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

Jacqueline, now 63 and living in Cape Town, South Africa, was born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1962, following a relationship between her English-born biological mother, a professional actress on contract to a theatre company in Nairobi, and her Welsh and Irish biological father, a radio announcer in Nairobi. Following Jacqueline's birth, and the abandonment of her and her biological mother by her biological father, her biological mother followed him to Zimbabwe, but he refused involvement or responsibility. At Jacqueline's biological mother's father's "pleading" with her to "keep the baby", she returned to her acting career, subjecting Jacqueline to 16 months of severe abuse and neglect, which resulted in her being adopted at 16 months in Zimbabwe. While her physical needs were very well met within her adoptive family, her emotional needs were neglected, her manifest trauma being strictly discouraged, and the emotional abuse was perpetuated. Following a lifetime of fear/anxiety, specifically relationship-related, and recurring severe despair/depression, Jacqueline's belief, and message to fellow adoptees and healthcare professionals working with adoption-related and general childhood trauma, is this: sometimes the trauma is too early, too severe and too prolonged for healing to be possible, but the cycle of abuse can be broken. Jacqueline lives the proof that acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness are possible. She has broken the cycles of neglect and abuse, evident in her relationship with her daughter and son, with whom she has a relationship of deep love, mutual respect, and much joy and care. Season 11: Adoptee Memoirs - books in order: Practically Still a Virgin by Monica Hall [https://www.monicahall.com/] You Can't Get Rid of Me by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault [https://anamcara-press.com/product/you-cant-get-rid-of-me/] Unspoken by Liz Harvie [https://www.amazon.com/Unspoken-Liz-Harvie/dp/183770046X] Sign up for our mailing list [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] to get updates and the Eventbrite [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-podcast-event-with-atmom-special-guests-tickets-1413096101479?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl] for our September 12th & 13th Washington, D.C. Event! Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be on Saturday, July 12th, @ 1 PM ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: S12F Helping Adoptees [https://www.s12f.co/philanthropy-and-grants/]Gregory Luce and Adoptees Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/]Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411791922534076]Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/]Moses Farrow [https://mosesfarrow.com/] - Trauma therapist and advocate National Suicide Prevention Lifeline [https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/] – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Unraveling Adoption [https://unravelingadoption.com/about/] with Beth Syverson Adoptees Connect with Pamela Karanova [https://adopteesconnect.com/2018/03/29/connecting-with-adult-adoptees-by-pamela-karanova/] Because She Was Adopted by Kristal Parke [https://kristalparke.net/about] Dear Amy, letters to Amy Coney Barrett [https://thedearamyproject.com/]. A project by Meika Rouda Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?fan_landing=true] To support the show - Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast#:~:text=About%20Adoption%3A%20The%20Making%20of,listeners%20all%20over%20the%20world.].

Sariah is a Chinese Adoptee adopted by a White American Mormon family and recently left the Mormon faith to find herself and to find her birth family.  Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of suicidal ideation, which may be distressing for some listeners. Season 11: Adoptee Memoirs - books in order: Practically Still a Virgin by Monica Hall [https://www.monicahall.com/] You Can't Get Rid of Me by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault [https://anamcara-press.com/product/you-cant-get-rid-of-me/] Unspoken by Liz Harvie [https://www.amazon.com/Unspoken-Liz-Harvie/dp/183770046X] Sign up for our mailing list [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] to get updates and the Eventbrite [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-podcast-event-with-atmom-special-guests-tickets-1413096101479?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl] for our September 12th & 13th Washington, D.C. Event! Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be on Saturday, July 12th, @ 1 PM ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: S12F Helping Adoptees [https://www.s12f.co/philanthropy-and-grants/]Gregory Luce and Adoptees Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/]Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411791922534076]Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/]Moses Farrow [https://mosesfarrow.com/] - Trauma therapist and advocate National Suicide Prevention Lifeline [https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/] – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Unraveling Adoption [https://unravelingadoption.com/about/] with Beth Syverson Adoptees Connect with Pamela Karanova [https://adopteesconnect.com/2018/03/29/connecting-with-adult-adoptees-by-pamela-karanova/] Because She Was Adopted by Kristal Parke [https://kristalparke.net/about] Dear Amy, letters to Amy Coney Barrett [https://thedearamyproject.com/]. A project by Meika Rouda Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?fan_landing=true] To support the show - Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast#:~:text=About%20Adoption%3A%20The%20Making%20of,listeners%20all%20over%20the%20world.].

Carol was born in Washington, DC, relinquished at birth in 1960, subsequently adopted in 1961 by a family who had adopted another daughter the year before. She began her reunion in 2017 by finding out she was the baby sister of 3 half sisters, 2 full sisters, and her father by DNA.  Season 11: Adoptee Memoirs - books in order: Practically Still a Virgin by Monica Hall [https://www.monicahall.com/] You Can't Get Rid of Me by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault [https://anamcara-press.com/product/you-cant-get-rid-of-me/] Unspoken by Liz Harvie [https://www.amazon.com/Unspoken-Liz-Harvie/dp/183770046X] Sign up for our mailing list [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] to get updates and the Eventbrite - (soon to be published) - for our September 12th & 13th Washington, D.C. Event! Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be on Saturday, July 12th, @ 1 PM ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: S12F Helping Adoptees [https://www.s12f.co/philanthropy-and-grants/]Gregory Luce and Adoptees Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/]Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411791922534076]Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/]Moses Farrow [https://mosesfarrow.com/] - Trauma therapist and advocate National Suicide Prevention Lifeline [https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/] – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Unraveling Adoption [https://unravelingadoption.com/about/] with Beth Syverson Adoptees Connect with Pamela Karanova [https://adopteesconnect.com/2018/03/29/connecting-with-adult-adoptees-by-pamela-karanova/] Because She Was Adopted by Kristal Parke [https://kristalparke.net/about] Dear Amy, letters to Amy Coney Barrett [https://thedearamyproject.com/]. A project by Meika Rouda Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?fan_landing=true] To support the show - Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast#:~:text=About%20Adoption%3A%20The%20Making%20of,listeners%20all%20over%20the%20world.].

Cameron Lee Small, MS, LPCC, is a licensed clinical counselor, transracial adoptee, and mental health advocate based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was born in Korea and was relinquished into foster care at age three. He was then adopted in 1984 by a family in the United States. His private practice, Therapy Redeemed, specializes in the mental health needs of adoptees and their families wherever they may be in their adoption journey. His work has been featured in Christianity Today, the National Council for Adoption, and the Center for Adoption Support and Education. To find Cameron Lee Small: Therapy Redeemed [https://therapyredeemed.com/about/] Season 11: Adoptee Memoirs (begins on June 10th) - next books in order: Practically Still a Virgin by Monica Hall [https://www.monicahall.com/] You Can't Get Rid of Me by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault [https://anamcara-press.com/product/you-cant-get-rid-of-me/] Unspoken by Liz Harvie [https://www.amazon.com/Unspoken-Liz-Harvie/dp/183770046X] Sign up for our mailing list [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] to get updates and the Eventbrite - (soon to be published) - for our September 12th & 13th Washington, D.C. Event! Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be on Saturday, June 7th, @ 1 PM ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: S12F Helping Adoptees [https://www.s12f.co/philanthropy-and-grants/]Gregory Luce and Adoptees Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/]Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411791922534076]Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/]Moses Farrow [https://mosesfarrow.com/] - Trauma therapist and advocate National Suicide Prevention Lifeline [https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/] – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Unraveling Adoption [https://unravelingadoption.com/about/] with Beth Syverson Adoptees Connect with Pamela Karanova [https://adopteesconnect.com/2018/03/29/connecting-with-adult-adoptees-by-pamela-karanova/] Because She Was Adopted by Kristal Parke [https://kristalparke.net/about] Dear Amy, letters to Amy Coney Barrett [https://thedearamyproject.com/]. A project by Meika Rouda Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?fan_landing=true] To support the show - Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast#:~:text=About%20Adoption%3A%20The%20Making%20of,listeners%20all%20over%20the%20world.].

Sandi Morgan Caesar is a transnational adoptee. She was born Cristina Rodriguez in Panamá to a 14-year-old girl who parented her for most of her 1st year. Ultimately, she was placed for adoption by her maternal grandmother without the knowledge or consent of her first mother. Sandi was adopted by a Black US Air Force family stationed in Panamá at the time. She was naturalized as a US citizen and then brought to the US at 3 years old. It was about this time that she asked her mom why they didn't have the same face. She grew up in Dayton, Ohio, with older siblings (biological to her adoptive father). Although she thought finding family in Panamá would be impossible, Sandi reunited with her birthmother and maternal family in 2004. Sandi holds a B.S. degree in Human Development from Howard University, an M.S.W. from Indiana University, and has worked in child welfare most of her career. Sign up for our mailing list [https://www.adoptionthemakingofme.com/] to get updates and the Eventbrite - (soon to be published) - for our September 12th & 13th Washington, D.C. Event! Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be on Saturday, June 7th, @ 1 PM ET. RESOURCES for Adoptees: S12F Helping Adoptees [https://www.s12f.co/philanthropy-and-grants/]Gregory Luce and Adoptees Rights Law [https://adopteerightslaw.com/]Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411791922534076]Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement [https://www.lizdebetta.com/]Moses Farrow [https://mosesfarrow.com/] - Trauma therapist and advocate National Suicide Prevention Lifeline [https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/] – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988. Unraveling Adoption [https://unravelingadoption.com/about/] with Beth Syverson Adoptees Connect with Pamela Karanova [https://adopteesconnect.com/2018/03/29/connecting-with-adult-adoptees-by-pamela-karanova/] Because She Was Adopted by Kristal Parke [https://kristalparke.net/about] Dear Amy, letters to Amy Coney Barrett [https://thedearamyproject.com/]. A project by Meika Rouda Support the show [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast?fan_landing=true] To support the show - Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/themakingofmepodcast#:~:text=About%20Adoption%3A%20The%20Making%20of,listeners%20all%20over%20the%20world.].