The Adoption Files

Growing up, the two topics that were taboo at the dinner table were religion and politics. Which may be a big part of how we ended up in the mess we find ourselves in. Please join Dani Joy and me as we ramble a bit about how deconstruction changed our political perspectives, and how those changing perspectives tie into our thoughts on adoption and family preservation.

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Please join Dani Joy and I as we continue our conversation on deconstruction from adoption and religious trauma. Todays episode is a discussion on the Ideal Family narrative. We talk about how the Christian belief system that we experienced created an environment where harm was inevitable.

Some resources for people deconstructing from religious trauma:

There are a number of support spaces online for adopted people and for mothers of loss and other family members. You can also find adoptees and mothers on IG, Tiktok and other social media platforms. Quality varies. We encourage people to reach out to form support systems. Reading and listening for a while can be helpful in determining if a space aligns with your needs.

A few to be aware of:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptees United

Adoptee Rights Law

The Adoption Trauma Network

Intercountry Adoption News

You can find lists of resources on my Wordpress blog page also.

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Please join me as I talk the National Council for Adoption conference with Renee Gelin, founder of Saving Our Sisters and fellow board member and founder of The Family Preservation Project Katie Nelson Burns.

We begin our conversation with an overview of the keynote speakers address, and then dive into the first two sessions attended by Katie and Renee. Renee heard about how CPS and DCFS partners with medical providers to keep an eye out for prospects in medical settings. Katie listened as a lawyer who represents Gladney, is a board member for NCFA, and a member of the Association of Adoption Attorneys presented on how agencies should work to protect themselves against disrupted adoptions(contested adoptions).

I hope to have them back to continue the conversation, as there is much more to learn about how the National Council for Adoption works to promote family severance.

The host of the podcast is not a lawyer, or an adoption professional, or a board member of any organization. The opinions of the host and their guests are just that, our opinions. They may be informed opinions, but they are still our thoughts on the topics discussed, and we are allowed to have opinions on our lived experiences. If this bothers you, perhaps ask yourself why.

Thank you to all the listeners! This podcast is for you. Please takbe a moment to rate the show if you can, as this makes the information more widely availale thanks to the lovely algorithms.

Please join the host as they wrap up the review of the book Conceiving Christian America; Embryo Adoption and Reproductive Politics by Risa Cromer.

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Please join the host as they review the interlude Supreme Appeal in the book Conceiving Christian America: Embryo Adoption and Reproductive Justice by Risa Cromer.

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Please jioin me and guest Dani Joy as we begin a conversation about deconstruction, about asking ourselves the hard questions and why doing so is so important. This is the first in a series of conversations with Dani and others about the intersection of adoption and religious trauma.

Dani Joy is a mother of loss to adoption who has been on a deconstruction journey from narratives about race, adoption and religion. You can hear more about Danis experience on an earlier episode of the podcast.

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/IbncUWObGKb

There are a number of resources available for people who are working to examine the beliefs they hold about the issues mentioned in the podcast. I encourage people to explore media being created by people of color, by adult adoptees and transracial and intercountry adopted people, by parents of loss to adoption, by former foster youth, and by former evangelicals and others who are challenging dominant historical and present day narratives.

I also encourage people to create support systems as you move forward. Questioning can be scary, but is ultimately rewarding. Humans like to exist in binary systems of thought, and to categorize people and experiences. Doing so evolved as a survival strategy in a different time. Existing in those spaces can be valuable if used in the right context. Utilizing those structures in other contexts can lead to a stifling of creativity and to disconnection with ourselves and with others.

Thank you for listening!

Please join the host as they discuss the interlude A Warm Body from the book Conceiving Christian America: Embryo Adoption and Reproductive Politics by Risa Cromer.

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Please join Lynn, Lorah and I as we continue a discussion of the book Conceiving Christian America. Today we talk a bit more about disability and adoption.

Joining me is Lynn Grubb, The Adopted Genealogist, and Lorah Gerald, The Adopted Chameleon. They can be found on Facebook, IG and Twitter.

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The opinions of the host and their guests are just that, our opinions. The host and their guests are not lawyers, geneticists, doctors, fertility specialists , yada yada.

Thanks for listening!

Please join Lynn Grubb and me as we talk with Lorah Gerald about the book Conceiving Christian America; Embryo Adoption and Reproductive Politics by Risa Cromer. Chapter 4 is called Unselection, and discusses the gap between the stated goals of agencies promoting the idea of embryo adoption and the need for marketing what they call less desirable embryos.

Lorah can be found online as The Adopted Chameleon

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