Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories

In this special episode, Sarah and Louise put their chapter discussion on hold to talk to Jennifer Utley, Director of Research, at Ancestry.

Jennifer’s journey at Ancestry® began more than 20 years ago with a love of editing, writing, and publishing—and a strong desire to remain close to her Utah roots. Today, her passion for storytelling remains at an all-time high, thanks in part to the technological innovations she’s witnessed throughout her career. Stories that once took days to research now unfold in minutes. It’s Jennifer’s job to surface the power of Ancestry® for television programming, public relations campaigns, and media outlets.

 On a personal note, Jennifer has had the pleasure of tracing her interests in publishing, reading, and music to not-so-distant relatives. And by learning more about the adversity some of her ancestors faced, Jennifer is able to draw strength and resolve to achieve her own goals. From battle-worn grandfathers to early colonial patriots, Jennifer’s family history embodies a bold sense of pride in forging ahead where others might give pause. This makes her the perfect choice to curate and distribute the most compelling Ancestry® narratives to empower personal discoveries and enrich lives.

For Jennifer, the most rewarding part of her work at Ancestry® is the emotional connections that develop when customers keep coming back to connect their own dots.

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Reckoning with The Primal Wound: Official Trailer

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In this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss Chapter Twelve of  “The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier and then they speak to David Daniels.

Adopted at birth by a pioneering Hollywood television couple who were responsible for creating some of the most iconic series of our time, including I Love Lucy, David grew up in the midst of show-biz Los Angeles far removed from the devoutly Christian world of West Virginia, where his biological parents were from.  But it was this very Christian faith that compelled David's unwed college-age birth mother to carry David to term, clandestinely flee from West Virginia to New York City to give birth to David, and then relinquish him into the arms of the progressive TV industry couple,  whose open-mindedness ultimately freed David to search for and find his biological parents.  Listen now to hear David's story of coming home to roots that are in marked contrast to his life as an adoptee.

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Reckoning with The Primal Wound: Official Trailer

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In this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss Chapter Eleven of  “The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier and then they speak to Nichie Stonall.

Nichie (Nikki) Stonall moved from Michigan to Johannesburg South Africa in 2015 to work alongside Impact Africa as the director of their Impact Baby Rescue. She leads a team of women who raise awareness about Baby Abandonment, counsels women as they journey through their pregnancies, and oversees the day-to-day operations of a baby home. Nichie lives in Johannesburg with her husband Chris and together they have a daughter. Nichie's passion for Adoption and family drives her to continue to advocate for the mothers who are facing an uncertain future for their babies, and the precious babies her team cares for. 

Find Impact Africa on Social Media under Impact Africa on Facebook and Instagram. And, Nichie can be found on Facebook as Nichie Parish  Stonall and Instagram as @nichiestonal

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Reckoning with The Primal Wound: Official Trailer

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In this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss Chapter Ten of  “The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier and then they speak to Damon L. Davis.

Damon L. Davis is the host and producer of the podcast,  "Who Am I Really?" (www.whoamireallypodcast.com) where adoptees tell their own stories of adoption and share their experiences attempting reunion with their birth families. He has interviewed over 150 adoptees from a diverse range of adoption experiences.  In his autobiography "Who Am I Really? - An Adoptee Memoir" Damon shares his journey to becoming an adoptive parent and his emotions over the birth of his natural son, Seth. Damon opens up about the heartbreak of grappling with his adoptive mother's mental illness while balancing the joy of locating his birth mother. His journey takes a twist when he finds his biological father via DNA testing.

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In this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss Chapter Nine of “The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier and then they speak to Denise Cruz-Castino.

Denise Cruz-Castino is an advertising writer and screenwriter from Los Angeles. When she was five years old, her four-year-old cousin Kenny moved in and became her adopted brother. No matter how much love he got from Denise’s family, and how much therapy, these early years shaped his rocky life that continued through his adulthood.

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In this special episode, Sarah and Louise put their chapter discussion on hold to talk to Nancy Verrier, author of the groundbreaking book, The Primal Wound, and Rebecca Autumn Sansom, director of the upcoming documentary, Reckoning With The Primal Wound.

Nancy raised both an adopted daughter as well as a biological daughter and was able to compare her children’s behavior. She became so fascinated with her adopted daughter’s response to being relinquished that she changed careers, becoming a psychologist and writing her thesis about the separation of a mother and child. She called this separation the primal wound.

Rebecca Autumn, who goes by both her adopted name and her birth name, connected with Nancy to help realize Reckoning With The Primal Wound.  It is the first adoptee and biological mother team to produce a film about The Primal Wound. She has partnered with Legacy Entertainment Partners and Executive Producer Gena Vazquez to secure distribution.  

Reckoning with The Primal Wound: Official Trailer

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Published: Aug. 10, 2021 @ 2AM Edit

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In this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss Chapter Eight  of “The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier and then they speak to Mick Smyer.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Mick started out life in St. Vincent’s, a Catholic orphanage, where he lived until he was adopted at six months old. His adoptive mother was 50 years old when she adopted Mick, but she lied about her age to the adoption agency (and to her husband). She was also mentally ill. Not surprisingly, Mick eventually became a psychologist, with a specialty in geriatric mental illness. Listen now to hear Mick's journey in finding his biological family.

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In this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss Chapter Seven  of “The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier. They then talk to Madeline and Laura Lillis, two sisters from Kansas City with a unique story.

Raised in a single-parent household by their biological dad, Madeline and Laura’s relationship to adoption may not be apparent to an unfamiliar listener. However, in this episode, these sisters describe their unique relationship to and perspective on adoption with discussion about their biological mother’s adoption and the generational trauma they are determined to dismantle.

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In this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss Chapter Six of “The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier, and then they talk to Sam Miller, an adoptee living in Dallas, Texas.

Raised in the Chicago area, Sam Miller’s father passed away when he was just 3 years old.  Growing up, he didn’t have a close relationship with his mother.  He could never understand how she could be so emotionally distant from her own “flesh and blood.”  In 2014, his intuition that his relationship with his mother was “opaque,” became clear.  He was fatally ill from a genetic condition, his parents were gone, and he found out that not only did they know that he would need a kidney transplant one day, but they refused to tell him that he was adopted.  This conversation touches on that “aha” moment that some of us have when our being adopted suddenly becomes our new identity later in life and concludes with a happy message.

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In this episode, Sarah and Louise discuss Chapter Five of “The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier, and then they talk to Andrea Ross, author of "Natural Selection: A Memoir of Adoption and Wilderness."

Adopted at birth, Andrea grew up inhabiting two ecosystems: one was her tangible, adoptive family; the other her birth family, whose mysterious landscape was hidden from her.  In her early twenties, while working as a ranger in Grand Canyon National Park, she embarked on a journey to discover where she came from and, ultimately, who she was. After many missteps and dead ends, she uncovered her heartbreaking and inspiring origin story. She began navigating the complicated turns of reuniting with her birth parents and their new families. By way of backcountry travel in the American West, she also came to define her true identity and place in the world not by adopted nor biological parents, but through an expanded concept of family.

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