Unearthing Adoption: Normalizing Positive Perspectives

Elizabeth A. Suter (Ph. D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and Affiliated Faculty in the Gender and Women's Studies Program at the University of Denver. She identifies as a feminist, social-justice-oriented interpersonal and family communication scholar. She views the family as a politicized institution animated by the broader...

Jordan Martin-Collins joins us today to share her adoption story, and also her wealth of knowledge surrounding attachment theory. Jordan is the current Marketing and Media Lead @adoptee.council. For more information about the Adoptee Leadership Council, visit their Instagram @adoptee.council Thank you so much for coming on, Jordan! Find us on Instagram @tough.love.podcast Contact us: tough.love.st...

"Midnight in the Orange Grove": https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12842806/     Interested in being on the show? Know someone who might be? Send us an email: tough.love.stories@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram! @tough.love.stories

Trigger Warning: Death Contact Ashley for a FREE 30min consultation when you mention the TL Podcast: holdingthehope09@gmail.com Interested in being on the show? Know someone who might be? Email us: tough.love.stories@gmail.com Find us on Instagram! @tough.love.podcast

Interested in being on the show? Know someone who might be? Send us an email: tough.love.stories@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram! @tough.love.podcast

Join us for a vulnerable conversation with Julie Wolfrum. Julie spoke to us about relationships, dance, the importance of community, and the power of developing self-love.  Email us: tough.love.stories@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram! @ tough.love.podcast

Atomic Habits: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits   Grit, The Power of Passion and Perseverance: https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-book/   Follow us on Instagram @tough.love.podcast Email us: tough.love.stories@gmail.com

https://www.unicocollection.shop   "Being adopted from South Korea to a Hispanic dad, white mom, and brother who was biologically theirs, I always felt like an outsider. Growing up, I felt like I didn't 'fit in' anywhere and I had a hard time finding and understanding my place in the world. But once I realized that being unique is powerful, I embraced my story and grew to love being different...

Narmada Morris joins the Tough Love Team for a discussion on adoptee name journeys and the importance of choice.  Interested in being on the show? Send us an email: tough.love.stories@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram! @tough.love.podcast

Welcome back to the Tough Love Podcast. In today's episode, we discuss different types of coping strategies (both healthy and unhealthy), and brainstorm ways to develop healthy coping strategies.  Book Recommendation: The Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel von der Kolk  Interested in being on the show? Know someone who might be? Have an episode to...

Holidays can be a mix of emotions, stress, and anxiety. Many different factors come into play with adoptees and the holiday season, join us today while we discuss the difficulty that comes with being adopted and the holiday season. For our listeners, please feel free to reach out if you need someone to talk to during these times. Our team here at the Tough Love Podcast wants to recognize the curre...

Difficult conversations can arise anywhere, even at work. Join us while we discuss how different workplace environments can affect us either positively or negatively as adoptees. We are looking for topics and potential interviewees! Please, please, please, if you have any ideas or know of anyone who would like to be on the show, send us an email at tough.love.stories@gmail.com or reach out on our...

Trigger Warning: Death  Why are goodbyes so hard for adopted people?  Join us this week as we discuss how abandonment, and our wounds surrounding abandonment, come up in our lives.  Interested in being on the show? Send us an email: tough.love.stories@gmail.com  Follow us on Instagram! @tough.love.podcast

Welcome back! We all had very busy and challenging summers, and we wanted to update you all during this episode. We apologize for the hiatus, but we're back to interviews, conversations, and connections. Thank you all so much! Interested in being on the show? Know someone who might be? Email us: tough.love.stories@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram! @tough.love.podcast

"My name is Laura May. I was adopted when I was an infant and have had an incredible life with my family. I met Lauren in high school and we became fast friends. Her family also took me in as one of their own, as I was a boarding student at our school and Lauren was a day student. You could say I was adopted twice, once by my family and once by Lauren's. I am a proud adoptee. I am excited to share...

Trigger Warning: Disordered Eating Welcome back, Tough Love Family! For this episode, Lauren and Deontae spoke to Narmada Morris, an international/transracial adoptee, about disordered eating and how it plays a part in many adoptees' stories.  More about Narmada... "My name is Narmada Morris. I was adopted when I was 2 from India and grew up in Colorado with my mom. I Began attending Heritage...

Trigger Warning: Suicide Adoptees are 4X more likely to attempt suicide than non-adoptees. An ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) score of 4 or more puts you more at risk of attempting suicide by 1220%. The number of attempted suicides in 2019 was 1.8 million.  -- Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255 Talkspace: https://www.talkspace.com QPR Institute Training: https://qprinstitute.com/in...

Welcome back, Tough Love Community! I interviewed my identical twin sister, Natalie, who I was adopted with from Russia in 1999. We spoke about our differences and similarities regarding life, processing, healing, and of course adoption. Being identical twin sister and coming from closed adoptions has impacted us both in many different ways, and we hope that this episode sheds some light on the im...

Welcome back, Tough Love Community! In this episode, we welcome our first guest to the podcast.  Katie Barry (she/her) is a domestic adoptee born, raised, and living in Denver, Colorado. She's an Estate Planning and Probate paralegal. She's passionate about adventure, self-exploration, writing, children, all things adoption-related, and her 15 year old cat, Carl.  Katie shared her experi...

Welcome back, Tough Love Community! In this episode, Lauren and Deontae share their experiences regarding their relationships with their biological families.  Interested in being on the show? Know someone who might be? Send us an email: tough.love.stories@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram! @tough.love.podcast

Welcome back to Tough Love! Our very own Lauren Fishbein talked to us about implicit memory and the range of impacts it has on adoptees.  Raise the Future: https://www.raisethefuture.org/   Interested in being on the show? Know someone who might be interested? Send us an email: tough.love.stories@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram! @tough.love.podcast 

Welcome back, Tough Love Community! In today's episode, we cover our feelings and experiences with all things school-related, from grades, friends, teachers, and tests.  Find us on Instagram! @tough.love.podcast Interested in being on the podcast? Know someone who might be? Send us an email - tough.love.stories@gmail.com  

Hello everyone, we are so excited to share the first episode of the Tough Love Podcast with you! In this episode, we explain how we met, how we conceptualized the podcast, and share our journeys with adoption so far.   Find us on Instagram! Share your story! @tough.love.podcast  Interested in being on the podcast? Know someone who might be interested? Send us an email - tough.love.storie...