In this episode, Lori Holden talks with single adoptive mom Leah Campbell about the unexpected way she became a mom to her beloved daughter, "Cheeks," now 7. Author of the just-released children's book The Story of My Open Adoption, Leah is a writer and mo...

In this episode, we hear from birth mom Ashley Mitchell of Big Tough Girl and Lifetime Healing Foundation. Now 14 years into her open adoption experience, she talks of grief and healing, and of the importance of adoption education for both adoptive and for...

In this episode, Lori talks with Carolyn Savage, who has, perhaps, the twistiest-turniest journey to family you've ever heard of. Starting with an inconceivable snafu with a fertility clinic, within one year Carolyn (1) gave birth to a son she placed in th...

In this episode, adoptee and activist Rich Uhrlaub addresses the ways that adoptees in many states don't have the same legal rights as the non-adopted. He tells us why original birth certificates were sealed in the closed adoption era, and what the ripple...

Angela Tucker is on a mission to center adoptee voices -- which have been historically marginalized -- because she considers adoptees the experts in the adoption experience. That’s a great point, and adoptive parents are wise to listen for understanding. I...

If you’ve ever feared not being considered the “real” parent, if you are unsure how you can co-exist in your child’s heart along with their birth mother or father, if you are curious about how an adoptee tries to “earn” their love from their adoptive paren...

To get ready for this episode -- which turned out to be on Emotional Intelligence in adoption relationships -- imagine that you are 18 years old and parenting a 4 month old boy, a path you don’t feel prepared for at all. You have an older half-brother; he...

Rebecca Vahle has witnessed the very beginning moments of hundreds of adoptions, starting with her three children, now young adults. Those three vastly differing experiences prompted her to create a program that standardizes care for potential adoption pla...

Some people like stories. Others like numbers. In her book, Open Adoption & Diverse Families, Dr Abbie Goldberg has satisfied both camps, as well as those who equally love stories and data. Today’s guest has brought me a huge gift in the form of her resea...

Can you imagine fumbling around in the dark for one of the most important missions of your life, without having any training at all? Once the deep flaws in the closed adoption era started to become apparent, some adoption agencies decided to experiment wit...

Today’s guest -- who consulted about adoption themes for the Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere -- wrote an article many years ago that goes viral just about every year. The article is called 10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know, and within it, Lesli Johns...

This episode, like the podcast as a whole, is not for short-sighted people. This episode, like the podcast in its entirety, will appeal to people who want to be able to see more than one step ahead. Maybe 3 or 4 or 10 steps ahead. If this is you, you’re in...

How different is adoption now compared with the closed adoption era? And what does that mean for adoptive parents? Gabrielle Glaser is the author, most recently, of American Baby: A Mother, A Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption, which tells the shock...

If you’ve ever wondered how you could have an open adoption when you can’t have contact with birth parents, you’ll want to make sure to catch this episode with adoptive parent counselors Katie Biron and Kara Andersen. We cover the differences between openn...

The journey of adopting a baby can be so uncertain and feel so all-consuming that sometimes, it’s hard to see past it. My guest today, Tim Elder, helps people become parents through adoption with his Infant Adoption Guide blog and podcast. We're talking wi...

Candace Cahill placed her son as an infant in 1990. Their semi-open adoption closed when he was 8, but contact was reestablished at 18. After navigating the complexities of reunion for five years and only a single face-to-face meeting, Michael died in his...

If your main sources of information about adoption are from the loudest voices, you may be missing out on key facets that would help you better navigate your own adoption situation and better serve your child. You can’t see your own blind spots (by definit...

No baby should be born with a job, to quote Dr Phil. It’s just too much to expect a baby to fix anything -- a relationship, a heart, a life. But many people come to infant adoption after experiencing infertility and enduring some sort of loss. They might t...

Not every adoptive family will need an adoption-competent therapist on hand, but many will at some point. This is not to pathologize adoption; lots of non-adoptive families also end up also seeking therapy for various struggles. But adoptive families are s...

Have you ever eaten a meal at Wendy’s? Have you ever perused the list of top Adoption Friendly Workplaces? Have you ever felt an ache in your heart about children who are in foster care, growing up without a permanent family taking care of them, loving the...