The Adoption Files

Julie Ryan McGue is the author of  the award winning memoir Twice a Daugher; a Search for Identity, Family and Belonging. To say her book is well-written does not convey how beautifully Julie communicates her journey as she navigates the complex emotional interactions involved in obtaining answers for herself and her twin sister.  Julie Ryan Mcgue can be found on Facebook @juliemcguewrit...

For my dear friend, Jean. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/10/30/adoptee-remembrance-day-2/

I wrote this in memory of my adoptive, adopted little brother, who I miss every day. Like me, he was not told as a child that we were adopted. I miss him every day. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/10/29/adoptee-remembrance-day/

TThis was written as a kind of companiion piece to my interview with Andrea Steiner Coates. I hope you will take a moment to listen. Thank you! this episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/10/28/total-strangers/

Welcome to the Adoption Files Podcast! Today my guest is Andrea Steiner Coates. Andrea is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a DNA Search Angel, and a lovely person who is a staunch Adoptee Advocate. Andrea was instrumental in my search for my paternal family. Today we talk about what a search angel is, how they differ from an intermediary, and what kinds of resources exist to assist people in the...

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/07/25/social-worker-interviews/ Many people are unaware that not all adopted people have access to their original adoption files. As a person adopted from the United Kingdom, I have access. What I found in my files has caused me to have serious questions about adoption practices. This is a quick listen fr...

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/06/22/compelling-evidence/  The requirement that an adopted person present themselves in court in order to convince a stranger that they have a right to something as basic as our medical records is, in my opinion, a violation of our human rights. Too often, adoptees are put through this dehumaninzing...

This episode is also available as a blog post: https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2021/10/21/disclosure-vetoes/  Disclosure vetoes and Redaction clauses are just one more way that our culture fails adopted people. This is a short take on my personal opinion on the topic. Listen to my interviews with Lynn Grubb and Paige L Adams Strickland for more insight into how these laws impact ado...

Please join me as I interview Paige Strickland, author of Akin to the Truth: a Memoir of Adoption and Identity, and After the Truth, a Memoir. Paige also participated in the anthology The Adoptee Survival Guide, edited by Lynn Grubb. Paige was born and adopted in the state of Ohio. She shares about discovering her right to request her documents via a television program, the benefits of high school...

i had the pleasure of interviewing Lynn Grubb, also known as the Adopted Zgenealogist on Facebook and Instagram. Lynn and I talked about adoption documents and the incredible impact acces to DNA testing has had on adopted's search for our identities. We hope you will join us for the conversation!