One of the voices we hear from least often on Adopt Perspective is that of fathers who lost children to adoption. It’s a perspective that is vital but often left untold, and so we are deeply grateful whenever a father feels ready to step forward and share his experience. In this episode, we are joined by Bill Esman, who is the father of Tracy Shand, a previous guest on our podcast. You may remember Tracy’s story — we first spoke with her in July 2022, and again in the previous episode in April 2025. Bill only discovered he had a daughter when Tracy reached out to him after taking a commercial DNA test. Their reconnection has been an extraordinary journey — one that we are privileged to explore a little further today.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

 Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

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We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing. 

You’ll often hear us at Jigsaw Queensland speaking about the lifelong issues of adoption. How we feel about our experience or where we find ourselves in our lives can vary greatly over the passage of time. Today’s guest, Tracy Shand, is an adopted person who has undergone many transitions in her adoption story and her life since we last spoke to her on 22 June 2022. We welcome her back today to share more of her story and updates. If you haven’t already, we'd recommend listening to her previous episode before this one.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

 Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

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We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing. 

On March 21, 2013, Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a formal apology on behalf of the Australian Government to people affected by forced adoption.

At the 10th anniversary commemoration in Canberra in 2023, The Hon. Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Social Services, announced $700,000 in funding to strengthen support services for those impacted by forced adoptions. This additional funding led to the development of the Forced Adoption: Practical Skills and Awareness online training, which launched in November 2024 - an online course designed to support those who work with adults impacted by forced adoption, helping them better understand its history and lifelong impacts.

Today, I’m speaking with representatives from the two organisations responsible for developing the training, to learn about the intricate process of creating an outstanding and deeply valuable resource—one that has the potential to educate far beyond its intended audience - Beth Hyland, Strategy Design Lead from Portable and Patrick Beggs, Founder and Managing Director of PUR Production.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

 Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

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We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing. 

Dorothy Peel or Dot as she likes to be known, was just 18 years old when she lost her daughter to adoption in Perth in 1973. At the time, she was sent from Kalgoorlie, Western Australia to an unmarried mother’s home in Perth, just six weeks before giving birth. Since then, Dot has struggled with memory gaps regarding her experience, particularly surrounding her time in the hospital during and after her daughter's birth. These lost memories left her with many unanswered questions, until she applied for her files from the unmarried mother’s home and the hospital where she delivered her daughter. What she discovered in the files was chilling—and it may hold the key to some of the answers she has long been searching for.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised.  

Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

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Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing. 

Sharlene Vonhoff was born and adopted in Brisbane in 1977. She was the first of two girls adopted into a farming family in regional Queensland. Today, she continues to farm with her husband, a third-generation farmer on the Darling Downs, where they have raised four children. Growing up adopted in a close-knit farming community has shaped Sharlene’s experience in unique ways. As someone who still lives in regional Queensland, she has faced additional challenges in exploring her adoption experience, without easy access to adoption-specific services. Sharlene is here today to share her story and how she began to truly navigate her adoption experience in her 40s. 

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

 Connect with us

Instagram - adopt_perspective_podcast

Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing. 

At Jigsaw Queensland, we have some really exciting plans for this year, and we’re kicking things off with something especially designed for people impacted by forced adoption. 

We’ve teamed up with Axis Clinic to offer an 8-week program called Overcoming Negative Self-Talk and Learning Self-Compassion.

To tell us all about it and how you can get involved, we’ve got two very special guests —Helen Angela Taylor, the CEO of Jigsaw Queensland, and Anna Lanyon, a Mental Health Social Worker from Axis Clinic.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

 Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

Connect with us

Instagram - adopt_perspective_podcast

Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing. 

Dr. Alison Ingram is an actor, theatre director, a

 Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

Please share this episode and leave us a review. Email us at [email protected] to let us know what you think.

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We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to

In the final episode of Season 5, 2024, we have the pleasure of introducing Jigsaw Qld's CEO, Helen Angela Taylor. Helen has been in the CEO seat since July and has been an absolute gift. She is an adoptee who discovered Jigsaw in 1991 following a move to Brisbane from Sydney. A few years later, she reunited with her mother and father and attended her first peer support group at Jigsaw in 2019, realising the power of the adoption community to support her healing.

Helen has considerable experience in frontline social justice service delivery in the Queensland Government with the Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Department of Corrective Services and the Office of the Adult Guardian.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

Connect with us

Instagram - adopt_perspective_podcast

Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing. 

We often receive feedback from people who have listened to a particular episode that has deeply resonated with them, changed the trajectory of their experience or helped them stay the course. Today’s guest, Phil Kenward contacted us after listening to Alan Hill’s episode of the 31 August 2022. Phil is a Brisbane father who lost a daughter to adoption in 1970. He shared with us that he reached out after listening to Alan’s episode because he felt that more men needed to talk about their experiences, and we couldn’t agree more.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

Connect with us

Instagram - adopt_perspective_podcast

Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing. 

When people affected by adoption embark on an exploration of their experience and perhaps find their biological relatives, the support network around them plays a crucial role in navigating this deeply emotional process. Family members, including partners, children, siblings, extended relatives and even friends often experience a complex mix of emotions themselves. They may feel pride, anxiety, and sometimes insecurity as their loved one searches for their biological roots or begins to figure out how adoption has impacted them. On top of this, they themselves are affected by adoption. For family members, part of their family tree is missing too. Their support can be invaluable to adopted people and mothers and fathers who have lost children to adoption, providing a stable emotional foundation and offering practical assistance such as research help or moral support. In this episode we speak to host, Jo Sparrow's husband, Baden and son, Sam about their perspective.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (www.jigsawqueensland.com)

Connect with us

Instagram - adopt_perspective_podcast

Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing.