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PODCAST

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

Louise Browne & Sarah Reinhardt

Two adult adoptees, Sarah Reinhardt and Louise Browne, delve into all things adoption - from their perspectives as adult adoptees. Each season Sarah and Louise recap a chapter from a book centered on adoption and then interview a guest. Sarah and Louise come out of the "fog" in real-time through Seasons One and Two and are advocating for change in the adoption industry. They want to give voice to all adoptees. Adoptee stories are needed to reframe the narrative around adoption.Sarah and Louise, two

kids & family parenting

All Episodes

67:01

Don: For This Adoptee, Finding His Roots Led to Peace

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/07/08

Like many people who went through the foster care system, Don Anderson was really curious about his roots. He started doing some research and realized his biological aunt on his mother’s side was living less than three miles away. His wife convinced him to introduce himself. She immediately recognized him and told him he looked like his mother. From there, Anderson met his biological mother, then started the research for his biological father. He ended up tracing his roots for generations, an...

en-us

46:18

Alejandra: For This Adoptee, Spirituality Was the Answer

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/07/01

Alejandra was adopted at five years old into a Mexican-American family. She had never sought her family of origin, but when they arrived unexpectedly, her inner strength was tested, and her spiritual growth began. I Just Can't Make This Sh!t Up: Overcoming Fear and Accepting My Spiritual Gifts by Alejandra G. Brady Season 11: Adoptee Memoirs - books in order: Practically Still a Virgin by Monica Hall You Can't Get Rid of Me by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault Unspoken by Liz Harvie Sign up fo...

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62:22

Jacqueline: For This Adoptee, Acceptance Brought...

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/06/24

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 respo...

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51:47

Sariah: An Adoptee from China Seeks Identity

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/06/17

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 You Can't Get Rid of Me by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault Unspoken by Liz Harvie Sign up for our mailing list to get updates and the Eventbr...

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66:04

Carol: A Lifelong Search and DNA Changed this...

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/06/10

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 You Can't Get Rid of Me by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault Unspoken by Liz Harvie Sign up for our mailing list to get updates ...

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55:10

Cameron Lee Small: The Adoptee's Journey: Season 10...

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/06/03

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 Nation...

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79:22

Sandi: The Journey to Rediscovering Family and Self...

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/05/27

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...

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60:44

Carol: For This Adoptee, Early Searching Led to...

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/05/20

Carol Hoeksema was born at the Salvation Army Evangeline Home for unwed mothers in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1957, where she stayed the first 13 days of her life before going to an unknown foster family arranged by Bethany Christian Services. At 3 months, she was given to her adoptive parents and raised in the Dutch immigrant community of Pella, Iowa. She always knew that she was adopted and was curious about her roots. At age 19, she started her search by going to the adoption agency, and o...

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77:37

Stephen: A Chance Viewing Led to a Search for Identity

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/05/13

Born in 1963, Stephen Payne was five weeks old when his parents adopted him through the Volunteers of America. He grew up an only child in a loving family. At age three, he overheard his parents discussing his adoption with friends. His mother explained it to him in age-appropriate terms, which mostly satisfied his curiosity, yet occasionally left nagging questions. That inner conflict may have affected his earliest days in school, where he struggled. A diagnosis of ADHD confirmed some of thi...

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52:30

Mary: How a Search Angel and DNA Changed This...

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/05/06

Mary, a seventh-generation Tennessean born in Memphis in 1986, was adopted and raised in Jackson, Tennessee, by a supportive family who encouraged her search for her biological relatives. In 2007, she connected with her birth mother, who had mistakenly identified the wrong man as Mary's father. Then, in 2019, a "search angel" and a DNA match through Ancestry.com unexpectedly revealed her actual biological father and a previously unknown family. She has since developed relationships with...

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75:26

Heather: A Longing Led to Searching

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/04/29

Heather G. Marshall is an adoptee, author, speaker, and workshop facilitator. Her TED talk, “Letting Go of Expectations,” centers around her adoption and reunion. Her second novel, When the Ocean Flies, released in February 2024 (Vine Leaves Press). The novel is an adoptee-focused exploration of love and longing, of identity and belonging, and of healing from trauma. Heather was born in Leith, Scotland, in 1967, relinquished at birth, sent to foster care, and subsequently adopted in Scotland....

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64:31

Kate: For This Adoptee, the Surprises Kept Coming

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/04/22

Kate was born at a Florence Crittenton home in Kansas City, MO, in 1970 and placed with her adoptive family at 9 days old. She always knew she was adopted and has always wanted to find her family of origin. This was finally made possible when Missouri changed its laws allowing adopted people access to their original birth certificates. She has been in reunion with her mother since 2018, meeting her in person and getting a life-changing hug in 2019. That hug was the first time she had a feelin...

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70:47

Mike: From Adoption to Discovery

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/04/15

Mike Brettmann was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1958 and adopted a few days later. He grew up on a small farm in Iowa with a brother who was adopted from another family. They were always told they were adopted, but it was never discussed. Mike joined the army after high school and served nearly 28 years on active duty. His uncle asked him to find the Brettmann family history while stationed in Germany. After tracing the Brettmann family in 1987, he wanted to find his roots. In 1999, he found ...

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68:11

Ellianna: The Power of Reverse Healing

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/04/08

Ellianna was born prematurely in a county hospital in Portland, OR, in 1968. She had been relinquished at birth, so she stayed in the hospital alone for several weeks. Foster care stepped in for a week, and then she went to her adopted family, where there was another adopted child that was 2 years older. Ellianna moved around a lot as a child, and as an adopted child, this added to the feeling of not belonging anywhere. Adoption was not something talked about much in the home, but both ...

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57:42

Becky: Shifting Perspectives of Adoption

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/04/01

Becky is a scientist, mother, wife, and baby scoop era adoptee who lives with her husband and biological daughter in Oregon. She was born in California, separated from her very young mother at birth, and adopted at 6 weeks by a married couple struggling to have their second biological child. Comfortably raised, she always knew she was adopted, special, and “chosen”. Her adoption was closed, and the birth certificate remains sealed. In 1993, with the help of her adopted sister and a document l...

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50:35

Chris: Recorded Live Podcast Episode

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/03/25

Chris Williams was born in Downtown Los Angeles at Queen of Angels Hospital and adopted when he was just a few months old. His journey has been anything but conventional, marked by resilience, reinvention, and a pursuit of purpose. In 2020, Chris moved to Santa Barbara to earn his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, which he proudly achieved at age 35. While in Santa Barbara, Chris pursued a lifelong dream: stand-up comedy. What began as a passion project evolv...

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69:30

Christine: A Bittersweet Reunion

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/03/18

Christine is an adoptee born in January of 1972, at the tail end of the baby scoop era. She was adopted in March of that year through Catholic Family Charities. Her mother had bought a book that explained how a family adopts a child in a very simplistic way. In fact, until the age of seven, she thought that all children were adopted. It wasn’t until a friend’s mother got pregnant that she realized there was another way to have a baby. Her mother explained to her that she was special—that she ...

en-us

50:10

Angela: You Should Be Grateful. Season 9 Finale

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/03/11

Angela Tucker is a Black transracial adoptee and the author of "You Should Be Grateful:" Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption, published in April 2023 by Beacon Press. Her search for her biological family was featured in the documentary CLOSURE, which premiered on Netflix in 2015. In 2022, Angela founded the non-profit Adoptee Mentoring Society, offering virtual mentorship for adoptees worldwide. With 15 years of experience in child welfare, she has appeared on CNN, Red Table T...

en-us

58:46

Santo: The Journey to Belong

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/03/04

Dr. Santo D. Marabella, born in a Catholic orphanage in Aosta, Italy, and flown to the United States just one week shy of his first birthday, was one of over 3700 Italian-born children adopted by Italian American parents between 1951 and 1969. Known as the “Baby Scoop” era, tens of thousands of Italian unwed mothers were forced to give their children up for adoption, leaving behind generations of children devastated by their perceived abandonment. Though he was the treasured only child of hi...

en-us

80:03

Sharla: For This Adoptee, the Truth Came Later

Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of... ·

2025/02/25

Placed for adoption through a West Texas county children’s home, Sharla is a “Baby Scoop”-era adoptee. Sharla’s biological mother moved across the state to live with her older sister and family until the time of Sharla’s birth. On the day Sharla was born, a married couple who applied to adopt was contacted. Several days later, with their 9-year-old son in tow, they drove an hour to come for her at the children’s home. She grew up in a fairly typical family and home. Always having known she wa...

en-us

194 results

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