Adoption Unfiltered™

Jessica Davis and Maureen McCauley


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“Our decision and application to adopt literally caused what happened to the very child we wanted to help.” —Jessica Davis, Founder and Executive Director of Kugatta, in ep 29.

What if you discovered that the child you adopted was not actually an orphan, but someone who had been trafficked away from her family and placed in an orphanage on your behalf? This is the situation faced by activist Jessica Davis, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Kugatta.com. You don’t want to miss her story of courage and conviction, and if you’re an adoptive parent, you will for sure be asking yourself, “what would I do?”

Maureen McCauley is mom to four interracial adoptees (all adults now), through U.S. infant adoption (her sons) and through Ethiopian adoption (her daughters). She also has three granddaughters. Through her long-running blog Light of Day Stories, Maureen investigates and brings us stories that need more light on them. She is a co-facilitator with Adoption Mosaic for “Seasoned Parents,” a class for adoptive parents who want to better understand adoption and whose children are adults, and “Navigating Estrangement,” for adoptive parents who are estranged from their adult children. Her wisdom, on display here, has helped so many.

Sara shares how accountability to the adoptee by the adoptive parent eventually becomes necessary. Kelsey offers a formal invitation to adoptive parents. Lori points to the importance of alignment of adoptive parent’s needs and adoptee’s needs. When they’re in conflict, which one takes precedence?


Engage Further

Related Conversations:

  • Adoption Unfiltered interview with Kathryn Joyce, author of The Child Catchers
  • Lori’s interview with Maureen McCauley on the Dance of Adoptive Parenting
  • Jessica Davis:

    • Kugatta
    • Maureen McCauley:

      • Light of Day Stories
      • Lions Roaring Far From Home
      • Adoption Mosaic’s Seasoned Parents course (and others)
      • Sara Easterly:

        • Sara’s Website
        • Searching for Mom: A Memoir
        • Adoptee-Voices.com
        • @saraeasterlyauthor
        • Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard:

          • Twisted Sisterhood Podcast
          • Love, Your Birth Mom
          • @fromanothamotha
          • Lori Holden:

            • Lori’s Website
            • The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption
            • Adoption: The Long View Podcast
            • @lavluz
            • ...more
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