised to give them a safe home. We mourn with...

226 | Harrison Mooney Today we are so honoured to introduce you to Harrison Mooney, author of the incredible new memoir, Invisible Boy, where he exposes the trauma of transracial adoption. Harrison shares with us why family preservation is so important to him, and how he was able to reconnect with his biological mother after a lengthy time of silence between them. We talk about the complexities of being in a situation where it didn’t feel safe to say the whole truth about adoption, and...

225 | Ethan Ferkiss Today we are joined by Ethan Ferkiss to share his heartwarming reunion story. Expecting rejection or indifference, Ethan wasn’t prepared for his search to end in what he calls the “jackpot scenario: a full-scale welcome”. But as you can guess, navigating new relationships with four adult siblings, his biological mother, and his biological father, has been a whirlwind and can be overwhelming at times. Full Show Notes Here This podcast is for educational and...

224 | [Healing Series] I Will Not Abandon Myself Janet Nordine, MS, LMFT, RPT-S is back to talk about adoptee self-worth. So many of us tell ourselves the story over and over of, “there must be something wrong with me because I wasn’t worth keeping”. Janet talks us through a new phrase we can say to ourselves, “I will not abandon myself when I need myself the most.” This episode is for you if you’ve ever felt like you weren’t enough. Let’s show up for ourselves, sometimes that’s all we’ve...

223 | Tony Corsentino We are honoured to introduce you to Tony Corsentino today! As a philosophy professor turned public librarian, Tony walks us through some of the best strategies he’s used to challenge the traditional adoption narrative. He also teaches us the differences between privacy and secrecy and he shares the importance of adoptees listening to the stories of others who have experienced severance from their family of origin. Full Show Notes Here This podcast is for...

222 | Kara Bos Kara Bos is one of the first adoptees to ever successfully win a paternity lawsuit in South Korea. Kara’s biological father was compelled by the courts to take a DNA test confirming his genetic connection to Kara which in turn allowed her to be added to the family registry as his daughter. We talk about the difficulties of disenfranchised grief she experienced when he died only six months after her court victory. Kara also shares about how there is room for us to be thankful...

221 | Haley Does DNA Testing In the final episode before our summer break, guest host Lisette Austin interviews Haley Radke! We are talking all about DNA testing: what made Haley finally take the plunge, which companies she chose to use, and about all the surprise feelings that came up. Haley also did this weird podcaster thing where she recorded her inner thoughts while spitting in the tubes… so we may have a few clips from that throughout the episode. We’ll see you back here in...

220 | Christina Romo Today guest host Lisette Austin speaks with Christina Romo, creator of the blog called Diary of a Not-So-Angry Asian Adoptee. Christina shares about her career path in the adoption world and how she has finally found a position that she feels aligns with her personal work in adoptee advocacy. Lisette and Christina discuss the complexities that come with being close with adoptive parents and family while coming to grips with the trauma and loss that is part of adoption....

219 | The Flourish Experience Today we are talking about The Flourish Experience. You’re going to hear from multiple people who participated in a year-long group focused in on adoptee community through writing and sharing together weekly. I hope what you hear is that connecting deeply with other adopted people is possible. So many of them share that by being vulnerable they’ve been able to be truly seen by their peers, and for some that’s brought a measure of healing. There have been many...