Pulled By The Root - Amplifying Adoption Issues

Julia was adopted in September 1963, under the New Zealand closed adoption policy of sealed records. She grew up knowing she was adopted, but was unable to search for her real family until the late 1980s after the law was changed to allow adult adoptees to have access to their original birth certificates. She was able to trace her mother in the United Kingdom; however, to this day, her mother has...

In this week's episode, we are delighted to have two special guests for an enriching roundtable discussion. We welcome back Lance Lukin, our guest from episode 33. Born in New Zealand in 1967, Lance was placed for adoption when he was just 21 days old, with his adoption becoming official in 1969. In addition, we are privileged to be joined by Brigitta Baker, adopted during the era of closed a...

Beth Syverson, a mother, wife, and musician, has been a podcaster, activist, and public speaker since 2021. After adopting Joey from Japan at seven and a half months old, she came to understand that the core of his substance use stemmed from the trauma of relinquishment. As a guiding figure for adoptive parents grappling with the realization that their child's adoption brought about trauma, B...

Born in August 1970, Patrick Hawes was adopted in North Carolina. Growing up with a Japanese adoptive mother, it was clear that he wasn't her biological child. However, it wasn't until adulthood that Patrick felt compelled to seek answers about his biological family. Questions like "Why did my mom give me up? Was I not good enough? Did she not want me?" weighed on his mind. In...

In this week's episode, our guest Lindsey shares her powerful story as a first mother who became pregnant at 15 and had no choice but to give up her baby for adoption. For 40 years, Lindsey carried this pain in secret. She discusses the challenges of adoption and society's need to understand the emotional impact of mother-child separation. This heart wrenching  episode takes you on a jou...

This week we are welcoming back our guest Elle K. for a second interview. We take a deep dive into mothering, estrangement, F. O. G. fear, obligation, guilt), the healing works of fairy forests as well as why “hope” is such a slippery word. Her artwork and spirit are breathtaking. Elle’s way of unpacking the complexities of adoption is dynamic, heart felt and honest.   To listen to our first conve...

  Shelise Keum Mee Gieseke (s/hers) is head of operations at Adoption Mosaic. Adoption Mosaic is a BIPOC woman and adoptee-led business that seeks to build an inviting adoption conscious community by providing innovative adoptee-centered programs and support. She has worked in the adoption community as an editor, educator, and administrator for over 10 years, including editing and curating the blo...

Shelley is a domestic adoptee from the baby scoop era. 1970.  She started her search four years ago and has since struggled deeply with attempts to connect with her biological Mother. Shelley is a pediatric nurse who is married with two sons. For this episode, I am joined by my guest co-host adopted person Amy Hansen. Together we traverse the highs and lows of Shelley’s journey. The courage and co...

Jenny Becknell is a biological mother who relinquished her daughter in an open adoption plan in 1992. The adoption was so open that Jenny left the hospital with the adoptive parents who welcomed them into their home. The relationship continued to be amicable until Jenny’s daughter turned 18 then it all fell apart. Jenny has watched her daughter struggle over the years, even though she had her biol...

Michael Raymond Porter was born on July 5th 1968. His adoption was legalized on December 28th, 1972.  Two years ago Michael began his deepest search and introspection on “who am I supposed to be?”  In Michael’s submission to our podcast,   he acknowledges the exhaustion of trying to put the pieces of his adoption story together. This episode is also a master class in courage, as Michael continues...

In this episode we are joined by biological mother, Barbara Bazett and daughter Vicky Graham, separated by adoption speak about being in reunion for nearly 30 years. Everyone loves a happy ending: Mother and daughter became best friends, but they had a rough start. It took decades to get real. After years of searching, biological Barbara found Vicky - her secret baby, and the intensity of their co...

It’s been a long eight months navigating my heart healing journey. I have just undergone a heart procedure and thankfully have a wonderful prognosis. The healing odyssey continues one step at a time. There will be months ahead of restrengthening. We are thrilled to share a few of our archived episodes from the beginning of our podcasting journey in addition to some new guests with remarkable stori...

Kelly Grace Hickey met Laura Leslie-Olmsted in November 2018 when they were paired together as search angels for a support group.  They instantly bonded and together with their team found over 100 biological mothers and fathers for clients between November 2018 and June 2019. They formed a Non Profit DNAngels dedicated to finding biological parents at no cost for their clients. DNAngels has turned...

 Nancy Verrier has a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. Her thesis was on the subject of adoption which resulted in the publishing of her first book THE PRIMAL WOUND: Legacy of the Adopted  Child has become a classic in adoption literature. Nancy’s second book COMING HOME TO SELF is focused on healing and increasing awareness about beginning of life trauma and how it affects our relationships...

Hello Everyone, It has been awhile since we have released a solo sode. I have chosen to title this episode “Heart of the Matter” because after all our hearts matter. As an adopted person, I have struggled with self care, self awareness and worthiness. In this episode, we share our vision for Pulled By The Root as well as a struggle of the heart I am dealing with. Pulled By The Root is deeply grate...

Michael was adopted in 1961 in Illinois.  He grew up with two younger sisters, one adopted and one biological. They moved to Southern California when he was five years old. Michael has been married for 36 years and has three wonderful children and one granddaughter. He worked in the television industry for many years and moved his family to Atlanta to work on the Olympics and never left. Around 22...

Corissa Saint Laurent is a holistic brand advisor and international speaker inspiring and empowering entrepreneurs, leaders, and creatives to light up their lives so they can light up the world. She has over 20 years of entrepreneurial and corporate business experience in marketing, branding, business development combined with professional training in mind/body/energy work. Her business life has a...

Ryan Anderson was transracially adopted from Morocco to Scotland but didn’t find out until I was 18. Then he decided to keep this  secret until this year (13 years later) now feeling brave to tell his story to friends and for everyone to see online. Ryan had been around alcohol & drugs while traveling the world for the last 10 years trying to escape his problems but is now opening  up to face...

Mike Trupiano is a dry comedic Midwestern American performer in Berlin with a bass voice. His specialties are deadpan, physical comedy, improvisation. He excels at playing arrogant, incompetent authority figures. Mike does English language dubbing and record documentary narration as well as audio books in his home studio. He also teaches storytelling and standup comedy, both in groups and one on o...

This week we are joined by Sandra Moon, a Maltese adopted person from regional NSW in Australia. She is a journalist and writer currently working on her memoir regarding her experiences of adoption and reunion with universal themes of the innate desire for familial connection and belonging. Sandra was in a children’s home and therefore classified as a Forgotten Australian, she is also the child of...

Rosanne is a first mom from Saint Louis Missouri. She joins us from her beautiful 10 acre farm to have a heart felt conversation about relinquishing her daughter. She is passionate about good physical, mental and spiritual health. Rosanne has written a book called Puzzle Pieces of My Heart-our stories of adoption. The book is a collection of stories told by those touched by adoption. Her book addr...

In this episode I am joined by my co-author Alysa Zalma M.D.(Psychiatrist) as well as Dr. Abbie Goldberg. Abbie E. Goldberg is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she also currently serves as the Director of Women’s & Gender Studies, and is the current holder of the Jan and Larry Landry Endowed Chair (2020-2023). She graduated summ...

When asked to write a few sentences as an introduction, Elle thought of the Jane Austen quote from a letter written to her sister, "Which of my important nothings shall I tell you first?" Elle is an inveterate scribbler of words, painter & sketcher of pictures, insatiable reader of books, ponderer of ideas, lover of music & movement, delighted observer and photographer of the wor...

Mary Roberds is an adopted person who found her biological mother and sister at the age of 19. At 48 years old she is still looking for her biological father. Mary shares her story with such vivid detail, emphasizing that babies/children know more than we give them credit for. Mary remembers the rain on the car window the day she saw her mother for the last time. She is passionate about helping ot...

About the Author Emma Stevens is a U.S. domestic adoptee from birth and has survived layers of trauma that have put her on multiple journeys. She developed the inner strength and courage to surmount the many struggles she faced. Her traumas were born from being an adoptee who struggled with being forced to wear an impossible mask of playing the part of the "good” adopted child. Because being...