Open Adoption Project
by Lanette & Shaun Nelson
Finding Home: Identity, Reunion, and the Complexity of Adoption with…
About this podcast
This podcast is about connecting. It's about growing. It's about stretching. In society nowadays, it's easy to fall into echo chambers. This is not an echo chamber. Open Adoption Project is a community dedicated to listening and learning, and building relationships based on healthy respect and communication.
The Open Adoption Project focuses on improving adoptee experiences by encouraging open communication between all members of the adoption constellation, nurturing ongoing open adoption relationships and promoting ethical adoption practices. Follow us on Instagram @OpenAdoptionProject and at our website, openadoptionproject.org (http://openadoptionproject.org).
Everyone is welcome here. Considering adopting? Adoptive parents tune in as we listen and learn from adoptees first and foremost. Adopted individuals share a wide spectrum of experiences, including search and reunion. This podcast is a safe space for any perspectives and experiences adoptees and first parents share, while adopters and those wanting to adopt listen and learn. Academics and others also share with us.
This podcast is a passion project. No one here is connected to any adoption agencies. We do not profit from this podcast. It is a volunteer project we embrace to better enable adoptees and birth parents / biological parents to share their stories.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 135 episodes
- Finding Home: Identity, Reunion, and the Complexity of Adoption with Jay Barbanel · 43 min · Episode 130In this conversation, Shaun sits down with adoptee and author Jay Barbanel to explore the complexities of identity, belonging, and healing through adoption. Jay shares his unique…
- From Secrets to Self-Discovery with Bob Sutherland · 46 min · Episode 129In this episode, we hear from Bob Sutherland as he shares his powerful personal story of adoption, identity, and self-discovery. Bob reflects on his challenging upbringing, being…
- Finding Family Through DNA: Adoptee Diane Rosenblum’s Journey · 39 min · Episode 128In this episode, Diane Rosenblum shares her powerful journey of self-discovery, identity, and reconnection. Adopted in 1964 through a closed adoption, Diane shares how she…
- Discovery, Reconnection, and the Adoption Experience with Edward Di Gangi · 40 min · Episode 127In this episode, Edward Di Gangi recounts discovering his adoption status through personal documents and later reconnecting with his biological family. He shares a private…
- Journey and Discovery with Emma Boggess · 53 min · Episode 126Emma opens up about her adoption story, growing up with loving parents who were transparent about the process. Her journey took a surprising turn when an Ancestry DNA test…
- Book Club: The Baby Thief with Heather Rodriguez · 41 min · Episode 125This National Adoption Month Book Club episode dives into the shocking true story of Georgia Tann, a once-celebrated American adoption pioneer who was, in fact, a baby…
- Book Club: All You Can Ever Know with Anna Lehnardt · 35 min · Episode 124In this special book club episode, we’re joined by adoptee Anna Lehnardt to discuss All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung—a powerful memoir about transracial adoption, identity…
- Representation Matters with Allison Olson · 29 min · Episode 123In this episode, Allison Olson, an adoptee and adoptive parent, returns to the podcast, sharing her unique perspective from two sides of the adoption journey. She discusses her…
- Broken Adoptions, Bold Advocacy with Dawn J. Post · 47 min · Episode 122In this episode with Dawn J. Post, a New York City–based children’s rights attorney, we talk about her work addressing critical issues within the adoption system—particularly…
- The Power of Support with Janelle Basham, Executive Director of Brave Love · 48 min · Episode 121In this episode, we sit down with Janelle Basham, Executive Director of BraveLove. Janelle shares her personal journey as a birth mother, beginning at age 17 and leading to her…
- An International Adoptee's Journey with Anna Lehnardt · 33 min · Episode 120In this episode, we sit down with Anna Lehnardt, an international adoptee, to learn about the personal and emotional challenges from her experience of growing up in a family…
- Adoption and Suicidal Ideation: A Conversation with Beth Syverson · 44 min · Episode 119In 2019, when Beth Syverson's adopted son Joey was 15, he was hospitalized with a mental health crisis. While there, Beth discovered he had been using cannabis, psychedelics, and…
- Pioneering Openness with Linda R. Sexton · 35 min · Episode 118Linda R. Sexton shares her experiences and insights regarding open adoption, including the challenges and benefits involved. She also discusses the importance of prioritizing the…
- An Adoption Triad Interview · 38 min · Episode 117Birth mom, Sara Jane, returns to the podcast with her daughter, Courtney, who she placed for adoption, and Courtney's adoptive mom, Jeanette. We get to hear thoughts from these…
- Book Club: Selling Transracial Adoption · 32 min · Episode 116Anna Lehnardt, a Chinese-born adoptee, shares her experience and thoughts after reading "Selling Transracial Adoption" by Elizabeth Raleigh. She shares some of her own…
- Book Club: Orphan Train · 29 min · Episode 115Sharolyn Swenson, an adoptee, joins our special NAM book club episode to discuss Christina Baker Kline’s book “Orphan Train.” If you haven’t read the book yet, please skip this…
- Book Club: The Girls Who Went Away · 49 min · Episode 114An adoptee shares her personal journey of adoption and the impact of the book, "The Girls Who Went Away," by Ann Fessler, also an adoptee, in this special NAM book club episode…
- Book Club: Far From the Tree · 57 min · Episode 113Adoptee Devanie Roberts discusses the book "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway in this special National Adoption Month book club episode. Please do not listen to these episodes…
- Establishing Psychological Safety with Dr. Jeff Thompson · 44 min · Episode 112Dr. Jeff Thompson discusses how we can establish and maintain psychological safety within relationships. He shares how active listening can enhance connections. We also discuss…
- Improving Family Communication Patterns · 29 min · Episode 111In our last episode, we discussed Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT), which describes how families communicate and create a shared social reality. The theory was…
