Annalisa Toccara-Jones on Digital Resistance, Colonial Legacies, and Telling the Truth About Adoption

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira is joined by Annalisa Toccara-Jones, a UK-based producer, communication strategist, and doctoral researcher in journalism. Together, they explore the intersections of adoption, colonialism, race, and digital community. Annalisa shares her personal journey, the loss and reconnection in her family search, and what her research reveals about how adoptees use social media as a tool for truth-telling and resistance.

In this episode, we cover:

(01:44) Annalisa’s adoption story, navigating childhood silence, and being made small.
(06:22) The train ride that changed everything—and how one article opened the floodgates.
(09:15) How social media became a place of connection, validation, and emotional release.
(13:56) Her PhD research on adoption, identity, and digital storytelling.
(18:24) Adoption as an industry—and how colonialism still shapes global and domestic adoption.
(22:46) Shifting narratives: centering adoptees, naming structural racism, and making space for complexity.
(30:29) Christianity, identity loss, and how religion shaped her adoption story.
(33:12) Her search for biological family, finding her brother online, and the grief that followed.
(40:07) What UK records access looks like—and the painful truth she uncovered.
(47:07) Final thoughts on healing, self-trust, and showing up as your full self.

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Editing by Samuel Oyedele (Editor)

Special thanks to Samuel Oyedele for editing our podcast, support his work on Instagram or email him at [email protected]