Roots and Branches Adoption Stories Podcast

Infertility wasn't the end of Kim Patton's story—it was the beginning of a journey that led to adoption, foster care, open adoption, and a deeper understanding of trauma, healing, and hope. In this heartfelt conversation, Kim shares how difficult seasons strengthened her faith, her marriage, and her family, while offering encouragement to anyone facing life's unexpected challenges. #AdoptionStorie...

Welcome to the very first episode of Roots and Branches – The Branches ! What happens when a man discovers through DNA that he has a 40-year-old son? How does he process the joy, anger, grief, and acceptance that follow? And why are men's emotions so often hidden from view? In this powerful conversation, Jim Pehkonen shares the emotional journey of discovering he was a father decades after the fac...

What does it mean to belong? For Bonnie Butler, that question has been at the heart of her life's journey. In this episode of Roots and Branches: Adoption Stories , Bonnie shares a remarkable story that spans nearly every corner of the adoption constellation. She is the biological mother of four children, welcomed seventeen foster children into her home, adopted a sibling group of six, and later s...

What happens when an adoptee spends a lifetime trying to understand the impact of adoption—not only on herself, but on everyone involved? Today on Roots and Branches: Adoption Stories , Janet Munro welcomes author, researcher, and adoptee Jean Widner. Adopted in 1965, Jean grew up in what appeared to be the ideal family. Her father was a school psychologist, her mother a registered nurse, and from...

At fifty-two years old, Al Isaacs accidentally learned a life-changing truth: he was adopted. The discovery came during a conversation with his mother’s oncologist, who assumed Al already knew. But he didn’t. Everyone else in the family had known for decades — except him. Suddenly, the story Al believed about himself unraveled. Worse still, by the time the truth surfaced, both of his adoptive pare...

At seven years old, Charmaine Carey heard words that would shape the rest of her life. The day her adoptive parents brought home their biological son from the hospital, Charmaine sat excitedly waiting to meet her new baby brother. Instead, her adoptive father sat her down and told her she had not grown in her mother’s tummy, that the new baby was their “real” child, and that adoption would never b...

Today on Roots and Branches Adoption Stories , Janet Munro speaks with Rachel Fulginiti — foster-to-adopt mother, podcast host, voice actor, and award-winning audiobook narrator — about her deeply emotional journey to motherhood after years of infertility, miscarriage, heartbreak, and uncertainty. Rachel spent more than a decade trying to become a mother. As someone used to working hard and achiev...

The conversation delves into the concept of surrogacy, exploring the process, emotional aspects, and post-birth relationships. It provides insights into the altruistic surrogacy model in Canada and the unique emotional experiences of surrogate mothers. The conversation delves into the altruistic nature of surrogacy in Canada, the challenges and considerations of surrogacy, the process of finding a...

In this emotional and deeply complex episode of Roots and Branches Adoption Stories , Janet Munro speaks with Susan Skalicky, a birth mother whose story is still unfolding. Raised in a strict Christian environment with strong beliefs surrounding family and motherhood, Susan became pregnant at 27 after her first serious relationship. Feeling overwhelmed, unsupported, and believing adoption was her...

In Part 2 of Sam Moore’s story, we move beyond survival… and into what comes after. After enduring abuse, foster care, adoption trauma, and time in juvenile detention—including months in solitary confinement—Sam shares the harsh realities of reentry into the world. From incarceration to halfway houses, homelessness, and struggling to find employment with a felony record, her journey reveals just h...

Sam’s childhood was shaped by abuse, poverty, and instability. From foster care to returning home, her story reveals the deep layers of trauma, survival, and the realities many children face behind closed doors.

Chris Langley was adopted at birth into a loving home, yet by age eight, anxiety took hold. Struggling in school and feeling misunderstood, his story shines a light on the hidden challenges many adoptees face.

Nancy Harrison’s story takes us back to a time when teenage pregnancy was hidden, and young girls were sent away to homes for unwed mothers. At just 17, Nancy found herself pregnant after a brief relationship with a boy who chose not to be involved. With little knowledge, no real choice, and the weight of societal expectations, she was sent away from home to have her baby in secrecy. Her daughter...

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 immediate...

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...

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 af...

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 imp...

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 st...

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 journe...

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...

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 b...

Matt Stafford grew up in foster care and was eventually permanently placed with a family—but never adopted. While living in a home with biological and adopted children who shared the family name, Matt was left wondering why he didn’t belong in the same way. Despite a stable placement, Matt was required to continue visitations with biological parents who claimed to love him but also caused him harm...

What would you do if a DNA test revealed you had a 40-year-old son you never knew existed? In this episode of Roots and Branches: Adoption Stories , author and trauma-healing mentor Jim Pehkoven shares the shock of discovering he had been a father his entire adult life. Jim opens up about meeting his son, respecting his choice not to pursue a relationship, and how his book DNA Results can help you...

In this episode of Roots and Branches: Adoption Stories , Kris Austin shares adoption from both sides of the story. First as a branch , growing up with an adopted brother, and later as a root , becoming a mother through adoption herself. Kris reflects on sibling bonds, reunion with birth family, the courage of birth parents, and the deep truth that family is built through love, honesty, and connec...

From a troubled upbringing to time in jail, Bubba’s life has been shaped by hardship — but also by transformation. In today’s episode, Bubba opens up about the pivotal moments that reshaped his future, the lessons he learned behind bars, and the powerful decision to legally adopt Mick, the little boy who changed everything. We explore: How his childhood shaped the man he became What led to the dec...