Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Changing the narrative requires changing the narrators. What narrative would empower you? What if being adopted has given you superpowers? How would that perspective power you? Listen in as Stephanie shares her thoughts about becoming superpowered and other healing insights.More about Stephanie at:https://www.loyola.edu/school-education/academics/graduate/curriculum-instruction/https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-flores-koulish-5792919/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

How do you see your trauma? Does it scare you? Has the lead to you pushing it away? Suppressing it? Would a new relationship with trauma improve your life? Listen in as Tim shares key learnings on his journey to seeing trauma as a gift.Tim Perdion, born Thomas Griffin Demchak on March 1, 1969, was adopted shortly after birth. Despite growing up in a seemingly perfect family, he struggled with anger, depression, and anxiety. Discovering his biological roots at 46 unveiled complex family secrets, prompting a relentless pursuit of identity and self-worth.Tim's journey includes overcoming addiction, mental health challenges, and relationship struggles. In 2019, he sought help at Sierra Tucson, leading to a transformative healing journey. Embracing Christianity in 2023, Tim was baptized and ignited his passion for serving others.He continues to explore family connections, despite facing secondary rejection and complex family dynamics. Transitioning from a corporate career, Tim now leverages his spiritual gifts as a life coach, speaker, and consultant, dedicated to inspiring and supporting adoptees and those dealing with trauma.Tim's mission is to use his experiences to heal the pain of relinquishment, foster authentic connections, and empower others to live their truth, trusting in God's plan for his life.https://www.prodigalpathways.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/timperdion/https://www.facebook.com/tperdion/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

What have you done with your trauma? Turning the tough stuff you've been through into work to empower others is one of the most healing things we can do. Listen in as Mallory shares learnings from her life including what she discovered about herself adopting her daughter. We touch on empathy, ending self-judgement and more...powerful and insightful. Enjoy.Mallory is an intercountry transracial adoptee and a former foster, now adoptive, mom. She has a profound awareness of the challenges faced by foster and adoptive families and is passionate about providing parents with the education they need to understand trauma and its impact on children. She's a University of Southern Indiana graduate with a BS in Accounting and Professional Services. She has over a decade's worth of experience in various accounting settings, including the nonprofit industry.https://www.mallorysmission.net/https://www.facebook.com/MalChfnhttps://www.instagram.com/maljoest/https://www.instagram.com/mallorysmission/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Gabor Maté says that the feeling we are not good enough is actually a belief that we are not good enough. And that's important given so many of us feel less than. Do beliefs seem more bustable than trauma seems healable? Listen in as I explore belief busting, hope and more in this short episode. Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

What if time ISN'T the greatest healer? What is? Anthony lost a wife through divorce, his adoptive mother who died and his birth mother for the second time. All in one year. How did he cope? What did he learn? Listen in as he shares some of his greatest healings. And we go deep on the healing power of realisations.About his book Lucky BastardWhen he was ten years old, the author was told he’d been adopted. It was a seismic event that turned his world upside down. Nobody was who he thought they were. His mother wasn’t his mother; his father wasn’t his father; his sister wasn’t his sister; his grandparents weren’t his grandparents; he wasn’t related to any of his relatives; he didn’t know where he came from or who he was. This was at a time when adoption was shrouded in secrecy and shame. Birth mothers and adoptive parents signed non-disclosure agreements. Adoption records were sealed. In Lucky Bastard Anthony Akerman takes the reader on his quest to find out where he came from.https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Bastard-Anthony-Akerman-ebook/dp/B0CWD19RCPContact Anthonyhttps://www.facebook.com/[email protected] Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

The need to heal the “Primal Wound” assumes we are wounded. It is important to remember that it's based on the perspective of adoptive mother Nancy Verrier, NOT an adoptee. It can leave us feeling: *stuck with the belief we cannot heal. *unsure of what to do next for the best. *pathologized for an event we had no choice in. *More and more adoptees are questioning the wound narrative and wanting to take back their power. Post Traumatic Growth is an altogether more empowering, hopeful and positive perspective that allows us to do exactly that. View the slides that go with the presentation herehttps://www.canva.com/design/DAGIf_zETn8/kZ0rRZ1DLOdWe4lZ3j0h7g/view?utm_content=DAGIf_zETn8&utm_campaign=share_your_design&utm_medium=link&utm_source=shareyourdesignpanelLet's thrive together. This event was a taster for the Growth & Transformation course.Starts: Wednesday 31st July at 9am PST, Noon EST, 5pm UK Runs every Wednesday for 24 weeks Price: £75 (approx. $100)/month for 6 months Register now - only 12 places for this first cohort (£150 per month for future cohorts) at www.thrivingadoptees.com Here's the course outline:Introduction We’ll start with 2 sessions exploring the holistic nature of healing, energy, entering and pacing on the Spiral of Growth. Mind The next 4 sessions will look at what’s going on in our minds, opening to and focussing on growth and what gets in the way of that. We’ll use metaphors such as mind-set v mind-fluid to bust old beliefs and access new and healthier perspectives. It’s all about harnessing your brain’s ability to recover and transcend trauma. Body The 4 webinars on Body will get to the heart of pre-verbal, pre-memory trauma looking into Somatics, self care and embodiment to bring subconscious trauma into the warm and healing light of awareness. This is all about shifting your moment to moment lived experience to peace and calm Heart You will learn all about attuning to your heart, being guided by your intuition over 4 sessions. We will go upstream of feelings to their source and learn about creating new flows for a more contented life being triggered less, with less intensity. Social How can we navigate relationships – even the tough ones with adoptive and biological families – with more ease? 4 sessions on setting and keeping boundaries, communication, the double-edged sword of validation in adoptee communities, self- leadership and feeling like we belong Spirit Who are we at our core, our essence that’s untouched by our trauma. A non-religious take on the self v the Self to understand and live our sovereignty. These 4 sessions are all about the many ways we can leave our trauma bound identity behind for a more authentic and contented life Integration 2 sessions to pull the last 22 together to catalyse our growth and transformation. Stepping into a role as alchemist to turn darkness into light, trauma into joy. Weekly Learning & Practice – 24 X 60 minute sessions Guided Support, Mentorship, Group Support & Accountability through a dedicated Facebook Group Starts: Wednesday 31st July at 9am PST, Noon EST, 5pm UK Runs every Wednesday for 24 weeks Price: £75 (approx. $100)/month for 6 months Register now - only 12 places for this first cohort (£150 per month for future cohorts) at www.thrivingadoptees.com About the speakers: About Jude Adopted at 2 days old, Jude was told the first time her mother held her, “you are adopted”. As a Reiki Master, certified aromatherapist, massage therapist and meditation teacher, she uses a variety of tools in showing people how to cultivate a life of authenticity, empowerment and fulfillment. On June 4th, 2019, she received a letter from her biological mother that pushed her out of the fog and into the realization that she had been carrying, in her body, the trauma of being relinquished. This was the final ah-ha on her personal healing journey that brought her to the root of the grief, pain and fear she had struggled with throughout her life. Now, 56, Jude has a blog, facilitates workshops and weekly adoptee support groups. She resides in Asheville, NC with her husband, Jeff and dog Skyler. About Simon Simon but was adopted at 5 weeks old and told so young he doesn't ever remember not knowing. He didn't come out of the fog until he was 40 when he found out that my teddy bear was a gift from his birth mother. That unleashed an eruption of anger, feeling rejected and unloved. That led to a quest to heal, healing and a desire to help others. A letter from his birth mother (Pat) caused a profound realisation that she loved him dearly and a visceral connection with her. He later found out that she had died, but the depth of their felt connection helped Simon take this in his stride. He's now 57, runs Thriving Adoptees and lives in Hunsingore, near York, UK with his wife, 2 labradors Rosie and Indie and pet pig Buster (who lives outside). He has interviewed over 400 adoptees and run webinars for many, many more on advocacy, healing and thriving. Guests

Would you like more joy and awe in your life? Who wouldn't? Listen in as Lena shares how nature brings out awe from within for moments that blow our minds (in a good way). And this is all backed up by the science of awe.Here are links to the science of awehttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jan/05/awe-by-dacher-keltner-review-the-transformative-power-of-wonderhttps://onbeing.org/programs/dacher-keltner-the-thrilling-new-science-of-awe/Here is a link to Lena's websitehttps://www.wildsoulphotographycolorado.com/Connect with Lena here https://www.facebook.com/eileenskahillhttps://www.instagram.com/eileen.skahill/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Flik believes she chose to be adopted. What???? Perhaps one of the most challenging things I've heard in over 500 episodes. Listen in and find out why she believes this. Ooodles of insight into grace, acceptance, peace, the mind body connection and more. We go deep. Where the great stuff is buried.Find out more about Flik:https://www.therebalancecentre.com/Here are links to the books I mentioned https://www.amazon.com/s?k=chris+niebauer&crid=3JXO4KTRK9CEShttps://www.amazon.com/Power-vs-Force-David-Hawkins-ebook/dp/B00EJBABS2/ref=monarch_sidesheet_title Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Does the term healing resonate with you? It doesn't for Canadian adoptee Elle. For her it's all about peace and feeling better. And being at peace with not knowing. Listen in as she shares how growing up with evangelical adoptive parents impacted her. And what's helped - and continues - to help her to peace.Here's Elle's bio from the Adoption The Making Of Me podcastElle Klassen is a Canadian who was born to a young woman of nineteen years of age in 1970. She was relinquished and then placed with her adoptive family when she was five days old. She grew up in a very conservative Canadian evangelical family where adoption was spoken of as God's plan. Much of her religious background didn't sit well with her, including the narrative around adoption. As an adopted person whose big goal in life was to fly under the radar as much as she could, she never challenged the common narrative surrounding adoption that she grew up with. Several years ago she did a DNA test on a whim & with a hint of morbid curiosity. She wanted to know if her adoption information had been falsified as so many others in the baby scoop had been. As a result, she was reunited with her first family on both her maternal, and paternal sides. Digging for truth led to seeing relinquishment, and adoption as complicated, traumatic events in a child's life. The repercussions of this reach into adulthood, and can never be fully dealt with until it is seen for what it is whether someone has had a "good" adoption or not. Truthful conversations about adoption have become her passion. She now co-hosts the podcast "Pulled by the Root" to help facilitate the conversation about relinquishment & adoption, showcasing the voices of those adopted people, and first parents, who have been previously silenced in favor of perpetuating the idea that adoption is not a trauma or a system of belief that should not be challenged.https://www.facebook.com/luana.klassen Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

How hard are you on yourself? Self judgement is rife amongst us. It's always there. Until it isn't. Listen in as we go deep on grace, easing up and giving ourselves some slack.Bio:Anthony Lynch is a Jamaican-white adoptee based in London. As a research assistant at Coram, the UK's oldest Children's charity, they use their lived experience to inform policy and practice in the Adoption space.Links:Anthony's work: https://linktr.ee/inbetweenlinesorgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-emanuel-lynch/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Time and time again I've heard that healing is a very active pursuit. A very conscious decision to make what is unconscious to conscious. Listen as Julie shares profound learnings from her healing journey.Here's the link to download the items Julie mentioned:https://cominghometoself.co/socialHere's the link to the book I mentionedhttps://www.amazon.com/No-Self-Problem-Neuropsychology-Catching-ebook/dp/B07PLRZVTThttps://cominghometoself.co/https://www.instagram.com/juliebrumley_/https://www.facebook.com/julierasbrum Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Have your feelings scared you? Terrified you? Have you closed your heart to save you heartache? Listen in as Jo shares what she's learned about opening our hearts to ourselves to heal. Profound and enlightening. You're going to love this.https://www.jowilliscoach.com/jos-adoption-storyhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-willis-444ab03b/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

What if we could laugh at grief? Even though that grief is darkest part of our trauma? Wouldn't that lighten our emotional load? Listen in for a contrary take on grief and trauma that brings hope before diving deep to touch that part of us that's unwounded...Alison Larkin was adopted at birth in Washington, D.C., by British parents and raised in England and Africa. After graduation from the University of London and the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, she became a regular on the British stage with appearances on Broadway, a ubiquitous voice-over artist, and a successful stand-up comic. Her internationally acclaimed one-woman show, The English American, was a highlight of the London Comedy Festival. For more information, go to https://alisonlarkin.com/https://www.facebook.com/alison.larkin.944https://twitter.com/AlisonLarkinTEAhttps://www.instagram.com/alisonlarkinpresents/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1y7eVMYgrZfBGrHrF0gJXw Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Spiritual growth is the ultimate healer. That sums up the 500 episodes of Thriving Adoptees in six words. And spiritual in this sense doesn't mean religious. Spiritual growth is seeing more of our essence underneath our psychology. Listen in as Alejandra shares the insights that fuelled her spiritual growth to catalyse ours.Adopted at five weeks into a loving and happy Mexican-American family, Alejandra had never sought her family of origin, but when they arrived unexpectedly, they showed up with a raft of issues that would test her inner strength and drive her spiritual growth. It was then she also learned that some of her intuitive gifts were an inheritance from them. She also discovered that the names given to her by both sets of parents foretold her skill at prophecy and seeing what others didn’t. Alejandra wrote I Just Can’t Make This SH!T Up! to show that everyone can experience true purpose, bliss, flow and awe at the amazing clues and messages delivered by the Universe -- if they elect to embrace their own spiritual journey fearlessly. And she offers her personal experience as a roadmap to opening the doors to accept whatever gifts lay at the core.Book Amazon.com https://alejandrabrady.com/https://www.facebook.com/alejandra.bradyhttps://www.instagram.com/alejandragbradylifestyled/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandra-brady-b35177213/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXt_O-EzB38PwnAZfMTQNsQ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

How's your relationship with trauma? Do you yearn to heal? Crave it? Sara definitely did. Listen in as she shares how that craving ended. An interview bursting with hope.https://www.facebook.com/sara.hathaway.1965 Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

In this special episode the interviewer becomes the interviewee! Listen as Simon shares his thoughts and experiences on home, childhood memories and ah-ha moments that have birthed in him a passion to help other adoptees find freedom and peace beyond the "Primal Wound".https://www.facebook.com/simonjbennhttps://www.facebook.com/thrivingadopteeshttps://www.thrivingadoptees.com/https://www.instagram.com/simonjbenn/https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonjbenn/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Join us as we delve into the journey of adoptee Sloane Walker. Discover how Sloane has transformed her home into an oasis, reflecting the harmony and peace she is cultivating within herself. Gain insights into her unique Pentacle Program, designed to guide others on their path of self-discovery and create a space that truly resonates with their essence and brings joy to their lives. Sloane Walker, M.Ed., a BSE DIA, has come full circle in recent years since her reunion in 2019. After losing her adoptive mom in 2003, she experienced a profound identity crisis and realized that she wasn’t living up to her own potential. Over the past two decades, she has worked on radical self-acceptance and embracing her shadow side. As a 3rd Degree High Priestess and certified whole person life coach, she works with other adoptees and early childhood trauma survivors to facilitate their internal and external transformations. As a 30-year Interior Design veteran, specializing in Kitchen & Bath Design, Sloane’s philosophy is that one’s home environment is a direct reflection of their psyche. Whatever is going on internally will often manifest externally. A chaotic mind may look like excessive clutter and doom piles, while someone who is in denial of their trauma or unable to process past events may live in a space that is overly sterile, impersonal, and austere. Neither is particularly healthy. Through my Pentacle Path signature program, I work with clients to integrate Body, Mind & Spirit with their home environment to create their ideal reality.https://www.facebook.com/theadoptedwitch?mibextid=LQQJ4dhttps://www.instagram.com/theadoptedwitch?igsh=eWdkM2o1Z2VyMGhp&utm_source=qr Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

In this enlightening podcast episode, Krista Boss, an adoptee who endured periods of homelessness during her childhood, shares her inspiring story of resilience and triumph. Join us as we explore the concept of home as not just a physical space, but also a sanctuary for healing and finding solace. Discover the transformative power of creating a safe haven and how it can impact our lives in profound ways.Krista is the owner of CasaHózhó, a sanctuary built to aid in her own healing and the healing of others. Krista has been on a lifelong journey back to the home that resides within. Now she helps others on their journey back to their spiritual home, while also working as a real estate agent to help people on their journey to ownership of their physical sanctuary. Most recently she has dedicated herself to building living wellness communities through affordable and sustainable housing at Liberation Earth. Prior to real estate, she was a math and science teacher, swim coach, and holistic health office manager. Her background has led her to become fascinated with the science behind the spiritual. Her approach to healing is holistic, with an emphasis on women's health. Krista feels especially connected to adoptees, orphans, survivors of child abuse, emancipated minors, divorcees, and those working to heal generational trauma, as she has walked those paths herself, and has intimate knowledge of the trauma and hardships as well as the depth of wisdom those experiences can bring. Krista is a masterful manifestor who has created a life of abundance surpassing even the most well intentioned expectations based on her beginning. You can hear more about her story on Insta @ownyoursanctuary. Krista is currently working on her autobiography to be released in the fall of next year.https://www.instagram.com/casahozho/https://www.instagram.com/ownyoursanctuary/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Eben Alexander, adoptee and neurosurgeon, shares his profound insights and wisdom gained from a Near Death Experience (NDE). He explores how his abandonment wound ultimately became a catalyst for an extraordinary journey of self-discovery and understanding. Tune in to gain deeper insights into the transformative power of life's challenges and to hear Eben's experience of life after death.Academic neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander III, whose career includes decades as a physician, and associate professor at Harvard Medical School and revered teaching hospitals, was once staunchly committed to the materialist world view -- the belief that the physical world is all that exists. His scientific belief system was altered by his 2008 transcendental near-death experience (NDE), an odyssey into another realm during a week-long coma. Despite a bleak medical prognosis, Dr. Alexander awoke to make an inexplicable return to full health. His medical case and recovery were validated in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. Since his NDE, Dr. Alexander has been reconciling his rich spiritual experience with quantum physics, cosmology and the philosophy of mind. Dr. Alexander speaks around the world to educate about the role that consciousness plays in wellness, healing and recovery.A pioneering scientist and modern thought leader, Dr. Alexander has been featured in more than 400 media interviews including for ABC-TV’s Good Morning America and 20/20, The Dr. Oz Show, Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, Larry King Now, Fox and Friends, Discovery Channel, Biography Channel and numerous international radio, digital and podcasts. His books are available in more than 40 countries: Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving the Afterlife, and Living in a Mindful Universe: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Heart of Consciousness, co-authored with Sacred Acoustics co-founder Karen Newell.http://ebenalexander.com/https://www.sacredacoustics.com/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

This first episode of "Finding Home" is a captivating podcast that delves into the profound experiences of Greg Gentry as he embarked on a quest to find a sense of belonging, wholeness and home. Through an intimate conversation we unravel the intricate tapestry of human connection, community and the pursuit of contentment. Join us as we explore the transformative and at times elusive journey of finding home.Greg Gentry is a domestic baby scoop era adoptee, born in California in 1969. He has been in reunion with maternal family members since 2006, and in 2021 also connected with his paternal side. Greg is a facilitator and interviewer for Fireside Adoptees, a private Facebook group founded in 2021, which is committed to additional outreach through its public Facebook page and through the Fireside Adoptees Constellation private Facebook group. Greg is also an administrator and facilitator within the Adoption Trauma Network and the host of Adoptees Connect out of Derry, New Hampshire. He enjoys connecting with others in the online adoptee community, and has found these interactions to be richly rewarding and supportive. Listen to his previous Thriving Adoptees interview here https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/fog-mist-brilliant-sunshine-with-greg-gentryConnect with Greg here:https://www.instagram.com/greggentry22https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070242835691 Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

How open to change are you? How willing and curious to new ways to heal? Listen in as we go deep on how a method that initially felt a little weird helped Trish to feel better on the inside and enjoying better relationships on the outside. And there's the matter of being adopted back by her birth mother...Trish doesn't do social media, but is open to talking with others email me [email protected] and I will put you in touch Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

The more fellow adoptees I speak with, the more I see a broader view of healing. On one side there's the logic of getting answers to questions we've been asking ourselves forever. On the other side there's the mystery of what happens often when we are with others. Tapping into both sides help us heal. Listen in as Kit describes four of his key healing moments. They might well spark some ideas in you.Kit Myers is an assistant professor in the Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies. He was previously a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Merced. His teaching interests include the study of race as a social, relational, and intersectional category of difference and power. His forthcoming book, The Violence of Love: Race, Adoption, and Family in the United States, with University of California Press (2024), uses interdisciplinary methods of archival, legal, and discursive analysis to argue that while adoption is imbued with love, violence is attached to adoption in complex ways. The book comparatively examines the transracial and transnational adoption of Asian, Black, and Native American children by White families to understand how race has been constructed relationally to mark certain homes, families, and nations as spaces of love, freedom, and better futures against others that not. Myers has also published journal articles in Adoption Quarterly, Critical Discourse Studies, Adoption & Culture, and Amerasia. He serves as on the executive committee for the Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, San Diego in ethnic studies and his B.S. in ethnic studies and journalism from the University of Oregon.https://www.linkedin.com/in/kit-myers-21463417/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Is your trauma eating you up from the inside? That's how it felt to Becca. Writing her book and talking about it openly is helping her shift to thriving with the help of a great therapist, energy work and some fab people lining up behind to support her. Great insights on seeing our connectedness, authenticity and vulnerability.Here's a bit about Becca's previous interview:Do you wish your healing was faster?Did your world fall apart when you came out of the fog? Are you wondering what comes now you're consciously aware of your trauma? Listen in as Becca shares how she came out of the fog after tragedy and what's helping her heal. An incredibly vulnerable and empowering episode.Becca was born in 1975, adopted at 2 years old and lives in Seattle.Here's a link to Becca's that interview https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/out-of-the-fog-beyond-with-becca-wellingtonHere's a link to the Kubler Ross curve https://www.ekrfoundation.org/5-stages-of-grief/change-curve/https://www.rebeccawellington.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccawellington/https://www.instagram.com/_rebecca_wellington/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085186204263 Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Chris yearned to meet her birth mother to heal. But meeting her didn't heal Chris. Because as she realised, healing is an inside job. So how come Chris doesn't feel traumatised anymore? Listen in with big ears.Contact Chris here https://www.facebook.com/christine.giles.758Here are the books I mentioned:https://sydbanks.com/onlinereading/https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Your-Fault-Choosing-ebook/dp/B07957XB9T Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

What if love is the ultimate healer? Love for ourselves? Seeing that we ARE love? Listen in as Dottie goes big and I try to keep up. An epic conversation. I think you're going to love this. Pun intended.Dot Todman is a talented Canadian-Jamaican singer/songwriter and highly regarded celebrity vocal empowerment coach. Despite facing challenges in her journey, Dot’s optimism and positive outlook shine through in all that she does.She spent her early life in foster care before being adopted by an interracial couple. Growing up as the only Black girl her age in a small town of 32,000, Dot often felt disconnected from her cultural heritage. Raised by a single White mother, she faced unique challenges in navigating her identity and finding a sense of belonging...Read on....https://singwdot.com/epk/Find out more about Dottie here:https://corevocalpower.com/https://www.instagram.com/corevocalpower/https://www.youtube.com/@corevocalpowerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dottie-todman-3803054/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Many of us feel that we were brought up in a false narrative. Many of us feel that the current narrative around adoption is still false. But what about OUR narrative? The narrative that sums up how we see our life? The narrative that changes. The narrative that's meant to change. Stephen shares routes to a more empowered narrative. Fascinating. Empowering. And very, very different. Different in a GOOD way.Stephen Rowley, Ph.D., is an adoptee, adoptive parent and psychotherapist practicing in Bainbridge Island, Washington. His professional past includes serving as an elementary school teacher and principal, and a school district superintendent in Washington and California. He has been a college professor at three universities, teaching courses in educational administration and organizational theory. He holds a Ph.D. in Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University. His new book is: The Lost Coin: A Memoir of Adoption and Destiny (Chiron Publications, Sept. 2023). Learn more at stephenrowley108.com/memoir/https://stephenrowley108.comhttps://www.facebook.com/srowley108https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-rowley-ma-lmhc-phd-b83ab811/https://www.instagram.com/stephenrowley108/https://twitter.com/srowley108 Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

How does healing help us advocate? How does advocacy help us heal? Listen in as we explore how the intersection of two crucial parts of our lives.Here's the link to Joyce's previous interviewshttps://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/joyce https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/theres-nothing-wrong-with-us-with-joyce-maguire-pavaoHere's a link to a replay of Advancing Your Advocacy For Adoptees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y-8Id3NajIDr. Pavao has done extensive training, both nationally and internationally. She is a lecturer in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and she has consulted to various public and private child welfare agencies, adoption agencies, schools, and community groups, as well as probate and family court judges, lawyers, and clergy. Additionally, she has worked closely with individuals and families touched by adoption, foster care, and other complex blended family constructions.She has developed models for treatment and for training using her systemic, intergenerational, and developmental framework, The Normative Crises in the Development of the Adoptive Family, and her book, The Family of Adoption (Beacon Press), has received high acclaim.Dr. Pavao has received many awards and honors, including the Children’s Bureau/U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Adoption Excellence Award for Family Contribution (2003) and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption award for Angels in Adoption (2000).http://www.pavaoconsulting.com/https://www.facebook.com/Dr.JoyceMaguirePavaohttps://twitter.com/GetKinnectedhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kinnect/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

How do you feel about your wounds? Do they scare you? Do you just want them gone? Do you yearn to feel whole? What if you had a different relationship with them? Saw them as gifts. The cracks that let the light in. Listen in as we go deep to new perspectives on trauma. And peace.Here's an interview with the Headless way guy https://dramyjohnson.com/2024/04/ep298-the-headless-way-with-richard-lang/Here's a link to his website https://headless.org/There's pain and beauty in adoption. Donna like she's been healing her whole life. But coming out of the fog was a shock to her system. Listen in as she shares her insights on an expanding awareness of her self. That's where the most profound shifts are happening that are powering on to a better life.Listen to her first interview at https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/painfully-beautiful-with-donna-josephhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-joseph-6a277a6/https://www.facebook.com/donna.joseph123https://www.instagram.com/iamdonnajosephhttps://www.facebook.com/HealingAdoptee/https://www.youtube.com/@donnamariejoseph Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Feeling unloved hurts like hell. And most of us have felt that way. I know i've felt that my birth mother didn't love me enough to keep me. But what if we feel are adoptive parents didn't want us? Reading about some doubt her parents had in adopting her turned Patti's life upside down. Listen in as we go deep on feeling loved, wanted and enough.Patti Eddington is a newspaper and magazine journalist whose favorite job ever was interviewing the famous authors who came through town on book tours. She never dreamed of writing about her life because she was too busy helping build her husband’s veterinary practice, caring for her animal obsessed daughter—whose favorite childhood toy was an inflatable tick—and learning to tap dance. Then fate, and a DNA test, led her to a story she felt compelled to tell. Today, the mid-century modern design enthusiast and dance fitness teacher enjoys being dragged on walks by her ridiculous three-legged dog, David, reading with her Siamese cat Symon Francis O’Toole on her lap and watching the egrets and bald eagles from her deck on a beautiful bayou in Spring Lake, Michigan. https://pattieddington.com/https://www.instagram.com/pattieddingtonauthorhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Patti-Eddington-Author/100091516900287https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Three-Birthdays-Adopted-Daughters/dp/1647426502 Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you struggle with your desperate parts? Do you yearn to feel whole? Listen in as Mee Ok shares her learnings on healing body, mind and soul. A particularly dramatic episode - she was given just 5 years to live.Born in Korea, Mee Ok Icaro (pronounced “mēˈōk i’kä’rō”) was renamed “Mandy” by her white, evangelical parents who adopted and raised her in California and Arkansas. After narrowly escaping conversion therapy but unable to avoid sitting next to Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Spanish class, she attended Boston University to study philosophy and the classics, but ended up majoring in partying, sleep, and girls. Ten years later she graduated and worked at Harvard as a research assistant in an office next to Timothy Leary’s old digs, while taking courses in history, film, medicine, literature, and German.After being diagnosed with scleroderma and given five years to live, Mee Ok was bedridden for three years until she began drinking ayahuasca, a shamanic brew from the Amazonian jungle, which gave her back her legs. She eventually obtained her MFA in Creative Writing, studying poetry, prose, and drama. Since then, she has been writing, pursuing the path of earth medicines, and trying to become the person she was meant to be.https://www.facebook.com/dasmeeokhttps://twitter.com/dasmeeokhttps://www.instagram.com/dasmeeokHoldingCompassionate.spaceMee-ok.com Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

If we're ok with not feeling ok, we're always ok. Listen in as we dive into healing, coping, peace and more. You'll love Alice's honesty and humour.Here's a bit about Alice's last interview.Listen on as Alice shares how she found the patience and persistence on her quest to find and meet her birth mother. There are bags of insights, realisations, twists and turns. Buckle up for a rollercoaster of a ride.Listen to it here https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/patience-persistence-with-adoptee-alice-diverHere is a link to the publication Alice mentions https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b2nqk1B6XrYH1qRez_tryDW34Yv0qSmd/view?usp=sharingHere is a link to her profile and researchhttps://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/alice-diver/publications/Here's a link to the webinar video I mention https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnz7I7V_IOQ&t=224sHere's a link the webinar on another podcast episode https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/whole-healing-my-primal-wound-webinar-recordingConnect with Alice on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-diver-b6939545 Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Join Fireside Adoptees so you can join our free taster event on 11th May 2024 and the mini course on 18th and 19th May 2024: https://www.facebook.com/groups/firesideadopteesLink to the book I mention:https://www.amazon.com/Power-Force-David-Hawkins-M-D/dp/1401945074Here's the link to Jude's blog post about gratitude and frequency using David Hawkins' scale of consciousness.https://fhwithjude.com/gratitude-3-0/Connect with Judehttps://www.facebook.com/jude.a.hunghttps://www.instagram.com/finding_home_with_judehttps://fhwithjude.com/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

We didn't choose to be adopted. We had no power over what happened to us. So how do we take the power back? What can do to develop our identity on our terms? Powerful stuff from Diego.Here's a bit about Diego from his website:Hi, my name is Diego; I am an adoptee from Colombia, S.A. (5ish years old) who is a relationship and family therapist in the state of Washington. I am an adoptee-focused therapist, centering on adoptee voices and their adoptee identity development through their lived experiences; pre and post-adoption. I am also passionate about relationships regardless of their structure (hetero, consensual non-monogamy - CNM, polyamory, and LGBTQIA+); I believe all individuals in a relationship deserve to be heard and witnessed, opening avenues for a broader understanding of others and ultimately, deeper connections.As a systemically trained relationship therapist, I am also intrigued by how relationships function and how they can be bettered through a greater understanding of the larger and smaller contexts connected to those in a relationship(s). I lean heavily on racial and feminist theory in working with relationships; owning white and male privilege is vital to the better understanding of those who hold less power; it creates pathways to empathy & connection.It is a privilege to sit alongside those willing to be vulnerable in the name of personal growth. I offer virtual sessions for clients in Washington State; I look forward to the opportunity to work with you if you feel we would be a good fit and begin the journey to an improved sense of self.Find out more at:adopteefocusedtherapy.comhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1498807549https://www.instagram.com/diego.vitelli/https://www.linkedin.com/in/diegovitelli/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you feel wounded? Do you yearn to feel whole? Tifin started searching for her biological family at 19. Listen in to what she's learned about wholeness since then including insights from coaching and astro-coaching.https://www.tifindillon.com/https://www.facebook.com/groups/1776536339297503https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVkdPPGv968-oUSl-NUKsCw Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

No-one asks a bereaved person if they've healed from the trauma of their loss. So why should others ask us if we're over the trauma of the loss of our birth family. What if we explored processing trauma rather than healing it? That's Tony's take. Listen in to a different take on relinquishment. It'll get you thinking. And processing.Here's a link to Tony's previous interview on belonging. Listen in to Tony's learnings on feeling and creating that sense of belonging with insights on being comfortable in the uncomfortable, exploring culture, communication and much more. Fascinating. https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/belonging-with-tony-hynes-interracial-adoptee-training-specialistTony, a former foster youth and adoptee, was adopted by a same sex couple in the mid 1990’s. He writes about his experiences growing up as both an interracial adoptee and as a child growing up in a same sex headed household in his memoir “The Son With Two Moms.”Connect with Tony:https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-hynes-283aa941/https://www.facebook.com/TonyHyness/https://www.instagram.com/tony_hy/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Some moments on healing journeys are HUGE - Transformational. They don't come any bigger than what Sarah experienced during labour. Listen in as she shares her lessons from this transformational moment and beyond. Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

What's wrong with me? Perhaps our most fundamental question. One we can answer intellectually 'nothing'. Or we can see that we are perfect - in theory. But how do we get to that place in our soul, gut or bones. How do we transcend cellular shame to love ourselves unconditionally? Listen into Lilly's learnings on healing. Profound and empowering, just like we like our interviews on Thriving Adoptees. We're still a niche but boy do we go deep to share catalysts. We heal together.https://www.instagram.com/anspach_https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilly-anspach-097a294/https://www.facebook.com/carrie.anspach Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Trigger warning: mention of suicidal ideation. Sometimes we have to break down to break through. Our biggest insights come in our lowest moments. So what's the biggest insight? The insight with infinite levels: there's nothing wrong with us. All is, in fact, right with us. We are perfect with our imperfections. Listen in as Sue, adopted in the 1950's, shares her breakthrough healing moments. Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Have the most popular ways to heal left you still feeling wounded? Perhaps it's time for a different approach. Listen in as Zhen shares what has helped her feel whole. A conversation full of healing nuggets.Here's a bit about Zhen's first interview:Are you a transracial/transnational adoptee with a complex relationship to your birth country/culture? Listen in as Zhen shares what she's learned navigating that complexity. Highly empowering.Here's a link to Zhen's first interview https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/zhen-rammelsbergZhen E Rammelsberg is a Korean American adoptee and new playwright and has had her Heuer Play Canst Thou Hearest Thee Now produced and performed in multiple states. She has traveled to a few of these states to see the productions. Her newest play loosely based upon her adoption story called Black Box: An Adoption Choreopoem is yet unpublished but has been performed in Chicago at an all Asian American Playwiting festival and was most recently performed in Cedar Rapids Iowa at the Underground Playwriting Festival where it won 3 awards Best Youth Performer, Best Ensemble and Runner Up for Best New Play. Zhen E resides in Marion Iowa with the Spock to her Kirk of a husband Robert and her 2 cats Toulouse and Pip. The Rammelsbergs split their time traveling from Iowa to Milwaukee to visit their son and also to Korea. As well as being a part time playwright, Zhen E is a part time massage therapist, part time Wedding Official, part time wig and make up technician for several local theatre and opera companies, and Full Time lover of Hello Kitty and a Student of Life and Philanthropist.https://www.facebook.com/zhen.e.rammelsberghttps://www.instagram.com/zhenerammelsberghttps://www.linkedin.com/in/zhen-e-rammelsberg-03448021/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Does trauma feel dark to you? Does that darkness take you down? I know it has that effect on me. So how do we find more lightness? Listen in as Jennifer points us to toward a lighter life.Here's a link to the interview with Jill Bolte Taylor https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/with-jill-bolte-taylorHere's a bit about Jennifer's first interview:The powerful emotions we adoptees feel can sometimes threaten to overwhelm us. So how do we get past those feelings? Listen in as fellow adoptee and podcaster Jennifer and I explore trauma, deceit, identity, mindful awareness and much more. Here's a link so you can listen to it https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/acceptance-with-jennifer-dyan-ghostonHere's a bit about Jennifer from her website:Hi, I'm Jennifer who is an adoptee in reunion with both sides of my birth family. I have been connected with the adoption community for over a decade and am always interested in hearing the personal stories of adoptees from all over the globe. I was born and raised in Chicago, IL. and in foster care for two years before my adoption. Prior to my 48th birthday, I set the intention to search for my birth family. The Truth So Far… is a memoir of my willingness to be open, honest and public about my adoption experience.Once Upon A Time...In Adopteeland, the podcast is another way for me to hopefully add a valuable resource to the adoption community from the perspective of the adoptee.https://www.jenniferdyanghoston.com/https://www.instagram.com/jenniferdyanghostonhttps://www.facebook.com/Onceuponatimeinadopteeland/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Trauma can wreak havoc at every level. Psychologically. Emotionally. Sociologically. Biologically. Spiritually. Theresa's body knew she was an alien but she wasn't told that she was adopted until 19. Listen in as she shares a lifetime's insights into healing at every level.https://www.instagram.com/theresaknorhttps://www.facebook.com/theresa.knorr/https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-m-knorr-carc-243543b/https://www.tiktok.com/@taichi4recoveryhttps://tknorr12.wixsite.com/wellnesseducator Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Do you yearn for more peace? Listen in as we dive into the profound place underneath our trauma. The place we feel at home and at peace.At some level, often unconscious, many of us believe that a good reunion will make us whole again. But that reunion might not even happen. And even if it does, we haven't got a clue how well it will go. So where's the hope given all the unknowns? How best should we navigate the process? Adoptee Heather shares her what she's learned from her own reunion and coaching fellow adoptees on their own journeys.Heather G. Marshall was born in Leith, Scotland and grew up in Kilmarnock. From there, she emigrated to Kinsale, Ireland with her family before moving to the United States. Her fiction and creative nonfiction are published in literary journals in both the US and the UK. Her first novel, The Thorn Tree, is set in South Carolina and on the islands of Arran and Skye in Scotland.Here's a link to Heather's previous interviewhttps://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/healing-reunion-with-heather-g-marshallhttps://heathergmarshall.com/https://www.instagram.com/heather_g_marshall/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Trying to push away, numb or suppress tough emotions is exhausting and a short term fix if it works at all. We have to feel it to heal it. Nicky shares wisdom bombs to help us heal, including one that really landed for me - making friends with shame. It's so counter to what we normally do.Nicky Hammond is a transracial adoptee who was born in South Korea. She and her identical twin sister were adopted by white parents in Sydney Australia. She currently lives with her hubby, two primary school aged boys and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier in the Northern Beaches of Sydney.Nicky is a breathwork facilitator, master coach and former coach instructor. She is an expert in deep enquiry and using somatic practices to heal and expand. She is on her own healing journey using a whole range of modalities to heal. She calls herself The Coach's Coach because she is passionate about helping other coaches deepen their coaching conversations, so they can help facilitate their clients’ transformation and create ethical businesses aligned with their own values. Nicky has been using breathwork to nurture her own nervous system for years and loves sharing it, to help other people take care of themselves, heal, transform and flourish.https://www.facebook.com/CoachsCoach.co/https://www.instagram.com/coachscoach.cohttps://www.coachscoach.co/https://www.linkedin.com/company/coachscoach/https://www.tiktok.com/@coachscoach.co Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

As a wise man once said to me, what we resists persists. So how do we accept the tough stuff we've been through? How do we get to the peace that lies at the other side? Listen in as Stephen shares hard won learnings. Powerful!https://www.instagram.com/stephen_sternejr/https://www.linkedin.com/in/sas-jr/Here are some links to episodes with birth mothers Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Has trauma imprisoned you? Created a trauma bound identity that feels like a life sentence? Listen in as Jude shares the hard won insights that have set her free. This interview was originally a Facebook Live. The first live an in person interview we've done on Thriving Adoptees. It's one of the most powerful and freeing of all 450 plus episodes. We hope it catalyses some insights for you.https://www.facebook.com/jude.a.hunghttps://www.instagram.com/finding_home_with_judehttps://fhwithjude.com/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Is your brain stuck in trauma? Do the same old feelings keep coming back? Listen in as Lorah shares insights across all the levels of healing - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and relational.Here's a link to Lorah's previous interview - God Hated Me https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/god-hated-me-with-adoptee-lorah-geraldThis episode is all about one of the most dramatic turnarounds we've ever heard on the podcast. Lorah used to think that God hated her. That she was a demon. That her soul was shattered. Reunion shook her to the core. So what changed? Listen into her profound shifts. Let them catalyse shifts in you.Here's more about Lorah from her website:Welcome! Here’s a little bit about me. I am The Adopted Chameleon on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Pinterest. I found writing and being creative was therapeutic. I started these pages when I was at a very low point until I found solace in the adult adoptee community. This group knows my pain and understood how I feel. I felt seen and heard for the first time. I had a language and was able to better express what I needed to heal. Being vulnerable and talking about my pain has helped me. Now I write to help myself as well as others. I am a trained Kundalini yoga instructor, TIYT-Trauma Informed Yoga Therapy, instructor, Reiki Master, and Intuitive. With my training in energy healing, trauma and breathe work training, I have studied methods that help with the healing process. Working with these tool I have learned to better understand my own trauma. I use my training to help myself and others. When we heal ourselves, we heal the world.Having worked for Whole Foods Market for almost 7 years as their Marketing Team Leader, I relearned what whole, unprocessed food was. I enjoyed hosting many cooking classes, healthy eating events and, in turn, cleaned up my own diet. When I was young, my adoptive parents and I grew our own food. Food is important to our physical and mental well-being. I learned what foods to eat for optimal health. I was born with abilities that allow me to see/feel/hear things that other people may not. I found out after reunion with my siblings, that a strong intuition ran in my genetic family on both sides, as well as with my adoptive mother. With my intuition and my training, I have come up with ways to help myself and offer to help others.Using all these tools, I have helped myself manage the trauma that adoption caused me. I had some life-changing events that have sent me on this path. This healing power lies within all of us. I will share my knowledge and training, to help you unleash your own healing power. I am an adoptee finding her way without her roots.https://lorahgerald.com/https://www.facebook.com/hela.goode.5https://www.instagram.com/theadoptedchameleon/https://www.pinterest.com/lorahwg/the-adopted-chameleon/https://www.tiktok.com/@theadoptedchameleonhttps://twitter.com/adptdchameleonhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2Ov54pUZ-uUNrGoqmZd33g Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Have you sought validation from others or through your career? Pursued relationships in the hope that someone else can save you only to find out that didn't work? Listen in as Andrew shares his learnings on finding validation and wholeness within.Connect with Andrew at:https://www.facebook.com/AndrewCGlen Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Freedom. Elusive for some of us. Practically impossible for others. Listen in as AJ shares how she's found freedom, the healing power of writing and much more. Powerful and empowering. Listen in with big ears.Here's a link to AJ's previous interview https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/aj-bialoDo you ever feel uncomfortable? AJ grew up in a very toxic environment that left her grieving the loss of what her life might have looked like if she hadn't been adopted. She was very uncomfortable at home and outside was rarely better. She captured her experience in a poem "Alone in the crowd" which she reads to us. Listen in as she shares how she eventually got to feel comfortable in her own skin for insights to help you.Here's a bit about AJ from her website:I have read many peoples biographies over the years and the one thing that people usually start with is the line “I was born…(fill in date and place). I suppose that I could start out the same way. After all, I do have a birth certificate that has a date and time on it.But, I also have other documentation from the hospital where I was born that contradicts the official date. So since I am not sure exactly when I was born I will start with the statement: I celebrate my birthday every year on May 8th. Born and raised in Syracuse, New York, I still call the Salt City home. There is nothing that has impacted my life more than being adopted. Like a black cloud, it has followed me around every day of my life since childhood. It has caused abandonment and self worth issues that have affected every relationship I have ever had. It has plagued every holiday with wondering and yearning to know who my birth family is and to know if they were thinking of me as I often thought of them. Being adopted has caused me to question my whole identity. Always wondering, who am I really? A fellow adoptee once told me that being adopted was like being a red marble in a family of blue marbles. You don’t look like them, you don’t sound like them, you don’t act or think like them. And no matter how hard you try to be more like them you will always be the outsider.You will always be the red marble in the family of blue marbles. But the sense of disconnection does not end there. For even if you are lucky enough to find the family of red marbles that you came from, as I have, you still don’t find a place where you fit in because you don’t know what it means to be a red marble. There is a spiel that I give at the beginning of every poetry and short story reading that I appear at. A J Bialo is not my legal name, but it is my legal alias as recognized by New York State and the Federal Copyright Office. It is the name that I have chosen to define who I am, as a writer and a person. It is a tribute to my two maternal grandfathers – without each of them I would not be the person I am today. I have always been an introvert and never really connected with kids my own age.My best friends growing up were the characters in the many books I would read every week. I remember my father would take me to the library every Saturday where I would scour the drama, horror, fiction and science fiction shelves and I would peruse for hours the synopsis on the inside of dust jackets and the back covers of paper backs. When I didn’t find much new to read at the library I found myself with a notebook and pen writing my own stories. These stories weren’t great writings but just naïve childhood stories that were more interested in the characters than the stories. But my childhood writing career would be short lived. My mother was very concerned that I spent too much time with my made up friends and not enough time socializing with real friends. What she didn’t understand was that I didn’t have any real friends. She discouraged my writing by reading what I wrote and belittling it as stupid and childish. Of course it was childish, I think now in retrospect, I was a child exploring my world in a way that was comfortable to me. Despite her criticism I continued to write and make up characters that I found intriguing. But she would also continue to read my work and continued to criticize what I wrote.I continued writing, hiding my notebooks where I thought she wouldn’t find them. But it seemed no matter where I hid them she would find them, read them, and have some nasty comment about what I was writing. When I ran out of hiding spots, I took my notebooks and a book of matches to the park where I hung out and burned them. I wouldn’t start writing again until I was in my thirties. The first poem I ever wrote was on a train returning from a long weekend in New York City for a professional conference. When I found my family of red marbles the one thing that I wanted to know was who my birth father was. But this information was evidently a red marble secret which was not to be given up, at any cost. To this day, I still don’t know who my birth father is. The only hint I do have is that he was from Brooklyn. So, wh

Feeling insufficient - not enough - is rife amongst us adoptees. So how do we get past that to the relief of being enough and beyond even that. Buckle up for a wild ride to places we've not been before on this podcast.Here's a link to Jeff's previous interview - A Journey To Self on https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/a-journey-to-self-with-jeff-forneyWith our life story missing chapter 1, it's no wonder identity can be tricky or a complete mystery for us adoptees. How can we feel good enough if we don't know who we are? Listen in as Jeff and I explore identity beyond shame, guilt and trauma.Jeff was adopted at birth. Raised in the Bay Area by two wonderfully loving parents, Jeff still felt a pull to know and uncover the mystery of his origin. Jeff eventually found his biological roots and has been in reunion with his birthmother for almost 30 years.Now, a photographer living in Los Angeles, a chance photoshoot with Ray Liota and discovering he, too, is adopted, a project was ‘birthed’ to photograph and interview adoptees in reunion with their biological parents.The project has been a transformative process, but Jeff now finds himself hosting adoptee meetings at his home twice a month. Through Jeff’s involvement with the adoption community and just so happening to be a close friend of Jennifer Griffith and her husband Mark, Jeff has lent his ‘adoption constellation membership’ to Jennifer when her podcast touches the subject of adoption and foster parenthood.He is not claiming to be an expert on adoption but a mindful devotee to living open and vulnerable. Jeff is happy to help others identify with those who have dealt with adoption/foster care issues and create a community of nourishment.https://jeffforney.com/https://www.instagram.com/jeffforney/https://www.byjennifergriffith.com/jeff-forney/https://www.facebook.com/jeffforneyphoto Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Here's a link to Nicolle's first interview https://thriving-adoptees.simplecast.com/episodes/experiencing-healing-with-nicolle-tremitiereWe can't talk ourselves out of our pre-verbal trauma. Our intellect can't heal pre-intellectual trauma. So what on earth do we do? Listen in as we dive into healing as an experience with adoptee and therapist Nicolle.Here's a link to the EMDR International Association https://www.emdria.org/Find out more about Nicolle at:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolle-a-tremitiere-lcsw-79199a25/https://www.facebook.com/TtraumaR/ Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.