Gina is a birth mom who placed her daughter for adoption in a semi-open adoption 21 years ago. She shares the feelings and struggles from her journey in this episode, and her jaw-dropping story of reunification with her daughter. Gina is the author of "A Seemingly Unfillable Heart: An Adoption Journey" which is a memoir about her adoption story.

Find Gina on Instagram @ginacrottswriter

Addison, an adoptee who was born in China, shares her story and talks about Asian hate and the challenges of being raised in a white family. Be sure to check out Addison and Libby's podcast, Adoptee Meets World, available on Apple Podcasts and most other places you find podcasts. Also follow them on Instagram @adopteemeetsworld_

This week on the podcast we hear from Michael and Tony, an adoptive couple, who share their story of adopting their daughter and then becoming foster parents in the state of California.

In this episode, we hear from Sarah, a birth mom, who shares her story of placing two of her children for adoption in the same adoptive family. She discusses some of the challenges she's faced and the importance of education in adoption. Sarah runs the Instagram page @adoptioneducationkeys, which she created as a space to have hard conversations.

We are excited to share another adoptee voice in this week's episode. Mary from @becauseadoption shares her story as an adoptee, including the heartache and challenges she's faced. The adoption community needs to hear adoptee voices. This vulnerable episode shares another valuable adoptee voice. We hope you feel growth while hearing Mary's story, thoughts, and struggles.

Check out her website at becauseadoption.com

In this episode, Nate and Kim share their story of adopting their son, and their experiences regarding special needs and adoption, including building open adoption relationships with birth parents who may have special needs.

Derek J. Williams is an adoption attorney in Utah. In this episode, he shares legal and ethical guidelines for the adoption community to consider. Derek discusses the importance of making ethical and educated decisions in adoption. He talks about the most common legal questions he is asked and shares insights and suggestions for the adoption community through a legal lens. An additional resource Derek suggested, particularly for those looking for attorneys well-versed in adoption across the United States is AAAA, which is the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys.

This week on the podcast we are excited to share an interview with Kaytlin, a birth mom. Kaytlin wants to help empower women to make the best decisions for themselves as they weigh their options. We hope you enjoy hearing from her and her unique perspectives and story this week.

This week on the podcast we hear from teen and child adoptees. We hear from adoptees who have different kinds of adoptions and different feelings about their experiences. We hope we can always prioritize listening to adoptees, and we hope you enjoy our special holiday episode. In this episode, our oldest child moderates as the interviewer for eight different adoptee kids and teens. We are so thankful for all of them sharing some of their feelings with us in this episode.

This week we're so excited to hear from Kim Perry again. Kim is an adoption professional and a licensed social worker, as well as the mother of two children who were adopted from Ecuador. Kim shares about the process of adopting her daughters, and advice for adoptive parents about helping children address trauma and other challenges that stem from adoption. She talks about embracing our children's cultures and heritages. She discusses her family’s experience becoming a transracial family and the struggles of children facing racism. She also talks about special needs adoption and older child adoption and shares her thoughts on how we as an adoption community can better rally around and support adoptees.