Podcasts by Who Am I Really?

221 - Chile's Children of Silence from 2023-12-09T00:15

John, from Bowling Green, Kentucky grew up in Houston, Texas questioning why he looked different from his parents. When he asked about himself as a baby, his parents broke down. His adoption fr...

220 - Everybody Was Hiding The Black Piece from 2023-12-02T00:15

Bethany, from Gaithersburg, Maryland could see differences in herself and her white family, but her parents explained to those differences away and she believed what she was told.

Unexpect...

219 - I Was Really Happy They Were Together from 2023-11-25T00:15

Tracy, from Ottawa, Canada lived in a unique situation with a mother who was the disciplinarian in their home. When Tracy found her birth family, she was shocked to see how much she resembled he...

218 - I Could See Myself In Everyone from 2023-11-18T00:15

Mike, from Modesto, California, is a self-proclaimed introvert who was raised by a family of extroverted performers. With his adopted brothers, help Mike located his birth family, was well recei...

217 - Do I Just Let It Go? from 2023-11-11T00:15

Barbara who called me from Grand Rapids, Michigan, grew up an emotional child adopted by two refugees of war. When she found her birth mother, Barbara felt an immediate connection, struggled to ...

216 - The Long Shot from 2023-11-04T00:15

John, from Southern California, learned at 10 years old he was adopted. But he didn't do anything with the information for four decades while he lived a dream playing the game of basketball as a...

215 - Taking My Power Back Was Incredible from 2023-10-28T00:15

Becky, from Sydney, Ohio, said she has always searched for someone who resembled herself. When she found her birth mother, she was wounded by the woman's fear reaction to having been found after...

214 - Letting Go Of Old Resentment from 2023-10-14T00:15

Elianna who called me from Santa Cruz, California, said growing up her family moved frequently, which taught her it was easy to uproot and restart.

When her adopted brother triggered her ...

213 - Why Lie About A Human Being? from 2023-10-07T00:15

Linda, who called me from St. Petersburg, Florida, said that when her adoptive mother found herself single parenting her two daughters, they moved to the south where her family shunned the child...

212 - Forbidden Roots from 2023-09-30T00:15

Fred called me from outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, near lake Michigan. Fred grew up an only child loved and supported by his parents, but sometimes feeling out of place and misdirected by them wh...

211 - The Gift He Gave Me from 2023-09-23T00:15

Kamina called me from Dubai, but she grew up in Texas. Kamina said she was always confused about why she didn't look like her adoptive family and no one would ever admit she was adopted.

...

210 - Not Begging, Just Moving On from 2023-09-16T00:15

Trish from Arlington, Texas had open access to her adoption records which provided the information she needed to find her birth mother. But just because she was found didn't mean the woman wante...

167 - We Had Two Close Encounters from 2021-12-18T06:00

Today my guest is Micheleana who lives outside of Kansas city in Lawrence, Kansas. Micheleana's early life was tumultuous after her parents divorced. Her adoptive mother passed away suddenly, and s...

166 - I Never Knew Nature vs Nurture from 2021-12-11T06:00

Today you're going to meet Michael who called me from Atlanta, Georgia. Michael grew up with adoptive parents who were functional alcoholics which meant they had a dysfunctional home with a narciss...

165 - The Right Time To Be Found from 2021-12-04T06:00

Elisa lives outside of Philadelphia. She shares her story of the DNA test. She completed to learn more about her heritage that surprisingly linked her to her birth mother. The woman was lifelong ...

164 - Adoptees Thriving from 2021-11-27T06:00

Simon from the United Kingdom, knew he was adopted from as early as he can remember. When he finally decided to search for his birth mother, he had a flash of anger about the toy. The woman left h...

163 - It's All About Connections from 2021-11-20T06:00

Debbie lives outside of Portland, Oregon. Her parents adopted her and her brother too soon after tragedy struck their family. Debbie found her roots in Kansas, in a small town where the grape vine...

162 - Looking At Him, I Could See Who I Was from 2021-11-13T06:00

Cindy lives outside of Sacramento, California. She and her sister were placed in foster care where they learned to protect themselves and be tough. Cindy's search started with an abundance of ident...

161 - Dear Stephen Michael's Mother, Kevin Barhydt from 2021-11-06T06:00

Kevin, from upstate New York, shares his journey to find his worthiness, to beat in this life. His search for his birth mother led him to the one woman who knew he existed and the unexpected siblin...

160 - He Was Waiting For Me from 2021-10-30T06:00

Erika called me from outside of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Ericka and her older adopted brother were doing fine with their adoptive parents until the birth of their siblings created an unspoke...

159 - Voices of Indian Adoptees from 2021-10-23T05:00

Today's adoptee story is Winnie's. She called me from Los Angeles, California. Growing up, Winnie's adoptive parents were closed to discussing her adoption, rejected her basic desire to socialize a...

158 - Creating Space To Find Who I Am from 2021-10-16T06:00

Pam called me from Lexington, Kentucky.
Growing up in adoption she suffered in the care of her adoptive mother who was unable to be a to parent her children because she was barely holding on h...

157 - My Surreal Parents from 2021-10-09T05:00

Ed called me from here in Maryland. He shared the sad, circumstances of his adoptive parents losing two children, but not really healing from the losses, feeling loyalty to his adoptive parents. Ed...

156 - Sibling Strangers from 2021-10-02T06:00

Jennifer, from Standardsville, Virginia, said growing up in New York, she had a very different childhood experience in her family than her sister, who was biological to their parents. Their mother ...

069 – I Lived As A Secret, That’s Not Healthy from 2021-09-11T06:00

Honor described a childhood in isolation, so much so that it impacted her health when she started school. Wondering about her biological parents, she developed a romantic story in her mind that the...

086 – Second Time from 2021-09-04T06:00

As an interracial adoptee and musical artist, Ferera grew up feeling different from her adopted family. When her adoption was tearfully confirmed by her Mom, it created doubt within her about wheth...

080 – It’s Not About How You Got Here from 2021-08-28T06:00

Rachel is a Hispanic woman of Chilean descent, raised in a Jewish family. She shared her feelings of otherness trying to connect with other Spanish speaking children with her limited proficiency. R...

2020 NAAM - Adoptee Podcaster Perspectives from 2021-08-28T06:00

Adoptees have the ultimate voice about the adoption experience. Adoptee podcasters are offering fellow adoptees outlets for sharing their inner thoughts and deepest emotions about their adoption jo...

041 – I’ve Finally Gotten Myself To A Sense Of Peace from 2021-08-21T06:00

After two years in foster care, Janet was adopted into the foster family. An interracial woman, she grew up in a white midwestern community in Ohio. Janet recalls the love she felt from her family ...

020 – I Don’t Silence Julie Anymore from 2021-08-14T06:00

Michelle says growing up she felt very different from her adoptive family because she looked completely different from them. When she was a teen she embarked on a voyage to reunite with her birth m...

076 – What Would My Life Be Like In Korea? from 2021-08-07T06:00

Kim is a Korean born adoptee raised in an all-white community. She shared how she always pushed down her desire to search for her birth mother until the recent political climate brought out the tru...

053 – Seeing The Life That Could Have Been from 2021-07-31T06:00

Meredith had enough adoptees around her growing up that adoption was no big deal. Yet, her parents never felt comfortable actually discussing adoption. After getting pregnant, and spurred on by her...

065 – Two Years Too Late, Then I Was Shocked from 2021-07-24T06:00

Dana received her original birth certificate and when her husband looked up her birth mother’s name they found her obituary. It took her two years to find an address for her surviving aunt and a ye...

017 – He Is My Brother And I Will Find Him from 2021-07-17T06:00

Renee searched for her mother literally her whole life. But her search predated the internet so she frequented the library and scoured local high school year books. with hopes of finding someone s...

013 – It Wasn’t That He Didn’t Care, He Cared Too Much from 2021-07-10T06:00

Jennifer learned that she was adopted when she was six years old. Interestingly, her adopted parents shared a letter with her that was written by her biological mother whose instructions were that ...

155 - Adoptee Podcaster Perspectives, 2020 National Adoption Awareness Month from 2021-06-26T05:00

Adoptees have the ultimate voice about the adoption experience. Adoptee podcasters are offering fellow adoptees outlets for sharing their inner thoughts and deepest emotions about their adoption jo...

154 - I Felt Like I Could Breath Again from 2021-06-19T06:00

Yvonne called me from here in Washington, DC. She is a birth mother in reunion with her son after more than 40 years apart. She shares the loneliness of her pregnancy, her desire to keep her baby ...

153 - Emotional Unraveling from 2021-06-12T06:00

Sari, a self-proclaimed nomad, called me from New Mexico. When she was a girl the school science project on heredity ignited her desire to learn her truth. After decades of searching for her birth...

152 - Together More: Rejection and Reunion from 2021-06-05T06:00

Roderick chatted with me from Ocala, Florida but he was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. Roderick was adopted into a family where he was the middle child, but he would become the parent to...

151 - "Junior" from 2021-05-29T06:00

Dirk, from Phoenix, Arizona, was raised as a Hispanic person and his documentation said he was Hispanic, but the world saw him differently. And DNA did too. Dirk found his birth mother, but at two ...

150 - So Many Things Tie Together from 2021-05-22T06:00

Joe is from Assonet, Massachusetts, just south of Boston. He shares his pride for being an adopted person, the challenge to make his way through his physical limitations as a kid, and the demons he...

2020 NAAM - Male Adoptee Voices from 2021-05-15T06:00

November is National Adoption Awareness Month (#NAAM), a time to bring awareness to all of the issues that adoption brings to adoptees, families formed through adoption, and natural families of ado...

148 - Being More Positive Is Huge In My Life from 2021-05-08T00:30

Ben, from Fannystelle, Manitoba Canada, had an extremely rough start in his first home with his biological family. He was abused at the hand of his step dad, so he was removed by child and family s...

147 - Please Don't Carry That Weight Anymore from 2021-05-01T00:00

Lisa Marie chatted with me via Skype from Lake Garda in the North of Italy.
In her journey you'll hear the impact of a transracial adoptee who grew up in a homogenous world that didn't look lik...

146 - You Were Who I Always Needed from 2021-04-24T06:00

Michelle, from Ohio.
She talks about the challenge of her childhood, craving a connection, but having the one she shared with her Dad snuffed out.
Her search, which began with Adoption Ne...

145 - Tommy Davidson, Living In Color - What's Funny About Me from 2021-04-17T07:15

Comedian television and film actor, and all around entertainer. Tommy Davidson has seen it all. He launched his comedy career in the Washington DC area. Capitalizing on his innate ability to entert...

144 – Gullah Girl from 2021-04-10T06:00

Brandi, who called me from myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is an inquisitive person adopted in to a family with a history of scholars, which is rare for a black family in the south.
DNA led Bran...

143 - He Really Stepped Up from 2021-04-03T06:00

When Susan, from Irving, Texas, found her natural mother, she learned she was conceived in transit when two young lives collided, then never saw one another again. Her birth mother's life seemed t...

142 - "American Baby", Gabrielle Glaser from 2021-03-27T06:00

David, and his birth mother Margaret's story of adoption relinquishment, lives lived apart but close to one another, and their brief emotional reunion is told in the book, "American Baby", written ...

141 - That Wasn't The Real Me from 2021-03-20T06:00

Gloria called me from Texas where she grew up with Mexican parents. In younger days she tried to find the ways she looked like her family. In adulthood, following the whim of some co-workers, Glori...

140 - I Wanted To Be My True Self from 2021-03-13T06:00

Darryl, from Australia, admits he had a challenging childhood from his relationship with his adoptive father, to their family's need to move around a lot because they were so poor, and his experien...

139 -A Sense Of Peace And Calm from 2021-03-06T06:00

Wendy, from Minnesota, had a lot of information about her natural mother and assumed the woman would want to know her, but that wasn't the case. They corresponded once, solely for her natural mothe...

058 – I Feel Like I’ve Found My Tribe from 2021-02-20T06:00

Nicole was adopted into a military family, the structure of which ran against her freewheeling nature. She’s an interracial woman with interracial adopted parents, so they looked like a natural fam...

061 – I Know They May Not Love Me… from 2021-02-06T00:00

Stephanie grew up in a very wealthy family in South Carolina and you’ll hear discuss the family’s fortune, but pause before you pass judgment on how easy life must have been. Her story is filled wi...

074 – I Feel Some Of It Too from 2021-01-30T07:00

Serena told me she had a similar experience to what a lot of adoptees feel, even though she grew up with her birth mother. I’m always talking about empathizing with others, so I wanted to hear her ...

072 – Amazing Intuition, One Cousin Connection from 2021-01-02T05:00

Recalling her early family life, Ann said she felt like her parents were sucked into feeling like they had to have a family, and while they were focused on creating a better world in their professi...

097 – You Gotta Forgive from 2020-12-26T00:00

James called me from right up the road in Laurel, Maryland and we have one degree of separation with one of my adoptive father, Willie’s, friends. In his story you’ll hear his struggle to find hims...

029 – A Lifetime of Interveners Saw Me Through from 2020-12-19T00:00

Born in the Panama Canal Zone, Stephanie was adopted by a US military family stationed there in 1961. She was never told she was adopted, but she always knew there was a family secret. When she was...

Goodbye 2020 from 2020-12-05T06:00

Listen, I can’t even pretend it was easy to podcast during what has been an absolutely crazy year. Before I sign off season 7 I need to cover a few things.
I’m grateful to be able to say than...

137 – Searching For Mom from 2020-11-28T06:00

Sara, from Seattle, Washington, was an over achiever adoptee who was secretly struggling and going off the rails. She intentionally avoided babies until her sister gave birth.. and having kids of h...

136 – Your Absence Has Gone Through Me from 2020-11-21T06:00

To date, I’ve only interviewed a few guests who weren't adoptees, and this will be another one. Today you're going to meet Anne-Marie from Southern California who drafted an impassioned submission ...

135 – Something About This Tells Me We’re Family from 2020-11-14T06:00

Isaac, from Hawaii, talks about himself as a boy who was loved, but struggled to connect with his adoptive parents in certain ways. Having left the island, a chance musical gig put him back on Hawa...

134 – Destined To Be Unique from 2020-11-07T07:00

Liz, from Michigan, grew up in a neighborhood full of adoptees, so it wasn’t until years later in the Dominican Republic teaching a class with a lot of adoptees in it that her own adoption sunk in....

133 - Bet She Was Praying For You from 2020-10-31T06:00

In this episode Cheryl, the mother and our adoptee, is joined by her natural daughter Diahan from Washington state and South Florida respectively.
Cheryl had an idyllic life growing up an athle...

132 – Nearly Dying Is One Of The Best Things That Ever Happened from 2020-10-24T06:00

Adrian, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, has lived around the country and in different parts of the world, only to find himself right back in the town where everything started for him. An a...

131 – I’m More Confused Now, I’m Broken from 2020-10-17T06:00

Elissa, from Hilton Head, South Carolina, said never bonded with her adopted mother. She did find a second home with her horseback riding coach and the horses she adored.
Finding her biologica...

130 – The Gift Best Given from 2020-10-10T05:45

Ed called me from Hillsborough, North Carolina, but his journey begins in New York City. He describes a wonderful life in the suburbs of the city with no real concerns for his adoption — even after...

129 – Finding Him Brought Closure from 2020-10-03T08:00

Tracey called me from Nashville, TN. She was raised in a family with a genetic trait that deeply impacted her middle sister, driving her appreciation for the power of genetic testing. Tracey knows ...

128 – A Peace Came Over Me from 2020-09-26T00:15

Val called me from outside of Houston, Texas, but her story started in in Kansas. She had a great childhood with her parents until a neighbor revealed her adoption to her, rocking her world, sendin...

046 – I Am Adopted, It Is Who I Am from 2020-09-19T05:00

Jennifer is a reunited adoptee from Pittsburgh. She’s a petite, white blonde of European descent whose adoptive parents are a Spanish man and a Mexican woman. Through her search, she found both of ...

063 – I’m Really Glad You Came, But It’s Gonna Be A While from 2020-09-12T05:00

Brenda was born in California, grew up on the east coast and lives in Texas. She’s the child of a military family that has lived all over. When a school project required her to ask her adoptive mot...

033 – My Sister Reunited Too, But Didn’t Know About Me from 2020-09-05T07:00

Jenny journaled about her birth mother from an early age. She grew up in a loving family, but the urge to find her birth family was always there. When Ohio opened it birth records, she obtained som...

007 – I’m Great With My Family, They Love Me For Me from 2020-08-29T06:00

As a child Denise’s family blamed her for a tragedy that took the life of her younger brother. They mistreated Denise and her tyrannical stepfather ultimately saw the children as a means to his own...

064 – The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction from 2020-08-08T05:35

Julie describes herself as very independent from her parents’ influences and drastically different than her older adopted brother. She tells the story of finding her birth mother thanks to open acc...

051 – The Black Sheep Rocks The Boat from 2020-08-01T04:00

Megan says she put her adopted mother through the ringer emotionally when she was a teenager. She thinks that’s partially because of her anger with her birth mother over her relinquishment. Most ad...

044 – She Never Met Me, But She Saw Me from 2020-07-25T06:00

Angie lived a split life as a child in small-town Mississippi. During the week her mother had her in all kinds of activities and her stepfather was her rock. On the weekends her dad exposed her to ...

026 – I’ve Got A Second Mom And I Can Love Them Both from 2020-07-18T06:00

At 16 years old, Ron decided to satisfy his curiosity about his first family. But his search was challenging. He was born on a South Carolina Air Force Base that had closed, the internet didn’t hav...

Damon – Thank You Missouri from 2020-07-04T06:00

I figured since I started season 6 with some personal stories of what I had been going on in my life I should end this season with an update on how things have been going personally. I wanna thank ...

127 – I Think I Was Afraid Of Knowing from 2020-06-27T07:00

Jim, who now lives in Delaware, said growing up he had no desire to search for his first family. After his parents passed and he found his adoption name change form, his feelings about a search cha...

126 – Welcome Home from 2020-06-20T06:45

Andrew lives in Murphy, Oregon, near Grant’s Pass but his is an east coast story. Andrew grew up kinda feeling like an odd man out in his family, not fitting his parents ideas of who he would be. I...

125 – You Can Forgive People From Afar from 2020-06-13T06:00

Lisa called me from New Jersey to share her story of growing up in an abusive home. She had one unrelated adopted sister who didn’t have the same experience in their house that Lisa had. Lisa alway...

124 – I Didn’t Do Anything To Him from 2020-06-06T08:30

Gayla called me, with her best friend Lisa, from Georgia. Gayla said she was loved so much by her adopted parents that you never would have known she was an adoptee. When she found her biological m...

123 – I Have Room In My Heart And My Life from 2020-05-30T07:00

Michelle, who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, shared her story of growing up in the care of a workaholic mom in a family that she didn’t look like at all. After moving from Hawaii to Africa, then ba...

122 – Deep Rooted Issues Of Shame And Guilt from 2020-05-23T06:30

John called me from Charlotte, NC, but his story starts in Ontario Canada. He shares how he grew up in a strict home and how even though he was mischievous, he didn’t think his actions warranted hi...

121 – Somebody’s Always Been Watching Over Me from 2020-05-16T06:30

Chris lives in Northern California outside of San Francisco. He shares how he selflessly discovered his adopted brother’s birth mother just in time for them to meet. Chris said he was thankful that...

120 – Sometimes You Just Have To Let People Go from 2020-05-09T07:30

Veronica, called me from New Orleans, Louisiana. She tells her tale of insensitivity within her adoptive family, even with an adoptive mother who was an adoptee herself. Veronica struggled to condu...

119 – Refined By Fire from 2020-05-02T06:00

Tezita (te zi TA) called me from Sacramento, CA, but she tells a harrowing story that originates in Ethiopia. Tezita’s adopted family had many other international adoptees, but she was singled out ...

118 – Those Were The Magic Words from 2020-04-25T06:00

Amy called me from Highland Township, outside of Detroit, Michigan. She described her early years dealing with the insecurities of her adopted mother who defaulted to threats to try to control Amy’...

117 – Born In June Raised In April from 2020-04-18T06:00

April called me from New York, New York, but her story originated in New England. She is a transracial adoptee whose search took her to a quintessential New England town and the connection to her b...

116 - ERROR 404: BIRTHDAY NOT FOUND from 2020-04-11T06:00

Michelle, from North Hollywood, California, is an Asian American, but her specific heritage is unclear, and she doesn’t think she’ll ever fully know where she comes from. There’s no information abo...

115 – Shadows of the Night from 2020-04-04T06:00

DL called me from Manhattan, New York. He talks about his youth in a home with a mother addicted to prescription medications who probably wasn’t fit to adopt. When he moved out at 18, he followed h...

114 – My Two Moms from 2020-03-28T06:00

Wendy, from Massachussetts, was adopted through Louise Wise, an agency with a notorious reputation. Separately, the tragic murder of Lisa Steinberg triggered her adoptive mother to give Wendy open ...

113 – I Was Loved Everyday By People I Didn’t Know from 2020-03-21T06:00

Carrie called me from Lynchburg, Virginia. In her journey you’ll hear her talk about the moment she realized she was found, and how she was in contact with her birth parents at the same time one th...

112 – My Whole Life Is a Success from 2020-03-14T06:00

Andrew called me from Connecticut after a move from Maryland. He told me that he’s been through a lot in his life. He’s a transracial, international adoptee who grew up in a predominantly white com...

111 – This Is What I Hoped You’d Be Like from 2020-03-07T07:00

Ginger who lives in Los Angeles, began her reunion journey as a teenager who found her birth mother, saw her picture, emailed her, but never made the leap to meeting the woman. In adulthood Ginger ...

110 – We’ve Wanted This Our Whole Lives from 2020-02-29T07:45

Jessica is a rare native, born and raised, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She shares how she found her biological relatives through DNA testing despite her best attempts to get information from the Mormon c...

One Foot In Front Of The Other from 2020-02-08T07:00

I planned to bring the show back this week, but the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020 have been rough. When you listen to this one, you'll understand why...

014 – I Would Not Have Made It Without My Faith from 2020-02-01T06:00

Sara was the baby in her family of four biological half brothers to one another, and one other brother who was also adopted like her just like her. When she hit puberty, a naturally more emotional ...

008 – She Knew She Had To Do This For Me from 2020-01-25T06:00

Cindy had one sister growing up in a mormon family in Las Vegas. But the two adoptees looked very different: Cindy’s blue eyes and blond hair were in stark contrast with her sister’s olive skin and...

055 – I’ve Found My Answers And Fulfillment Helping Other People from 2020-01-18T06:00

Katelyn followed her older adopted sister into rebellion against their adopted mother’s rule. Years later her husband suggested they do DNA tests when she got pregnant. Seeing relationships online ...

059 – I’m Heather 1 from 2020-01-04T00:00

Vonni learned from the neighbor’s child that she was adopted, but she was too young to know what it really meant. In her teen years, the yearning to understand her adoption led her on a journey an ...

062 – One Month Of Bonding Helped Me With A Lifetime In Adoption from 2019-12-28T06:00

Tim was adopted into a Lutheran family and his curiosity about his roots started when he was very young. When he met his biological mother, she portrayed her husband as Tim’s father, but the truth ...

039 – I’m An Adult, But They’re Acting Like Children from 2019-12-21T07:00

Mitch’s parents adopted his older brother, then him. Then they got a surprise addition to the family. They had a great life outside of Chicago, but Mitch did feel somewhat sidelined by the attentio...

027 – I Got A Picture Of My Mother’s Sadness Though Other People from 2019-12-14T06:00

As a kid, Rebecca was considered quirky. Unbeknownst to her, that quirkiness was an after effect of fetal alcohol syndrome. She tells the story of learning her birth mother’s lonely and troubled pa...

002 – When the Law is in the Way, Try DNA from 2019-12-07T06:30

Laura became a dear friend when we quickly bonded over being adoptees while working together. Laura had been searching for her family of origin for years, before the age of the internet, and the pr...

109 – You Can’t Change The Past from 2019-11-23T07:00

Dan has barely told anyone the his whole story until this episode. He shared that he was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as an infant. Then his son's rare medical condition and his wife’...

108 – On The Outside Is Where I’ve Always Been from 2019-11-16T07:00

Pam, from Emeryville, CA, told me her desire to search started when she was a kid, but it was Oregon’s laws that changed everything for her search. When she met her birthmother she encountered a wo...

107- From A Place Of Love from 2019-11-09T07:00

David from Columbus, Ohio said he was practically at the front door of reunion, but drove away. Years later he finally found some siblings who looked almost exactly like him, and others who’s genet...

106 – Beautiful Truth from 2019-11-02T07:00

For Shelby, growing up as a Korean adoptee left her feeling “othered” as she didn’t quite fit into her community. The Korean school her parents tried to raise her in wouldn’t accept her either. She...

105 – I Call Her Incubator from 2019-10-26T04:00

My guest asked that I maintain her anonymity, so I’ll refer to her as Nina. She shared her story growing up with dedicated parents who embraced her challenges and gave her the foundational support ...

104 – You’re Obviously One Of Us from 2019-10-19T05:00

Karen is from Stratford, Ontario, Canada. She shares her story of growing up a woman of color who stood out in her family and community. Locating her birth mother she found little connection and a ...

103 – Fixing The Fates from 2019-10-12T05:00

Diane called me from St. Petersburg, Florida, but her’s is a story that originated in Germany. Diane tells the story of her parents wanting to form a family with her, but her grandmother frequently...

102 – It’s Always Maybe from 2019-10-05T05:00

Breanna learned that she was fostered then adopted but for financial gain and she described her home as a hostile environment. Her adopted mother was abusive, and Breanna ultimately ran away from h...

101 – This Is About Everybody from 2019-09-28T05:00

In Debby’s home adoption was an open topic because she was fostered by her grandparents and adopted by their daughter. Unfortunately, she wasn’t welcome as an adoptee by her adopted father and she ...

100 – Purely Loving Intentions from 2019-09-21T05:00

Haley Radke, Host/Producer of the Adoptees On podcast is my special guest for this special 100th episode! Haley shared her story of gaining access to her open adoption record in Canada when she was...

099 – We Were Both Missing Something In Our Lives from 2019-09-14T03:26

Joseph is a really outdoorsy guy who lives in Edmonds, Washington, about 30 minutes north of Seattle. He likes mountain biking, trail running, camping and skiing. Joseph grew up in a family of seve...

098 – Trained In Trauma from 2019-09-07T05:00

Dr. Julie Lopez lives and works in Washington, D.C.  Julie’s early childhood was happy at home, but it was her circle of friends that made her question just what was wrong with being adopted? When ...

096 – The Safe Space That’s Don’s Place from 2019-08-24T05:00

Singer Song writer Jenni Alpert, commonly referred to by her birth name, Cami had a wonderful life supported by her adoptive parents as she pursued the performing arts. After her adoptive father pa...

095 – I Tested Her To See If She’d Give Up from 2019-08-17T05:00

Laura called me via Skype, would you believe, from Falkirk Scotland. Laura told the story of her childhood knowledge that she might have siblings out in the world, and her quest to meet them. When ...

094 – Why Would You Spend This Much Time Searching? from 2019-08-10T05:00

Barry always knew he was adopted, but before he ever launched a search, he was found by his older sister. He tells the story of meeting her, and subsequently meeting his birth mother, both of whom ...

054 – I Just Want To Sit And Be At Peace from 2019-07-27T06:00

After 52 years in adoption, Mary never had a desire to locate her birth family. Her feeling was they had given her up, so she didn’t really want to share how well she turned out. Still, Mary obtain...

018 – What I Gained Through Reunion Is Context from 2019-07-20T06:00

Rebecca always knew she was adopted, but she also recognized that she didn’t quite fit with her adopted family. While she loved them a lot, she noticed physical and personality differences between ...

025 – I Feel So Lucky, I Got Way More Than I Bargained For from 2019-07-13T06:00

With extra time on her hands, Jennifer used a Search Angel to locate her biological relatives. She connected with her maternal Aunt over Facebook Messenger, simultaneously emailing her birth father...

015 – We Wish We Could Have Grown Up Together from 2019-07-06T06:00

David tried to find his birth mother in the early 90’s in California. He received non-identifying information back then, but it wasn’t much to act on at the time. Later, in 2015, motivated by his w...

009 – What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger from 2019-06-29T06:00

Mary is 78, but she still has stinging memories of her mother leaving her in another woman’s guardianship. The era was the Great Depression but her mother wanted to go out and have fun without the ...

022 – I’m Still On This Journey, Using My Experience to Help Others from 2019-06-22T07:00

Marni grew up in Madison, WI in a transracial family that lived a predominantly white community. Everywhere they went, they were stared at for the heterogeneity they brought to the community. The a...

028 – Working Out The Puzzle Pieces Helped Me Feel Whole from 2019-06-15T06:00

Elise has always been into genealogy and loved looking at family photos & records when she was a child. As a child of adoption, she wondered where her family of origin was? Reunion has had its ups ...

011 – From Childhood Rebellion to Thankful Reunion from 2019-06-01T07:00

When Sean was a kid, he found out he was adopted. That news created some conflict in him and challenged his identity. He began to rebel against his adopted parents, but some sage wisdom from his gr...

023 – I’ve Found My Joi from 2019-05-25T06:00

Growing up Joi tried to convince herself that being adopted didn’t bother her because she had such a great family. But in reality, great parents did not erase the fact that she didn’t know her birt...

093 – Who Am I Really? An Adoptee Memoir, A Preview from 2019-05-18T06:00

You probably know by now that I’ve written book to share my story, just like so many of our crib mates who have documented their own stories. It’s called Who Am I Really, An Adoptee Memoir. In this...

092 – Paternally Unrelated from 2019-05-11T05:00

Cindy knew she was adopted, but she believed the men in her life where of biological relation – she thought she was adopted within the family. She lived decades with what she calls a lie. DNA testi...

091 – I’m In The Middle Of Two Stories from 2019-05-04T05:10

Ashley had one of those moments where talking to her biological sister felt so familiar it was like texting and and responding to herself.  But her birth mother’s pain and uneasiness over Ashley’s ...

090 – It’s Not Your Fault, I Made It Through from 2019-04-27T05:00

Lori was adopted after her biological mother lived with her adoptive parents, desperately trying to escape the tyranny of her abusive husband. The abuse her birth mother suffered would be a recurri...

089 – I’m Reconciling This Feeling of Hurt from 2019-04-19T05:00

Steve, from London, Ontario, Canada shares his story of being adopted after his mother lost a child. Steve and his mother never connected, in fact, she stifled his social development and seemed to ...

088 – Being Biracial Never Occurred to Me from 2019-04-12T05:00

In Kenneth’s family all of siblings were adoptees, each fostered in their parents home before their adoption were made final. That scenario worked out great for Kenneth, but not so much so for his ...

087 – A Journey To Find Out Where I Came From from 2019-04-06T05:00

When he was a kid, Bill saw clues here and there that he was adopted, but no one ever actually said it. It wasn’t until he called an uncle he’d never met before that the truth was revealed, turning...

085 – A Bad Truth Is Better Than A Good Lie from 2019-03-23T07:00

After the adoptive father she loved so much died, Alison learned her birth father, Tim, was looking for her and she took it as a good sign of things to come. Sadly she found herself disappointed in...

084 – There’s A Certain Sense of Completeness from 2019-03-16T07:00

Neal’s search didn’t take off until he was 66 years old! He got a DNA kit for his birthday and within months he was in touch with his paternal family. Ohio’s open original birth certificate help hi...

083 – An Unbelievable Emotional Roller Coaster For Me from 2019-03-09T07:00

Before becoming an adoptee advocate Rich was searching for his own identity. As a child, his older adopted sister vengefully told him their mom wasn’t his real mother. It made him wonder who the ot...

082 – The Only Thing That Divides Us Is The Mississippi from 2019-03-02T07:00

Ann has an array of experiences from being kidnapped briefly from her adopted family to learning she celebrated the wrong birth date for 22 years. She said she was raised not to question God’s plan...

081 – I’ve Got The World By The Tail from 2019-02-23T07:00

Sandee shared the story of her life with an adopted brother who was coddled by their mother, so much so, that it reinforced her own natural position as a Daddy’s girl. That favoritism forced Sandee...

079 – There Are Wins And Losses from 2019-02-09T07:00

Paul grew up in a family where he didn’t look like his parents, his father was Mexican and his mother was Japanese. In his childhood, his mother turned incredibly harsh and abusive, especially towa...

078 – I’m In Recovery, I’m In A Good Place from 2019-02-02T07:00

Megan grew up in an affluent suburb of Chicago and was comfortable with her adoption, but curious about her start in life. After pregnancy, “I struggled with mental health problems and became addic...

077 – I’m A Wounded Healer With My Father’s Eyes from 2018-12-01T07:00

Linda’s childhood was tumultuous after her mother’s death as she was raised in what she thought was her grandmother’s home. When she learned the truth about her life from the neighbor’s kids, at ag...

075 – I’m Good On My Own, I Know Who I Am from 2018-11-17T07:00

In her adopted family Tameko’s parents just assumed that as an adoptee, she was misbehaving, but when her older adopted brother showed up he actually started framing her for terrible things, trying...

073 – It Hurts That Someone Took Her From This World from 2018-11-03T07:00

Ashley shares her story growing up in adoption and having a positive outlook on her life because she felt she was placed for a reason, living life according to God’s plan. Ashley had two sisters, o...

071 – I Would Give Anything To Hear His Voice from 2018-10-20T05:00

Amanda describes her childhood with a father she considered to be a hero and a mother whom she loves despite her physical and mental abuse while showing favoritism toward her sister. She always wan...

070 – I Don’t Think She Can Move Forward From The Pain from 2018-10-12T05:00

Kyle tells the story of growing up, towering over his mother and sister and looking very different from them, but being loved.  Locating his birth mother he was amazed to see someone he looked like...

068 – I Don’t Feel Lost, I Know Where I Come From from 2018-09-29T05:00

Daniela was born in a small mining town in Chile. Adopted by a German family who moved from South America to Miami, she never felt like she belonged. While struggling as a teenager and burning to k...

067 – Part Of The Gift Has Been The Work I’ve Done On Myself from 2018-09-22T05:00

Christie was a shy child who wanted to participate in activities but held herself back from engaging. It wasn’t until she was an adult when her adopted brother unexpectedly suggested that Christie ...

066 – I’ve Had A Lot Thrown At Me, But I’m A Happy Human Being from 2018-09-15T05:00

Rick’s birthmother relinquished him into foster care where he was terrorized as a toddler. He was eventually adopted around age 6 but always felt like an outsider. At 16 years old he reunited with ...

060 – Its Like Ripping The Wounds Off Over And Over from 2018-06-09T06:00

Alisa describes her life as the child of Latvian refugees who escaped the brutality and destruction of World War II. They raised Alisa in the ways of their heritage and while she identifies with he...

057 -My Acceptance Is Etched In Stone from 2018-05-19T16:00

Kendra’s story is filled with peaks and valleys of emotion. After running far, far away in her teens, Kendra’s adopted mother blamed her for her adopted father’s demise. She and her mother were est...

056 – I Feel Whole… Finding Him Was The Key from 2018-05-11T23:00

Every day Leslie’s birth mother called the orphanage where she was left for adoption. So when Leslie located her birth mother 30 years ago, then tried again to connect with her six years ago, it wa...

052 – Little Who? from 2018-04-14T06:00

Kandice grew up in a loving Christian home, an adoptee with one older sister who was biologically related to their parents. Kandic found her biological mother living in Gulf Port, Mississippi where...

050 – Dem Smell De Blood, They Know Who You Are from 2018-03-31T06:00

Kennon was raised by in the lumber town of Mattawa, Canada, where he was one of the only people of color in the community. Growing up in a predominantly white community, he later had trouble assimi...

049 – It’s Just More People To Love Me from 2018-03-24T07:00

Sherie said she sometimes thought about searching for her birth family, but even talking about it with her husband made her cry. She finally gathered the strength to search after voraciously readin...

048 – It’s Not Always The Fairy Tale You Hoped For from 2018-03-17T07:00

When Kaitlin was nine years old she was ready to lobby for access to her original birth certificate. She attempted a reunion with her birth mother, who left clues that she wanted to be found. But w...

047 – I Was In Charge Of My Destiny from 2018-03-10T07:00

When Anna was born, her adoption resulted in Anna and her mother living as siblings. Very early in her life she lost her birth mother and her adopted mother, so she was on her own. Anna shares how ...

045 – This Child Will Find Me from 2018-02-24T07:00

Michael says he always knew he was adopted and spoke openly about it with anyone who expressed curiosity. However, when he launched his search, he didn’t feel like he could share those details open...

043 – When I Looked At Him, I Could See Things About Me from 2018-02-10T07:00

Paige didn’t even know that searching for her birth family was an option until she learned about it on local tv as an adult. The topic of adoption was closed her whole life, partially because of h...

042 – This Little Voice Said, “You Gotta Do Something” from 2018-02-03T07:00

Right before Sharon left for college, her parents sat her down to say she was of age to start looking for her birthparents. She had never contemplated that possibility before, so it took years for ...

040 – I Mattered Throughout The Years from 2018-01-20T07:00

Jennifer was perfectly comfortable with her adoption until her teen years when her self-awareness was heightened, and her desire to learn more about who she is bloomed. Protecting her parents feeli...

038 – Interview w/ One Of My Two Genealogists from 2017-12-02T07:00

This summer when I met Bill, in 2017, and found out he was a genealogist, I was excited to hear everything he had to say. I wanted to hear more about his own personal history, how he got into gene...

037 – Interview w/ A Search & Reunion Social Worker from 2017-12-01T07:00

Lee, my search & reunion social worker in Baltimore, MD, unlocked many of the answers about why I was placed for adoption. She worked to locate my biological mother, Ann, and read my birth mother’s...

036 – I Found Solace When She Explained The Abuse from 2017-11-25T07:00

Despite loving and respecting his parents, Chris struggled through family life with an alcoholic father and having almost adopted sister with emotional problems. Chris had a challenging childhood b...

035 – Interview w/ A Search Angel – For Every Answer You Get, There Are More Questions from 2017-11-18T07:00

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, so I’m bringing you a different perspective from the adoption community. On prior episodes you’ve heard adoptees talk about the amazing work that they...

032 – Intervew With The Gift Of Adoption Fund from 2017-10-28T05:00

Today I’m bringing you something a little different for #NationalAdoptionMonth. There are a lot of people, processes, and policies integral to the adoption of a child, raising a child, and supporti...

031 – Finding Hope from 2017-10-21T05:00

Jamie grew up an only child with her wonderful adoptive parents in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. She was happy to hear in reunion that her birth parents had already talked about her existence with th...

030 – Don’t Fall For “I Can’t Talk To You On The Phone” from 2017-10-14T05:00

Jen had a very nice childhood with her parents and never really wanted to search for her birth parents until her friends started having kids. But the ultimate spark that ignited her desire to searc...

024 – I’m Deeply Hurt, But I Hope You’re Happy from 2017-09-02T06:00

Louise was one of four a dual heritage children raised by white parents in England. She had a fantastic childhood. So much so that she has adopted twice. But along her impulsive journey into reunif...

021- With Every Heart Break, My Heart Gets Bigger from 2017-08-12T06:00

Marcie finally felt plugged into her biological family after years of divisive behavior from her adopted mother. Her mother never nurtured a bond between Marcie and her adopted siblings and had a h...

019 – Adoption Was Chapter Two Of My Life, I Had To Learn About Chapter One from 2017-07-29T05:00

Michael grew up in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY. He led a comfortable life in the Williams loving home when he accidentally discovered, at 12 years old, that he was adopted. The discovery that he act...

016 – Shall we Cry? No, Let’s Just Laugh! from 2017-07-08T06:00

Jennifer had a very happy childhood and always felt special because she was an adoptee; she knew her parents really wanted her. Their family was heavily involved with the Children’s Home Society i...

012 – I Need This For My Sanity from 2017-06-10T05:00

Tom advocates for adoptee rights and shares his personal experiences about being adopted. He was adopted as an infant and things went so well his parents decided to adopt two older boys when Tom w...

010 – How Can I Meet Her Without Telling Her Who I Am? from 2017-05-27T05:00

Steve was raised in Baltimore, MD in a predominantly Jewish suburban neighborhood. But as he looked around at his friends and other families, he truly questioned his own identity, especially as an ...

006 – I Forgave Her When My Son Was Born from 2017-04-29T04:00

In adoption, Julie grew up in the Midwest with a family of trans racial adoptees.  Her brothers are adopted from Vietnam, and her sister is white. Each of them has a different perspective on search...

005 – Part of Her Memory That She Lost Was Me from 2017-04-22T06:00

Terry shared the story of his biological parents’ wartime extra marital affair that brought him to life. He said his adopted parents felt he was “the sun the moon and the stars”, and spoiled him ...

004 – Lucky Online, Connecting When You’re Not Even Looking from 2017-04-15T06:30

Growing up in Leah’s home everyone was comfortable with adoption. Her adopted mom is an adoptee, and her two siblings are adoptees, though they are biologically related to one another. The kids wer...

003 – When the Search Finds You from 2017-04-08T06:00

Kathleen grew up with five siblings, and they were all biologically related to her parents–she was the only adoptee! As a child she was told that she was adopted, but it didn’t quite sink in until ...

001- The End of Summer Cake from 2017-03-25T07:00

I’ve shared an adoptee bond with my dear high school friend Andre for years. In this episode, Andre shares the story of his loving adopted family, being the older sibling to his adopted parent’s bi...

000: Welcome to Who Am I Really? from 2017-03-04T10:00

I’m devoting this program dedicated to helping people placed into adoption to explore their own emotions, desires, and questions about reuniting with their biological family by askin...

000: Welcome to Who Am I Really? from 2017-03-04T10:00

I’m devoting this program dedicated to helping people placed into adoption to explore their own emotions, desires, and questions about reuniting with their biological family by askin...