Di Riddell’s adoption story is one of survival, loss, courage, and ultimately healing. Growing up in a violent alcoholic home, she was left with little self-worth. At just 16, after a brutal assault, she became pregnant and was hidden away during her pregnancy in 1960s Australia — a time when unwed mothers were shamed and silenced. Following a traumatic birth, her baby was taken from her immediately and she was pressured into signing adoption papers.

For years, Di carried the pain of separation and the belief that she was unworthy. Through marriage, motherhood, grief, and personal growth, she slowly rebuilt her life and found her voice through writing and speaking. Decades later, she courageously searched for and reunited with both of her children. Her journey is a powerful reminder that healing is possible, stories matter, and it is never too late to reclaim your truth.

Catie Brannon’s adoption story is different from many we hear. She was never separated from her biological mother. When Catie was two years old, her mother married Rick, and he legally adopted her. For the first twelve years of her life, Catie believed Rick was her biological father. Then one day she learned the truth — and that discovery changed the way she saw herself and her place in the family.

Looking back, Catie began to question everything. Was she treated differently from her younger brother and sister, or was she searching for answers to explain why she felt like she didn’t belong? Growing up in a hardworking restaurant family with little time for emotional conversations, she struggled with feelings of worthiness and identity. School was difficult, and bullying only deepened those wounds.

Later she learned that her biological father had struggled with alcoholism and had died from cirrhosis. She also discovered she had two sisters she had never known. Through some very dark times, including moments when she questioned whether life was worth living, Catie believes God intervened and kept her moving forward.

Today, at 38, Catie is determined to give back. As the host of the true crime podcast Dark Times with Catie, she uses storytelling to explore darkness while reminding others that even in the hardest moments, there is a path toward purpose and healing.

What is it like to place your child for adoption — not from a place of abandonment, but of love?

In this powerful episode, Shane opens up about the emotional journey of being an unwed father who made the hardest decision of his life. His story invites us into the often unheard side of adoption: the father’s voice.

Guilt, grace, faith, and unconditional love – this story will stay with you long after the final frame.

Roots and Branches continues to share real stories of adoption, identity, and legacy from every angle — because every perspective matters.

Subscribe to join this growing community and follow stories that heal, honor, and uplift.

#AdoptionStory #RootsAndBranches #BirthFather #ShanesStory #FaithAndFamily

The conversation delves into the journey of adoption, the challenges faced, the decision-making process, and the impact of adoption on the lives of the individuals involved. It also explores the differences between adoption and permanent placement, as well as the inspiration and pride associated with adoption and permanent placement. The conversation delves into the challenges of adoption, the impact of living in a facility, family dynamics, navigating trauma, faith, and family structure, as well as adoptive parenting and neurodiversity. Each chapter explores these themes in depth, providing valuable insights and perspectives on each topic.

Takeaways

• Adoption Journey
• Challenges of Adoption Adoption challenges in school
• Facility living and its impact
• Family dynamics and co-parenting
• Navigating trauma and triggers
• Faith and family structure
• Adoptive parenting and neurodiversity

Chapters

• 00:00 The Journey to Adoption
• 07:29 Adoption vs. Permanent Placement
• 13:23 The Heart Gallery and Adoption Inspiration
• 23:48 Adoption and Permanent Placement Experience
• 29:16 Adoption Challenges and Schooling
• 38:27 Family Dynamics and Co-Parenting
• 48:07 Faith and Family Structure

What happens when someone finally says yes to a child who has spent years waiting?

In this episode of Roots and Branches: Adoption Stories, Amber Carroll shares her journey of adopting a young boy at fourteen after he had already spent nine years in foster care. Amber first saw him through the Heart Gallery of America, a program that helps children in foster care find permanent families by sharing their stories and photographs.

At an age when many teens are considered “too old” to be adopted, Amber chose to look beyond the labels and see the young man behind them. She shares what it was like to build trust, create stability, and commit to a child who had spent much of his life waiting for someone to choose him.

Today he is nineteen and beginning to build his own life, now living with a biological brother while remaining connected to the family who adopted him.

This episode explores the realities of teen adoption and the powerful truth that it is never too late for a child to be chosen.

Adopted at just 10 days old, Ronda Payne grew up in a loving home. Her adoptive parents were, in her words, “fabulous — not perfect, but who is?” She adored them. Recently losing her adoptive mother just before Christmas, Ronda is still walking through fresh grief.

But alongside that love was something many adoptees quietly carry — a question mark.

A longing to know.

A sense that a piece of the story was missing.

Ronda shares that studies show a significant percentage of adoptees experience mental health challenges rooted in abandonment, loss, and identity questions. Even in safe, loving homes, many adoptees wrestle with feelings of being left behind.

In her early twenties, Ronda decided to search for answers. Through a British Columbia registry, she gained access to one small but powerful clue — her grandmother’s name. What followed was 16 hours spent combing through microfilm at a library, tracing records and searching for connections.

What she discovered changed everything.

Her biological mother was just 16. Her father was 15. They were told to forget they ever had a child — that they would never see her again.

They eventually married. But the emotional trauma of losing a baby and being told to erase that chapter of their lives appears to have shaped their future in profound ways.

Ronda found them. She visited. She even stayed overnight a few times. But each goodbye felt like losing them all over again.

The reunion did not unfold like a fairy tale.

The last time she saw them was in 1998. She has written to them over the years, letting them know where she is and how to reach her. They have not responded.

And yet — she has come to terms with that.

In this deeply honest episode of Roots and Branches: Adoption Stories, we explore the part of reunion that is rarely talked about — what happens when you find your biological family and they cannot emotionally handle being found.

We discuss:

• Adoptee grief and identity
• The reality of “second abandonment”
• Compassion for teenage birth parents silenced by shame
• Nature vs. nurture
• Making peace without mutual closure
• Writing as healing

Ronda is now an author of children’s books addressing bullying and is contemplating writing An Autobiography of an Adopted Person. Her story is not about blame — it is about understanding, resilience, and the courage to sit with complicated truths.

Reunion is not always the ending.
Sometimes it is another beginning.
And sometimes, healing comes from accepting what is — not what we hoped for.

If you are part of the adoption triad, this conversation will resonate. Please email [email protected] to learn how you can tell your story.

Janet Munro shares her personal adoption story, from the difficult decision to give up her son to the emotional reunion years later. Matt Stafford, who grew up in foster care, joins the conversation to share his experience and the impact it has had on his life. The conversation delves into Matt Stafford's experience of being permanently placed in a family, the impact of multiple deaths, his journey of healing, and his work in mentoring and counseling. It also explores the themes of family, adoption, and the importance of sharing personal stories.

Takeaways

• Adoption is a complex and emotional journey for birth parents, adoptive parents, and the children involved.
• The experience of growing up in foster care can have a profound impact on a person's life, shaping their identity and influencing their future choices. Family is not defined by blood, but by love and care.
• Adoption is a lifelong experience that requires understanding, sacrifice, and support.

Chapters

• 00:00 The Impact of Adoption and Foster Care
• 22:29 Permanently Placed in a Family
• 30:30 Journey of Recovery and Mentoring
• 42:30 Meaning of Family and Belonging

Di Riddell shares her extraordinary adoption story—one shaped by childhood abuse, forced adoption practices of the 1960s, decades of silence, and ultimately, healing and reunion.

From being coerced into surrendering her children, to reclaiming her voice through writing and speaking, Di’s journey is one of resilience, truth, and hope. This conversation explores the lifelong impact of adoption, the power of speaking out, and what healing can look like—no matter how much time has passed.

A story of loss, courage, reunion, and finally, completion.

Trigger warning: sexual violence, forced adoption, trauma
Learn more about Di’s books: https://diriddell.com/books

  #adoptionstory #forcedadoption #adoptiontrauma #healingjourney #findingyourvoice
#birthmother #adoptionreunion #speakingout #resilience #traumarecovery
#womensstories #lifelongimpact #hopeandhealing #truthmatters #rootsandbranches

Two women.
Same age.
Different eras.
Different choices.

In this powerful episode of Roots and Branches, host Janet Munro and guest Nicole Haley compare their unplanned pregnancies nearly twenty years apart — and how the times they lived in shaped the choices they believed were possible.

Janet became pregnant in 1969, when unwed mothers were hidden and adoption was often the only acceptable option. Nicole became pregnant years later, in a world with more support for single mothers and blended families. Janet chose adoption. Nicole chose to raise her son.

Both decisions were made in love.
Both carried loss.
Neither came with guarantees.

Together, they explore motherhood lived and motherhood lost, reunion and rejection, and the question that never fully goes away:

How would our lives be different if we had chosen differently?

This episode is not about right or wrong — it’s about context, compassion, and understanding how deeply our choices are shaped by the time we live in.

#RootsAndBranches #AdoptionStories #BirthMother #UnplannedPregnancy #WomenAndChoice #AdoptionJourney #Motherhood #GenerationalStories

For Sharon McRoberts, growing up as an only child wasn’t about loneliness—it was about questioning what family truly meant. From a young age, she knew she would one day build a family shaped by intention, responsibility, and care rather than tradition alone.

In this episode of Roots and Branches, Sharon shares her remarkable journey through foster care, international adoption, kinship care, and biological motherhood—raising ten children across cultures, languages, and generations. Her story spans a time when adoption systems were dramatically different from today, offering a rare and honest look at how families were formed then—and what has changed now.

Sharon reflects on:

• Growing up questioning the idea of a “proper family”
• Building family through action, not biology alone
• Adoption and foster care then vs. now
• Cross-cultural adoption and integration
• The long-term realities of adoption as children become adults

This is not a fairy-tale adoption story. It’s a thoughtful, lived examination of family—how it’s built, tested, and ultimately defined over time.

This episode is for adoptive parents, foster carers, adoptees, and anyone interested in how family can be intentionally created.

#RootsAndBranchesPodcast #AdoptionStories #FamilyByChoice #AdoptionThenAndNow #InternationalAdoption #FosterCareJourney #RedefiningFamily #AdoptionReality