Today's guest is an author and adoptee who was born in Sydney's Crown Street Women's Hospital in 1965 where she remained for a month because of a mild talipes diagnosis. When released from the hospital she was placed in a foster care arrangement with her future adoptive parents for a period of twelve months, until the adoption was finalised. Karen describes herself as a mother, feminist, performer, celebrant and activist and now resides in Melbourne, Australia. In this episode she speaks to Jo Sparrow about her story and memoir, 'Lifting the Lid: a memoir born of adoption'. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

In the second episode of our interview with Dr Gary Clapton, Jo asks him about his adoption research, with a particular focus on fathers who lost children to adoption. Gary is a father who lost a daughter to adoption in 1970. He is also a social worker who conducts research into adoption at The University of Edinburgh and is a committee member of the Father's Network Scotland and an advisor to 'Birthlink'. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

Dr Gary Clapton is a father who lost a daughter to adoption in 1970. He is also a Social Worker who conducts research into adoption at The University of Edinburgh and is a committee member of the Father's Network Scotland and an advisor to 'Birthlink'. In this episode Gary will be sharing his personal story with Jo Sparrow and in part two he'll be discussing his adoption research, with a particular focus on fathers who lost children to adoption. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueenslandcom/episode-notes

Lynelle Long is a Vietnamese adoptee born in the early 70's who now resides in Sydney, Australia. She founded InterCountry Adoptee Voices (ICAV) in 1988 and has built it into a global network in the intercountry adoptee community. It is now one of the first worldwide platforms for adoptee-led organisations and individuals to collaborate, share and encourage one another - regardless of sending or adoptive country. Lynelle has also built relationships with the Australian Federal Government, which is responsible for intercountry adoption and also with state central authorities in Australia. She works tirelessly as a global advocate for the needs and rights of intercountry adoptees and has presented at domestic and international seminars, written, edited and collaborated to publish extensively on the experiences of intercountry adoptees - including the Colour of Time book published in 2017. Lynelle has also presented at The Hague Working Groups to Prevent & Address Illicit Practices in Intercountry Adoption and was invited to join Child Identity Protection as a Special Advisor. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes.

Bernadette Davison is a mother who lost a daughter to adoption in Cairns, Queensland in 1985 at the age of eighteen. In this episode she shares her story of that time, how this loss impacted her life in the years afterward, her reunion story and how attending a Federal Forced Adoption apology anniversary event in Western Australia, where she now resides, changed everything. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/edisode-notes

In this episode, we talk to Link-Up Queensland Research Manager, Ruth Loli. Link-Up Qld works to enhance the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families as children or were affected by forcible removal policies. This includes work with elders, Mums, Dads, grandparents, aunties, uncles, sisters and brothers to reverse the cycle of trans-generational trauma and to restore community health, resilience and wellbeing. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

Jo Sparrow talks to Jo Stuurman about his experience as an adoptee who lived through the Stolen Generation. The Stolen Generations are Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from their families, community, and culture owing to government policies and laws throughout the 1900s, until at least 1970. Jo was adopted by a Dutch immigrant family along with two other Noongar children, and they named him Robert Stuurman. He spent his childhood living between Australia, the Netherlands and Papua New Guinea. Jo took on his birth name, Joseph following his reunion in 1992 and is now known as Jo. He is an artist and has served as Board Director and a staff member within the Link-Up (Qld) organisation and has had an association with the organisation for 27 years, beginning as a client in 1992.

In the second episode of our two-part adoption and addiction series, Jane speaks to David Bohl about the relationship between adoption and addiction. David is an adoptee from the USA who is a Clinical Substance Abuse Counsellor, Master Addiction Counsellor and currently works as an independent addiction and recovery consultant. David is a board member and addiction and recovery consultant to the National Association of Adoptees and Parents. In 2018, David published a book titled 'Parallel Universes' which won an excellence award in the category of addiction recovery. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

Kevin Barhydt is an adoptee living in New York who wrote a memoir about his adoption, childhood sexual abuse, addiction and recovery called 'Dear Stephen Michael's Mother'. By the age of 20, Kevin had succumbed to a suicidal lifestyle of drug dealing and prostitution. At age 45, and after many years of recovery, he began a painful journey to uncover his origins and the hopeful search for his mother. In this first episode of a two-part series on adoption and addiction series, Jo talks to Kevin about his personal story and memoir. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes

This year (2021), marks 30 years since the 1991 amendments to Queensland's 1964 Adoption of Children Act. The 1991 amendments entitled adopted people and their parents to receive identifying information about each other - unless the other party had lodged an objection (veto). Parents and adopted people tirelessly lobbied for the amendments for more than a decade and almost saw their efforts fail when the Adoption Privacy Protection Group launched an eleventh hour campaign to maintain closed records. In this episode we speak to former Qld MP, Anne Warner who championed and sponsored the amendments when she was Minister for Family Services and Minister for Aboriginal and Islander Affairs. Anne reflects on this period, the compromises she was forced to make and the legislative amendments she says she is most proud of during her time as Minister. This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. Former information go to http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/episode-notes