Adoption Unfiltered™

There aren’t too many spaces in which men are marginalized, but Adoption Land is one of them. Birth Father  Ridghaus  joins Adoptee  Sara Easterly , Birth Mom  Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard , and Adoptive Mom  Lori Holden  to reveal the viewpoint of a lesser-heard voice—that of a birth father. Talk about complexity … power dynamics on steroids! ⁠ Adoption Unfiltered ⁠  is presented by adoptee Sara E...

A viewer asked: how can adoptive parents and birth parents best navigate adoption relationships and center the adoptee? Great question! Sara reveals the main thing an adoptee needs from adoptive parents, no matter if in an open/closed or international/foster adoption. Kelsey shares insights about what may be behind certain birth parent behaviors—as well as inaction. And when things may be personal...

Money in adoption affects all of us. But it affects each of us differently. Adoptee Sara Easterly, Birth Mom Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, and Adoptive Mom Lori Holden talk about why domestic infant adoption is so expensive, what goes into the fees, and what happens when people in desperate situations: (A) women in unplanned pregnancies and (B) people with Baby Fever—use the Internet to search for...

Adoptee Astrid Castro of Adoption Mosaic, joins Adoptee Sara Easterly, Birth Mom Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, and Adoptive Mom Lori Holden to discuss some of the problematic behaviors of adoptive parents. Listen in to understand the unintended effects adoptive parents sometimes have on others in their adoption triad, perhaps without even knowing. (Don’t worry. We plan to cover other problematic be...

An adoptee (Sara Easterly) a birth mom (Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard), and an adoptive mom (Lori Holden) talk together about the important topic of adoption and mental health as it affects each side of what has traditionally been considered the “adoption triad.” They talk about the need for a deeper understanding of adoption in therapeutic settings (adoption-competent therapy), the importance of an...

An adoptee (Sara Easterly) a birth mom (Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard), and an adoptive mom (Lori Holden) address an elephant in the room that appeared from our last talk on naming newborns: why SHOULD adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents talk and listen to each other? ⁠ Adoption Unfiltered ⁠  is presented by adoptee Sara Easterly, birth parent Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, and adoptive pare...

An adoptee (Sara Easterly) a birth mom (Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard), and an adoptive mom (Lori Holden) help each other better understand the issue and impact of naming a baby born into an adoption situation. Be a fly on the wall and discover something you didn’t already know. Adoption Unfiltered  is presented by adoptee Sara Easterly, birth parent Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, and adoptive parent ...