Alison was 16 when she found out she was adopted... and her parents weren't the one's to break it to her. Listen as she recounts her discovery, journey of finding her parents in a small Queensland country town and how it can take decades to accept your story. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. You will also have a first-hand insight on the psyche of an adoptee and other issues surrounding adoption in Aus...
Apr 17, 2023•44 min•Season 4Ep. 3
This episode is dedicated to my absent father. He's done a lot for me even when he hasn't. Take a listen as I explore the 'father complex' coined by Freud and Jung (Daddy Issues, coined by millennials).I also read an open letter to my absent adoptive father. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. You will also have a first-hand insight on the psyche of an adoptee and other issues surrounding adoption in Aust...
Apr 11, 2023•34 min•Season 4Ep. 2
It's been 4 years since I started this journey and we've come along way. But it's time to give it one last time. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. You will also have a first-hand insight on the psyche of an adoptee and other issues surrounding adoption in Australia. Find this project easily on socials @LedByAHeartstring on Instagram, @HeartstringPod on Twitter and you can easily find the page on Faceboo...
Apr 03, 2023•25 min•Season 4Ep. 1
This is your sign to slow down and take a break. In a world that doesn't sleep, it's easy to get caught up in it all. So, take a break. That's what I'm doing and I called the shots myself. This hiatus also serves as a purpose to slow down, process and digest the episodes of my podcast that have been release in the last month, but also the last 30 episodes that have been release as a whole. Don't be afraid to reach out for help. Content Warning: This podcast contains strong themes that may trigge...
Jun 29, 2022•15 min•Season 3Ep. 6
JOURNEY UPDATE: I've found a new address and a photo on Facebook that my body reacted to in a way in which is just knew this person is related to me. Content Warning: This podcast contains strong themes that may trigger emotional distress to some listeners. If you or anyone you know are experiencing distress of any nature, please do not hesitate to find professional support. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth fa...
Jun 29, 2022•18 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Anne is a current kinship carer in Queensland in 2022. She shares her experience as a carer and chats about the urgent need for Queenslanders and Australians to open up their hearts and homes to care for this country's most vulnerable children. Content Warning: This podcast contains strong themes that may trigger emotional distress to some listeners. If you or anyone you know are experiencing distress of any nature, please do not hesitate to find professional support. Subscribe and stick around,...
Jun 26, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 4
A passionate advocate for adoption and an adoptee herself, Vicki understands all sides of adoption, from the good times to the struggles. Whilst living overseas in Fiji as an expat, Vicki fostered a child. As her partner's business took them back to Australia Vicki heartbreakingly had to leave him in Fiji. Back in Australia, Vicki had numerous failed attempts at in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and natural conception, so she became an adoptive parent to two children. Vicki is passionate about giving...
Jun 19, 2022•48 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Dara Read, author of 'We Love You Hundreds and Thousands' chats about her personal journey of reconnecting with her birth parents and how this led to her writing a vibrant children's picture book. We also chat about the special connection the book provided her and her birth family after the visit. Content Warning: This podcast contains strong themes that may trigger emotional distress to some listeners. If you or anyone you know are experiencing distress of any nature, please do not hesitate to ...
Jun 12, 2022•48 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Can you believe it's Season 3?! It's been such a long time since we last spoke and a lot has happened. So I catch you up with the last couple of months in my life from winning a Bronze at the Australian Podcast Awards to finding new information that will lead me to my birth family. Content Warning: This podcast contains strong themes that may trigger emotional distress to some listeners. If you or anyone you know are experiencing distress of any nature, please do not hesitate to find professiona...
Jun 05, 2022•27 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Jonah takes you back to listen to some iconic mosts of the podcast as we celebrate 1 Year of Led By A Heartstring! Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. You will also have a first-hand insight on the psyche of an adoptee and other issues surrounding adoption in Australia. Find this project easily on socials @LedByAHeartstring on Instagram, @HeartstringPod on Twitter and you can easily find the page on Faceb...
Jul 05, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. You will also have a first-hand insight on the psyche of an adoptee and other issues surrounding adoption in Australia. Find this project easily on socials @LedByAHeartstring on Instagram, @HeartstringPod on Twitter and you can easily find the page on Facebook for other live updates as they happen. Led By A Heartstring is a 'Long Way Entertainment' production and is rec...
Jun 28, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Joining me today to discuss Aaron, David and Emmett’s storyline in Australia’s longest running and one of the most famous TV soapies, Neighbours is Executive Producer, Jason Herbison. Jason also has personal and deep connections to adoption which we will chat about later in the episode, so stay tuned for that. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. You will also have a first-hand insight on the psyche of an ...
Jun 13, 2021•16 min•Season 2Ep. 9
During discussions with people in my support network, I came across the knowledge and learnings of how the brain connects and controls how your body reacts to certain events. These reactions form from very early ages that you may not even remember clearly as a memory. I wanted to delve into the topic of neuroscience as this genuinely interested me and made me wonder. I didn’t necessarily want to do this episode on my own, so I invited neuropsychologist, Dr. Hannah Korrel (AKA. No Bull Pysch ) to...
Jun 06, 2021•36 min•Season 2Ep. 8
We all face the birth lottery when we are welcomed to this world. We don’t get to choose the family we grow up with or where we are born or what colour our eyes are. I think most people in this world have dreams and ideas of how different their life would be growing up elsewhere. We are all in different socioeconomic regions with different benefits and downfalls. For adoptees, we can go through this lottery many times. Sometimes our families do choose us. Today I chat with social work student, K...
May 30, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Steph from Melbourne discusses the difficulties adoptees face if they aren't fully made aware of their birth culture or heritage isn't incorporated into the households they grow up in. Growing up she was taunted and called names above her darker skin tone, but never really knew why. It wasn't until she was an adult that she completed a DNA test to find out her origins. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. ...
May 24, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Phoebe was adopted from an orphanage in war torn Vietnam - at just ten days old. When they returned to Australia, Phoebe’s parents found out she was cross-eyed and she required several operations over many years under the late Fred Hollows to correct her eyesight. Phoebe is also an ambassador for Adopt Change Australia and Shake It Up Foundation . Listen as she describes what is was like growing up as an inter-country adoptee from Vietnam, growing up in rural New South Wales, Australia. Subscrib...
May 16, 2021•41 min•Season 2Ep. 5
As an adoptee, we all have that scenario in our head that the search and reunion will have the perfect outcome, where all of those questions will be answered, the feelings will be mutually happy, internal wounds healed and our culture reconnected with us. We imagine it will be like those years spent apart never happened. For some that’s not so much the case. For me, I’ve found many obstacles and roadblocks in my search and I’m still awaiting the reunion. What I’ve learnt or gathered throughout t...
May 09, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Subconsciously I have felt that my relationship with my adoptive mother Carol has changed over the last 6 months whilst searching for my birth mother. I’ve sort of felt a guilt, or an awkwardness form between us during this journey. It may and truly just be one-sided for me feeling this but there has been a shift in dynamics for myself. Carol returns to share her perspective on this last 6 months of the journey. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step...
May 02, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Content Warning / Trigger Warning: Suicide, mental illness, substance abuse, addiction LIFELINE 13 11 14 Throughout the closing months of 2020, Jonah was discovering a lot of information about his adoption and his past. Going into this journey, he felt like he was prepared for what was to come, however the news surrounding his conception rocked his world and Jonah found himself spiralling down into a dark mindset of suicidal thoughts. This episode is designed to continue the conversation of suic...
Apr 25, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Hello, welcome to Season 2 of Led By A Heartstring! Jonah shares his last 6 months of investigation to find his mother and how he wants to shift listeners focus away from his story and onto other adoptees experiences in Australia and New Zealand. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode this season you will have a deeper insight on the psyche of an adoptee and other issues surrounding adoption in Australia. Find this project easily on socials @LedByAHeartstring on Instagra...
Apr 18, 2021•12 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. You will also have a first-hand insight on the psyche of an adoptee and other issues surrounding adoption in Australia. Find this project easily on socials @LedByAHeartstring on Instagram, @HeartstringPod on Twitter and you can easily find the page on Facebook for other live updates as they happen. Led By A Heartstring is recorded in Brisbane, Australia. New episodes of...
Sep 20, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 11
This week Jonah explains what an intermediary service provides for adoptees and how he is utilising it to search and reunite with is birth mother. After receiving the documents back in last weeks episode that outlined his name before adoption and his birth mothers name, he feels using an intermediary will enable him to follow through on any leads in the most civil manner. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth famil...
Sep 13, 2020•13 min•Season 1Ep. 10
We're giving you this very personal insight on the moment Jonah called Carol announcing he had received a photograph of his birth mother holding him. Have a listen as Jonah's adoptive mum shows her support and love for Jonah to kick off the next step in this journey. Subscribe and stick around, because by the end of every episode, we will be one step closer to connecting with my birth family. You will also have a first-hand insight on the psyche of an adoptee and other issues surrounding adoptio...
Sep 08, 2020•7 min
WE HAVE NEWS! Jonah just received his adoption records back from the Adoption & Permanent Care Services and he goes through and reacts to the information for the first time, live on the podcast! You don't want to miss this very exciting episode as he reacts to seeing this information in fact & figure. Towards the end of the episode, he shares a very special moment as he see's his birth mother's face for the very first time through a photograph that was provided to him. Subscribe and stic...
Sep 06, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 9
It's time to start applying for more information on Jonah's adoption. Throughout the next half of the podcast season, Jonah will take you through his 'search and reunion' process to try and find his birth family! This episode, we follow along as Jonah fills out and files for his adoption records from the Adoption & Permanent Care Services in Queensland. He hopes that there is enough information from these records to lead him to the next step in the journey of actually contacting his birth fa...
Aug 30, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 8
As many of you know, I am very open about my adoption and I believe that’s all thanks to my adoptive mum Carol. I spoke with her in Episode 2 and you can take a listen to the conversation now or after you have your questions answered here on this very special bonus episode of Led By A Heartstring. Being open about my adoption has allowed for many people to reach out and share their stories, experiences and personal lives with me, as well as others curious about the adoption experience. Last week...
Aug 23, 2020•17 min
Jonah is joined by the Chief Executive Officer of Adopt Change Australia, Renee Carter to discuss the latest numbers in out of home care across Australia, issues in which Adopt Change are focussing on at present and how change can be made in the community to support children who are seeking a healthy environment to grow and thrive in. Renee is passionate about influencing child welfare ‘policy and practice’ to deliver timely and effective outcomes for children. Through garnering community, secto...
Aug 09, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Jonah is joined by Jane Sliwka, a post adoption practitioner at Jigsaw Queensland, to chat about the support that is available for adoptees, as well as what to expect searching and reuniting with birth family. Jane is a post adoption practitioner at Jigsaw Queensland Post-Adoption Centre. Jane has had a long-term affiliation with Jigsaw Queensland, having volunteered in the past for the organisation and served on the Management Committee. Jane holds a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and a Maste...
Aug 02, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Jonah has a discussion with Lauren about the importance of self-identity as an emerging adult. Lauren proves that Jonah has aspects of identity for himself at the present and it can change in different periods of one’s life. In the second half of the episode, they both advocate for mental health and touch on why Lauren encouraged Jonah to seek counsel before launching this podcast and starting the journey of finding his birth family. Lauren currently works with WhyNot, a platform that helps ampl...
Jul 26, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Jonah interviews his school friend, Ellaine to compare the life and family makeup of an adopted and non-adopted person. They share memories of going to school together and when Ellaine and their friends first found out Jonah was adopted and how they handle the conversations regarding adoption with him. Jonah also talks about the white picket fence between adoptees and their friends which is explored by 'The Silencing of Adoptees' and how he feels jealous of them every time he sees them. Content ...
Jul 19, 2020•27 min•Season 1Ep. 4
