267 | Jessica Hairston Today our guest is poet Jessica Hairston, author of Power of Our Wombs. Jessica shares her complex origin story, where both of her biological parents were struggling with addiction when she was born, apprehended and adopted soon after. We talk about “the traveling trauma” that has impacted her family system and the power of the word womb which features prominently in her poetry collection. Full Show Notes Here This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

Jessica Hairston

The podcast where adoptees discuss the adoption experience. This is not the usual adoption talk. You will find real, raw, and deep feelings addressed in these interviews. No sugar-coating here! Come and laugh, cry, learn and heal with us.

Adult adoptees share stories of search, reunion, and secondary rejection. Adoptees On also curates recommended resources to encourage and educate the adoption community about adoptee issues.

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280 | Svetlana Sandoval We’re back, and I’m sick again, and my voice is only going to be like this for the intro because luckily I was healthy when I interviewed this week’s guest, Svetlana Sandoval. Svetlana is an international adoptee, adopted from Russia at about six months old. We talk about what sparked an interest to search for her biological family, how she navigated the language barriers using technology and a friend of a friend. Svetlana also shares about her decision to reclaim her original name. Due to the sensitive nature of her reunion during the war, she will not be commenting directly on the conflict.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

Svetlana Sandoval

279 | Reshma McClintock Oh it is such a delight to get to share this interview with you. Reshma McClintock, the producer and subject of the film Calcutta is My Mother is back with us today. Reshma is a transracial adoptee from Calcutta, India, and this incredible film documents her return to Calcutta for the first time since her adoption, and she would tell you that it also depicts a portion of her journey “out of the fog”. I received permission to share the audio from her trailer, and I’m going to play that for you here, just before we get into the conversation about her story, some of her experiences in Calcutta, and some tips for transnational adoptees about preparing for a home country visit. We also get to talk about her upcoming documentary screening in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 4, 2024. I get the honour of hosting the Q&A; for that event, so consider this my personal invite to you to come and join us to see the film and hang out with some fellow adoptees!   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

Reshma McClintock

278 | Adrian Wills Today’s guest is fellow Canadian, award-winning director and filmmaker, Adrian Wills. Adrian has a brand new documentary out called A Quiet Girl where get to follow his journey of a public search for his birth mother, and experience every new discovery along with him. Today we talk with Adrian about how his friends prompted his search and what he’s discovered about the people of Newfoundland through his time there. We also discuss how we often create these mythical personas of our biological parents from a few short sentences in our non-identifying adoption information.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

Adrian Wills

277 | John Gallaher, Ph.D. You’re in for a treat today, we have award-winning poet John Gallaher with us! John’s newest poetry collection, My Life in Brutalist Architecture releases this month and it’s his first collection focused in on his experience as an adopted person. Even though he was a kinship adoptee, he still had to take a DNA test to find the family he was searching for. We talk about DNA, nature versus nurture, his search for the other John Gallahers of the world and what reunion really looks like for him right now.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

John Gallaher, Ph.D.

276 | Sanjay Pulver Today’s guest is Sanjay Pulver, an Indian adoptee who has become an outspoken adoptee advocate in recent years. We talk about the complexities of being adopted from an orphanage in a country that is not currently safe for him to return to as a queer trans man. We discuss the intersections between being transnationally and transracially adopted with being a trans person and Sanjay also shares about his experience with somatic therapy.   Full Show Notes Here   Join our adoptee community on Patreon here   Check out our upcoming live events here! This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice. Please seek out professionals in those fields if you need those services. The views expressed by the hosts of Adoptees On or any guests are their own and do not represent the opinions of any organization or other person unless otherwise stated.

Jessica Hairston

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