Adoptees On

I get to interview some incredibly special people on the show, and today is a perfect example. I am thrilled to introduce you to Miguel Caballero. Miguel shares some of his story with us including how he got sober eight years ago. There are so many adopted people who struggle with addiction, and Miguel describes feeling that he had a birth-mother-shaped hole to fill. He's gone on to fill a great need in our community by starting the peer-led support group Adoptees and Addiction.

Full Show Notes Here

• Miguel Caballero: www.adopteesandaddiction.com | Instagram | Facebook
• Haley Radke: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Adoptees On: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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I am honoured to be able to bring you part two of Justin's story today. Justin shares about a desire to add back his original surname and here in part two we'll see the fallout. We speculate on what about our experiences as adopted people lets us accept poor treatment that we would never allow towards those we love. Ultimately a world-shifting event in Justin's immediate family brings clarity to his relationship with his adoptive family.

*TW: Suicide

Full Show Notes Here

• Learn about Internal Family Systems
• Marta Dranchenberg shares about IFS on the Healing Series episode 69 and IFS and relationships on episode 71
• Self-Therapy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Wholeness and Healing Your Inner Child Using IFS, A New, Cutting-Edge Psychotherapy by Jay Earley, PhD

• Haley Radke: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Adoptees On: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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I am honoured to be able to bring you Justin's story today (this is part one, and we'll be back next week with part two). Justin was labelled "difficult to adopt" because he is bi-racial. He tells us that he never had an interest in finding his biological family until he attended a very interesting week-long therapeutic workshop. Justin shares about a desire to add back his original surname and in part two we'll see more of the fallout from that decision.

*TW: Suicide

Full Show Notes Here

• Please sign the support letter here adopteesforjustice.com/supportletter/
• Listen to Anissa's story on Adoptees On - episode 147 - to understand how critical this issue of adoptee citizenship is

• Haley Radke: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Adoptees On: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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Part two! We are back with more VERY real talk with Pam Cordano, MFT about estrangement from our adoptive parents. Pam teaches us how important it is for us to get clarity on what is actually possible in our relationships. We also address if they won't change, it's up to us - so what are we willing to change? Our amount of engagement in the relationship? The strength of our boundaries? Which 'circle' do they safely get to have access to? This is tough stuff! Thank you for listening and walking through this with us.

Full Show Notes Here

• Pam Cordano, MFT: pamcordano.com | yourmeaningful.life | Twitter | Instagram | Email pcordano(at)comcast(dot)net
• Haley Radke: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Adoptees On: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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Pam Cordano, MFT returns to guide us through some thoughts on estrangement. Why does it ever get to the point that we'd consider going no-contact with our adoptive parents? Are adoptees just "too sensitive" and take everything personally? Even through challenging topics such as this one, Pam leads us with thoughtfulness, compassion, and helps us discover what's most important.

Full Show Notes Here

• Pam Cordano, MFT: pamcordano.com | yourmeaningful.life | Twitter | Instagram | Email pcordano(at)comcast(dot)net
• Haley Radke: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Adoptees On: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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Dr. Susan Branco is with us today and she is a force for good in our community. She shares an overview of her story and we get a chance to deeply focus on topics that she's done an incredible amount of work and research on. Her research includes how counselors of colour deal with client microaggressions and ensuring adoption themes make their way into the core curriculum for future social workers and therapists. Dr. Branco shares more with us about her case study of the Colombian Adoption House which includes firsthand experiences of Colombian adoptees and what happens when they find out their adoption was illicit or black-market. Her passion for family preservation is evident when we go down the list of systemic problems in the adoption industry.

Full Show Notes Here

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Alice Stephens, the author of Famous Adopted People, joins us today! I was honoured to hear her describe her childhood which included years in Botswana, and she even shares a bit about her search in Korea for biological family. Of course, we talk about writing, publishing, and her book reviews; if you ever need a book recommendation for an adoptee-centric look at adoption, Alice is an expert.

Full Show Notes Here

• Alice Stephens: www.famousadoptedpeople.com | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Haley Radke: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Adoptees On: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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Today I get to introduce you to Leigh Bailey. This is the second episode of our estrangement series. Leigh shares about her reunion and how it started to be about her adoptive family's experience instead of her own. We talk about how trying to put up safe boundaries can be exhausting, and how do you even decide if estrangement is called for in the situation: spoiler alert - we can't tell you what's right for you!

Full Show Notes Here

• Leigh Bailey: alwayslooking.blog | Instagram | Facebook
• Haley Radke: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Adoptees On: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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We are starting a short series on the topic of estrangement. This series isn't meant to be a how-to undo estrangement or a "break up with your family" guide, it's once again brought to you in the spirit of hoping to let you know you aren't alone. I see you, and I acknowledge how hard and lonely this can be.

Today we're going to hear from Kirsten Weatherford about how a memorable trip - a pilgrimage - helped Kirsten come out of the fog. Did reunion with her first mother accelerate her estrangement from her adoptive parents? We also wrestle with what it would take to even broach the subject of reunification if that was ever on the table.

Full Show Notes Here

• Kirsten Weatherford: nomoremisfit.com | Instagram
• Haley Radke: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
• Adoptees On: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

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We're back! For the first episode of 2021, we are talking adoptees in comics! Emily N. Bartz shares her personal story of being adopted from the Philippines, and then why she spent her childhood going back and forth between the US and her country of origin. We have a fascinating discussion about adoptees in comics, including a focus on her article about "Loki: I Can Turn into anything as long as it's me". We also talk about adoptees in academics and how much is available for us to learn from academic journals in particular.

Full Show Notes Here

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