Mary Constance is an adoptee from Ohio. Mary is preparing to walk across America to bring attention to the inequity faced by adoptees in seeking access to our original birth certificates. Mentioned in the show: Ohio adoptee access to records: https://odh.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/odh/know-our-programs/vital-statistics/Adoption-File-Information/Adoption-File-Information The Chosen Baby: a pro-adoption childrens books by Valentina P Wasson, designed to help adoptive parents explain adoption to adopt...
Apr 03, 2022•1 hr 27 min
The host talks about her adoptive parents plans to run away with her, if her family had attempted to reclaim her.
Mar 30, 2022•15 min
Margaret is an adoptee from Ontario, Canada. Margaret is a kinship adoptee, who did not discover until she was older that her adoptive family is her family. She is the author of two books: Adoption: The Truth Comes Out, and Overwhelmed by God's Grace, Uncovering the Truth about Adoption. Margaret has a podcast: Maggie Closet Chats, on Spotify Mentioned in the podcast: Ontario, Canada adoptee access to records: www.ontario.ca/page/search-adoption-records#section-0 Origins Canada: www.originscanad...
Mar 27, 2022•1 hr 17 min
What can we do when we listen to a podcast and feel triggered by what we encounter?
Mar 21, 2022•11 min
The Georgia Alliance for Adoptee Rights was founded by Jamie Weiss and Courtney Humbaugh to advocate for the rights of all Georgia adoptees to unrestricted access to their original birth documents. Georgia Alliance for Adoptee Rights can be found at: Gaallianceforadopteerights.org* Info@gaallianceforadopteerights.org FB.com/gaadopteerights Instagram.com/gaadopteerights Mentioned in the show Georgia adoption law: Dfcs.georgia.gov/services/adoption, also Georgia Code 31-10-14 and Georgia Code 19-8...
Mar 20, 2022•53 min
Please join me as I speak with Jamie Weiss; professional photographer, writer and adoptee rights activist. She is one of the co-founders of the Georgia Alliance for Adoptee Rights. Jamie Weiss was born in Virginia, but adopted in the state of Georgia. Jamie can be found at: signedsealedadopted.com signedsealedadopted@gmail.com fb.com/signedsealedadopted instagram.com/signedsealedadopted Mentioned in the podcast: Georgia Adoption Law: Georgia is a closed state. Adoptees are not allowed unrestrict...
Mar 13, 2022•1 hr 28 min
Please join me as I speak with Emma Stevens, domestic adoptee and author of the newly released memoir, The Gathering Place. Emma's book can be found on Amazon, including on Audible, where Emma narrates her book. Emma is a U.S. domestic adoptee from birth. She has survived layers of trauma that have put her on multiple journeys. She developed the inner strength and courage to surmount the many struggles she faced. Emma is dedicated to helping redefine the narrative of adoption to include the enti...
Mar 06, 2022•1 hr 38 min
Daryn Watson was born and adopted in Alberta, Canada. Daryn is an Adoption Reunion Coach and also writes a blog, The Adoptee Mind. He has been a guest on Jennifer Dyan Ghostons podcast Once Upon a Time in Adopteeland, and on Julie Jackson and Richard Castles podcast Cut-off Genes. Daryn can be found at Adoption Reunion Coaching on Facebook, and on his blog, The Adoptee Mind (also on FB) Mentioned on the show: Once upon a time in adopteeland: www.onceuponatimeinadopteeland.com, episode 43 Cut-off...
Feb 27, 2022•1 hr 27 min
Anne is an adoptee from Nebraska. She is currently at work writing a fiction-ish novel that treats adoptees from an adoption-informed perspective. She is also participating in an anthology related to her membership in the group Flourish, headed by Pam Cordano and Anne Heffron. Mentioned in the show: Adoptee Chameleon: adoptees are sometimes described as chameleons, given we often learn to conceal ourselves in order to fit into our environment Kansas laws regarding adoptee access to documents: ww...
Feb 20, 2022•1 hr 25 min
Kirsten Weatherford was born and adopted in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has some very odd eligibility requirements for adoptees seeking access to their documents. Join me as Kirsten and I talk about these requirements, her personal journey in requesting her adoption file, and her efforts to be present for young adoptees. Kirsten is the author of the book Finding My Way Home. She was a guest on Haley Radkes podcast. Kirstens can be heard on episode 168 of Adoptees on, as part of the Estrangement S...
Feb 14, 2022•1 hr 29 min
Please join me as I talk with Deborah Yemm, author of the blog Missing Mom. Deborah is the child of adoptees, who sought to honor her parents and find her own history by applying for documents from the states of Tennessee and Texas. Deborahs story: Mentioned in the podcast: Tennessee Childrens' Home Society: an orphanage that existed in the state of Tennessee during the first half of the twentieth century. The Society is best known because of the practices of Georgia Tann, who ran the Memphis br...
Feb 06, 2022•1 hr 26 min
Jamie Nagy is an Illinois adoptee. Jamie lives in Ohio, with her husband and their two dogs. Jamie has a Masters degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Nonfiction. You can read some of Jamies' work at adoptiontriaddance.wordpress.com, and by going to openprairie.sdstate.edu Composing a Literary Adoption Memoir and Self Through Creative Nonfiction Memoir Writing (sdstate.edu) Mentioned on the show: Illinois laws regulating adoptee access to original records: Adoption Records - Adoption (i...
Jan 31, 2022•1 hr 36 min
Please join me as I speak with Oregon adoptee Christine Dechert. Christine participated in the advocacy movement that resulted in Oregon becoming one of only ten states in the US to have truly unrestricted access for adoptees to their original birth certificates. Christines family history is complex, as her mother was also adopted. While Oregons laws now allow adoptees to receive OBCs, the state of Montana, where Christines mother was born does not allow unrestricted access to adoptee documents....
Jan 24, 2022•1 hr 44 min
Please join me as I speak with Dr. Abby Hasberry, a transracial Maryland adoptee from a closed adoption. Dr Hasberry has a BS in African American Studies and Sociology, her MA in teaching K-12, and her PhD in curriculum and instruction. She is currently studying for her MEd to become a licensed marriage and family therapist specifically to address the lack of African-Amderican, adoption-experienced counselors. Mentioned in the interview: Mutual Contact Registry: a mutual contact registry is a re...
Jan 17, 2022•1 hr 28 min
Samantha is the daughter of Canadian parents. Her mother traveled to the United Kingdom to give birth, where Samantha was adopted by an American woman and her English husband. Listen as we talk about what requesting adoption documents is like in the UK, especially compared to requesting the same documents in the United States. Samantha is an artist and academic coach/dyslexia specialist. She has a BA in Metals Design, an MA in Visual Arts/Sculpture and a Post-Grad qualification in Dyslexia. She ...
Jan 09, 2022•1 hr 19 min
Hi! Welcome to another episode of The Adoption Files. Please join me as I talk with Lisa Ann about the challenges of being adopted in Iowa and seeking your documents. We discuss how so many of us must become detectives, utilizing DNA tests, learning to decipher the meaning of centimorgans and the perils of making contact with matches. Lisa Ann is a closed adoption adoptee from the Baby Scoop Era, who authors the blog and hosts the podcast: The Wandering Tree. These focus on Lisa's experiences of...
Jan 02, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Please join me as I discuss adoption and the closed state of Georgia with adoptee Courtney Humbaugh. Courtney was born on Christmas day in Augusta, Georgia and adopted five months later to a family in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2010 she began her journey to discover her roots and her birth story. In 2020, she petitioned the court system in Georgia for her adoption records. Ms. Humbaugh works in the public relations, media and marketing industry. She is a former television news reporter and most recent...
Dec 25, 2021•1 hr 9 min
Please join author and blogger Elle Cuardaigh and I for a bonus birthday episode! Elle is the author of the book The Tangled Red Thread, and participated in the adoptee anthology The Adoptee Survival Guide. She can be found at ellecuardaigh.com, where she blogs about adoption and her adoptee reality. We discuss a WTF moment; one that far too many adoptees face. Elle shares a wonderful article given to her by her mother on the day of their reunion. Be forewarned! We talk about the recent Texas ab...
Dec 20, 2021•1 hr 1 min
Lora K Joy is the author of two illustrated books: NoBody Looks Like Me: An Adoptee Experience, and Goodbye Hypervigilance: Healing Adoptee Worries. She can also be found on her blog My Adoptee Truth, and @adopteelorakjoy on Instagram. Lora was featured on episode 185 of Haley Radke's podcast Adoptees On. Lora was born and raised in Indiana. Please join as as Lora explains the Four Things that guided her search for identity and her experience with her adoption files. Resources: All the books! ma...
Dec 12, 2021•1 hr 15 min
Today I talk with Author and blogger Elle Cuardaigh. Please join us as Elle Cuardaigh and I visit dark places, discuss documents and enjoy talking each others ears off. Elle is the only person I know with crashing a funeral in her biography! Elle can be found at ellecuardaigh.com, where she blogs about her reality as an adopted person. She is the author of The Tanlged Red Thread, and participated int he adoptee anthology, The Adoptee Survivial Guide, edited by Lynn Grubb. Some of the things disc...
Dec 10, 2021•1 hr 33 min
Becky is a fellow Baby Scoop Era adoptee. Born in the state of Ohio, Becky is the Queen of Persistence. Please join us as we discuss her over THIRTY year pursuit of her documents and her identity; plus, antique tractors. Becky Conrad Drinnen is co-facilitator for Adoption Network Clevelands DNA Discoveries support group. She has written articles tor two adoption anthologies, Adoption in the Social Media Age and The Adoptee Survival Guide. She has also been a guest on Haley Radke's wonderful Adop...
Dec 06, 2021•1 hr 32 min
Please join Lorah Gerald and I as we talk about requesting adoptee records from the state of Tennessee, and the threat of felony charges associated with attempts to connect with family. Lorah is an adoptee, a writer, Kundalini Yoga Instructor, Reiki Master and ordained minister. Lorah can be found at LorahGerald.com, and as the @theadoptedchameleon on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. in addition to her many other activities, Lorah provides virtual yoga classes, with a sliding scale for...
Nov 29, 2021•1 hr 3 min
Jude Conn is from the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area. She is a certified professional massage therapist and Reiki Master as well as a contemporary spiritual teacher and holistic life coach. She is also a Closed, Private, Stranger Adoption at two days old. Jude was adopted in the state of Virginia. Please join me and Jude as we discuss the barriers that exist in procuring adoptee records from Virginia, and how we are affected when we are told that we are the result of a sexual assault. Vi...
Nov 21, 2021•1 hr 4 min
Michelle Madden is a fellow Baby Scoop era adoptee. She is also a mom, a Reading Specialist who has been working as a Special Education teacher for many years, and a marvelous person. Join us as we talk about the crucial nature of medical histories, and the difficulties of navigating not just one, but two countries bureaucracies in her search for answers. Baby Scoop Era: The Baby Scoop Era was a period of time from roughly 1945 to the 1970s. The Baby Scoop Era was characterized by the shaming of...
Nov 14, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Julie Ryan McGue is the author of the award winning memoir Twice a Daugher; a Search for Identity, Family and Belonging. To say her book is well-written does not convey how beautifully Julie communicates her journey as she navigates the complex emotional interactions involved in obtaining answers for herself and her twin sister. Julie Ryan Mcgue can be found on Facebook @juliemcguewrites, on Instagram @juliermcgue and on Twitter @juliermcgue Resources Catholic Charities: Catholic Charities provi...
Nov 08, 2021•51 min
For my dear friend, Jean. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/10/30/adoptee-remembrance-day-2/
Nov 01, 2021•7 min
I wrote this in memory of my adoptive, adopted little brother, who I miss every day. Like me, he was not told as a child that we were adopted. I miss him every day. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/10/29/adoptee-remembrance-day/
Nov 01, 2021•4 min
TThis was written as a kind of companiion piece to my interview with Andrea Steiner Coates. I hope you will take a moment to listen. Thank you! this episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/10/28/total-strangers/
Nov 01, 2021•3 min
Welcome to the Adoption Files Podcast! Today my guest is Andrea Steiner Coates. Andrea is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a DNA Search Angel, and a lovely person who is a staunch Adoptee Advocate. Andrea was instrumental in my search for my paternal family. Today we talk about what a search angel is, how they differ from an intermediary, and what kinds of resources exist to assist people in their searches. We also discuss the importance of being prepared for DNA test results, the laws in the ...
Nov 01, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 3
This episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/07/25/social-worker-interviews/ Many people are unaware that not all adopted people have access to their original adoption files. As a person adopted from the United Kingdom, I have access. What I found in my files has caused me to have serious questions about adoption practices. This is a quick listen from some of my initial reactions to social worker notes found in my file. Thanks for listening!...
Oct 26, 2021•7 min
