Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories

Jackson: Between Two Worlds

Jackson TerKeurst is an author, speaker, and adoptee originally from Liberia, West Africa. At seven years old, he was separated from his family during the Liberian civil war and spent years living in an orphanage. At age 15, Jackson came to the United States as part of the African Children’s Choir, where his journey eventually led to his adoption by an American family. Despite arriving with limited formal education, he defied the odds and became the first person in his family line to graduate from college. Today, Jackson shares his remarkable story to inspire hope, resilience, and purpose in others. Drawing from his experiences of loss, displacement, adoption, and personal transformation, he speaks on identity, belonging, faith, and overcoming adversity. He is the author of The Only Way Forward Is Back and lives in Tennessee with his wife, Amanda, and their children. Season 12 Book: The Adoption Para [https://www.talexblum.com/]dox by Jean Kelly Widner [https://adoptionparadox.com/] Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-podcast-event-with-atmom-friends-in-minneapolis-sept-11th-13th-tickets-1991597492713] Sign up to be part of our mailing list! [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE [https://patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: Adoptees Connect [https://adopteesconnect.com/] Adoptee Mentoring Society [https://www.adopteementorship.org/] Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/] Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/firesideadoptees/] Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/] Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate [https://mosesfarrow.com/] National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted [https://kristalparke.net/] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Anne-Grete: The Long Journey Home

Although born and adopted in London in 1967, Anne-Grete is a Norwegian adoptee. Her birth mother happened to be there when she gave birth, and her adoptive dad was stationed at the Norwegian Embassy at the time. She had two siblings, both adopted from different cities in Norway. After moving around the world with her family, she came back to Norway for good when she was 16. After finishing her studies and moving between jobs and homes several times, she finally settled in Mandal with her husband and their cat. Anne-Grete was a "happy adoptee" until she reached her fifties, and had always associated her lack of roots and connection with her nomadic life in the foreign service. After being reunited with her birth mother for nine years in her twenties and early thirties, the reunion ended. It took 24 years and a better understanding of the consequences of adoption for her to try to reconnect with her. At the same time, she finally felt the need to find the other half and has connected with siblings on her birth father's side. She is still a secret in her biological family, but hopes that will change over time. Finding the organization Adopterte played a large part in her coming out of the fog, and after being a member for two years, she was elected to the board. Adopterte is a non-profit organization working to raise awareness about the repercussions of adoption and spread information about the history and practice of adoption in Norway. They arrange meetups two to three times a year and also have a closed Facebook group where members can share their experiences and find adoptees in their area. Their website is www.adopterte.no [http://www.adopterte.no/] Anne-Grete on YouTube [https://youtu.be/tCO36fLiJK8] Season 12 Book: The Adoption Para [https://www.talexblum.com/]dox by Jean Kelly Widner [https://adoptionparadox.com/] Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-podcast-event-with-atmom-friends-in-minneapolis-sept-11th-13th-tickets-1991597492713] Sign up to be part of our mailing list! [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE [https://patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: Adoptees Connect [https://adopteesconnect.com/] Adoptee Mentoring Society [https://www.adopteementorship.org/] Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/] Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/firesideadoptees/] Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/] Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate [https://mosesfarrow.com/] National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted [https://kristalparke.net/] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Samantha: Reunion, Loss, and Self-Acceptance

Samantha (Sam) Shields was born in San Francisco in 1970 and adopted from foster care as an infant. She grew up in nearby Napa knowing she was adopted, and provided many of the same platitudes as a lot of other adopted people: She wanted you to have a better life. She did what was best for you because she loved you. But Sam was certain something was wrong with her. Why else had she been placed for adoption? Failure to bond with her adoptive mom and her adoptive dad's death when she was seven meant that Sam often fantasized about meeting her original mom. After a years-long search, Sam finally located her original mom in 1997 at the age of twenty-seven and was reunited with her until her mother's death in 2020. The relationship was both challenging and rewarding. Both she and her original mom carried the shame of what happened, making self-acceptance hard. Studies back this up: many adoption reunions break down within the first few years after making contact, and after eight years nearly half of those in an adoption reunion have abandoned the relationship altogether. Ultimately, what allowed Sam to find acceptance in herself was by facing her father, the man who had sexually violated her mother. Sam is currently at work on a memoir about her experience of reuniting with her original mother. Season 12 Book: The Adoption Para [https://www.talexblum.com/]dox by Jean Kelly Widner [https://adoptionparadox.com/] Sign up to be part of our mailing list! [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE [https://patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: Adoptees Connect [https://adopteesconnect.com/] Adoptee Mentoring Society [https://www.adopteementorship.org/] Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/] Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/firesideadoptees/] Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/] Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate [https://mosesfarrow.com/] National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted [https://kristalparke.net/] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gabriel: Dance, Identity, and Healing

Originally from Chicago, Gabriel is an adult adoptee, street dancer, reconnecting P’urhépecha native, founder of MoFundamentals - the only foster-adoptee-led dance program in the U.S.- and artivist dedicated to highlighting the resiliency of the foster-adoptee community in Los Angeles. His work includes visibilizing powerful narratives rooted in foster care memory while honoring P’urhépecha and street dance culture in conversation with lessons of manhood; experiencing houselessness; being his own financial safety net; and, through dance healing, processing the loss of his little sister. Across 14 years, his contributions at the intersection of dance artivism, healing practices, and foster youth advocacy have led to: training at intensives hosted by Rennie Harris (founder of the first and longest running hip-hop dance touring company), hosting the first foster-adoptee dance festival in the U.S., representing LA City District 1 as an ACTIVATE Cultural Policy Fellow, recruitment to pilot re-entry through performing arts programs, and being a 2022 DanceUSA Fellow, and being a 2024-2025 MAP Grantee to visibilize P’urhépecha, foster-adoptee, street dance narratives. Check out our MoFundamentals website here [https://mofundamentals.wixsite.com/welcome] Check out our work here! [https://linktr.ee/mofundamentals] Season 12 Book: The Adoption Para [https://www.talexblum.com/]dox by Jean Kelly Widner [https://adoptionparadox.com/] Sign up to be part of our mailing list! [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE [https://patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: Adoptees Connect [https://adopteesconnect.com/] Adoptee Mentoring Society [https://www.adopteementorship.org/] Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/] Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/firesideadoptees/] Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/] Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate [https://mosesfarrow.com/] National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted [https://kristalparke.net/] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Lynn: Not a Blank Slate

Born & adopted in 1970 as an infant, Lynn always knew she was adopted. Told the sweet stories of being chosen & special. Lynn’s story later revealed many secrets & lies. Lynn grew up in a middle-class family with both parents, teachers & a brother 8 years older, biological to her adoptive parents. The secret revealed at 16 yrs old was that this was a kinship adoption & she’d known her birth mother her whole life; only as a cousin, not her birth mother. So she didn’t have a reunion but more of a reintroduction to her BM. Through DNA, she later found her BF in 2019 at age 49 & the last puzzle piece she desired for many years. Only to bring more secrets & lies revealed. This reunion started well, but has unfortunately faded. Both relationships with BM & BF are broken with a second rejection. Lynn is also an adoptive parent with her husband of 37 years & shares the journey with her daughter’s birth mother in an open adoption. Lynn’s heart is for clear truth for adoptees & education for adoptive parents before adopting. It’s not a blank slate.   Season 12 Book: The Adoption Para [https://www.talexblum.com/]dox by Jean Kelly Widner [https://adoptionparadox.com/] Sign up to be part of our mailing list! [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE [https://patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink] community. The next meeting will be Saturday, June 6th, at 1 pm ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: Adoptees Connect [https://adopteesconnect.com/] Adoptee Mentoring Society [https://www.adopteementorship.org/] Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/] Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/firesideadoptees/] Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/] Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate [https://mosesfarrow.com/] National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted [https://kristalparke.net/] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.