Pulled By The Root - Amplifying Adoption Issues

Betsy McCoach is a full professor in the Educational Psychology department at the University of Connecticut where she teaches quantitative research methods and conducts research in education and psychology. Born in 1970, Betsy was placed with her adoptive family at 7 weeks old. Betsy grew up in a stable family and has always known that she was adopted. Betsy has one older adoptive brother: he is over 9 years older than she is, and he is not adopted.  Betsy has been married to her husband for almost 25 years; they have 2 children- ages 13 and 15. When Betsy and her husband decided to have children, she wanted to know more about her “genetic history”, which prompted her to begin searching for her birth parents.  Her “reunion” story spans 17 years and contains several plot twists. After a great deal of internal debate, Betsy has decided to use her real name on the podcast and “own” her story. 

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

Julie Ryan McGue is an author, a domestic adoptee, and an identical twin. She writes extensively about finding out who you are, where you belong, and making sense of it.
Julie’s debut award winning memoir Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging  (https://juliemcgueauthor.com/books/)(She Writes Press) came out in May 2021. It is the story of her five-year search for birth relatives. Her weekly blogs That Girl, This Life  (https://juliemcgueauthor.com/blog/)and monthly column at The Beacher focus on identity, family, and life’s quirky moments. 
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Julie received a BA from Indiana University in Psychology. She earned a MM in Marketing from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University. She has served multiple terms on the Board of the Midwest Adoption Center and is an active member of the American Adoption Congress.
Julie splits her time between Northwest Indiana and Sarasota, Florida. She is the mother of four adult children and has three grandsons. If she’s not at her computer, she’s on the tennis court, or out exploring with her Nikon. Julie is currently working on a collection of personal essays. 

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

Joining us this week is returning guest from March, 2022  (episode 68) Linda Pevac where we learned about her adoption journey and discussed her first book, “The Gathering Place.” Linda has since released her second book, “A Fire is Coming,” available both on Amazon.com and audible.

Linda,  “Emma Stevens,”  is a US domestic adoptee who was adopted at birth and has survived many layers of trauma. Her childhood upbringing in an authoritative, cult-like family, predisposed Linda to several more struggles. One of them was falling prey to an exploitative therapist where she unknowingly entered a cultic, one-on-one relationship with her psychologist. Someone who was to help, support and provide healing -  instead, held her captive in a psychological nightmare. 


For more about Linda;

https://linktr.ee/EmmaStevensWriter

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

Thank you for being part of this journey, as we celebrate this milestone of 100  episodes with you!  

Pulled By The Root wishes to continue to shed light on the intricate journey of adoption, highlighting the resilience and strength of our community. In this episode, we are joined by Heidi Marble with a special message of hope and gratitude. 

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

Dana Ozak is a full time preschool teacher, passionate adoptee advocate, and author of her soon to be released memoir, “A Girl and Her Four Families.”

Dana was born at St. John’s Hospital in Cleveland in 1973. She was adopted through Catholic Charities in November of 1973. Her adoption was never kept a secret from her, but she still wondered where she came from. She was able to find her biological mother’s name after the state of Ohio released her OBC (Original Birth Certificate). Sadly, she also found out her biological mother had passed away. A Girl and Her Four Families is the story of Dana’s quest and emotional roller coaster ride to find her biological families and if she was the product of genetics or the loving environment in which she was raised.

For more about Dana;

https://girland4families.com/ (https://girland4families.com/)

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

This week we are joined by author, late discovery adoptee, and adoptee advocate Fred Nicora. Fred discovered he was adopted at the age of 41 years old, through a slip of the tongue by an elderly aunt at a large family gathering, when Fred’s parents had already passed away. The subsequent revelation was the discovery that he had no legal right to learn his true identity. "Forbidden Roots" describes Fred's journey over six years, from this discovery, through reunions, and finally arriving at some initial resolution and reconciliation while constructing a new identity. Today, he is on a mission to advocate for records, and access change in Wisconsin (his home state) and assist those coming to terms with their birth status and discoveries.

For more about Fred’s book, “Forbidden Roots: A Memoir of Late-Discovery Adoption”http://www.frednicora.com

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

Jenny has a deep connection to the human spirit, and a lifelong passion for health and wellness. Over the span of her life and career she has worked with thousands of individuals in fitness, with special needs, education, and business communities. Jenny has 21 certifications in alternative health and fitness, and an extensive background in business leadership. Her experience and education extend far beyond the classroom. Jenny was adopted as a baby and into an extraordinary family with a multitude of rare and uncommon diseases, where medical miracles are commonplace. Her family has been the catalyst for Jenny's passion and understanding of the body's remarkable power to heal itself. Her own emotional challenges with adoption trauma and involvement with her family have created a unique canvas of understanding of how we hold trauma in the body and in what way illness is created.

Jenny is currently working on her first book on the amazing ability we each have to communicate with our bodies and generate our own internal healing processes. 

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

Ken is an adoptee who was always wondering. Wondering about what if? Wondering about why? Always wondering and feeling rudderless. Ken suspects many adoptees have experienced the same insecurities. 

He decided that he needed to explore this further, examining his own journey and that of his birth mother on a deeper level. This examination inspired Ken to write his debut novel, "I Will See You Again....Hearts Will Sing".  A journey of self-discovery told through equal parts of elation, despair, and revelation, the story traces the paths of two souls seeking wholeness.  


 eBook and paperback can be found at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5DRHHMW

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

Liz Brownell is a mother, wife, teacher, artist, and adoptee living in upstate NY. She and her husband Kurt live outside of Rochester with their teenagers. What started as a curiosity in an effort to thank her First mother let to the sad discovery that she would never have a chance to meet her. As she navigated the fog she found two half sisters and some other extended family along the way. She is beginning to collect and refine stories for her upcoming sabbatical. Liz will explore more deeply this maternal mystery and create a body of work intended to foster conversations that exist for adoptees and their families. 

As mentioned in this episode:
https://adopteesconnect.com/ 

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/

Robert Ferraro is a pop culture journalist whose interviews include Jane Seymour, Melissa Etheridge, Paula Abdul and others. Robert is also founder of The Giving Arts, a website through which he helps public figures publicize their charitable causes.

His essay sharing the challenges of his life as an adoptee - entitled 'My Love Is Stronger Than Your Disregard' - received considerable acclaim for its honesty and vulnerability. A companion piece, chronicling his emotional attempt to engage his birth family in person, is being written now.


https://thegivingarts.com/
https://ofpersonalinterest.com/

Click here to send us a text. Also, our book “Pulled By The Root” is available at https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/book

https://www.pulledbytheroot.com/