I'm Adopted: The Podcast

Thank you for tuning into our Podcast for 2026. We are wrapping up this Season but we are going to be back with more Episodes right after the New Year which we can't wait to share with all of you. Thank you for your ongoing support, everything with the Podcast. We will be back very soon!

Leah Sutterlin was adopted from China as a baby and raised in rural Canada alongside two younger sisters who were also adopted from China. In this episode of I’m Adopted: The Podcast , Leah reflects on growing up in a family where adoption was openly talked about, that relationship with her sisters, and the questions around identity and trying to understand more about those beginnings. She also sh...

Ethan Cesena was adopted from China at four and a half years old and raised in America. For much of his life, adoption was a word others used to describe him, but for Ethan it also brought questions about identity, family, culture, and where he came from. In April 2026, he returned to China with 17 other Chinese adoptees to learn more about his heritage and experience the country in a different wa...

Mike Kueny was adopted in 1965 and grew up knowing he was adopted, while continuing to wonder about his biological family. Decades later, after the deaths of his adoptive parents and two of his siblings, he decided to take an DNA test. When the results arrived, everything moved quickly. Within hours, Mike had identified both his birth mother and birth father, along with half-siblings he never knew...

Born in Ethiopia, Isaac spent the first five years of his life there before the deaths of both his birth parents led him to an orphanage. At five years old, he was adopted by a family in the United States, leaving behind his homeland, language, and culture to begin a new life. As he grew older, Isaac wrestled with questions of identity, loss, and God's goodness, questions that followed him well in...

Born in Swansea, Wales, James entered foster care at just two and a half months old before being adopted into a family in Cardiff. Adoption has shaped James's life in many ways, and he speaks openly about the lasting impact of his early experiences on identity, attachment, and the absence of post-adoption support. Now 23, James has turned his lived experience into advocacy. As a member of the...

Podcast Episode from the An Adoption Story series. Dan was adopted from Manchester, UK, when he was just six months old. He has always known he was adopted and grew up alongside four siblings. In his 20s, Dan met his birth mother for the first time. While that connection answered some questions about his background, he is still, to this day, trying to find those links to his birth father. Over tim...

Adopted at less than a month old from Pittsburgh, United States, Charlotte Schramm grew up questioning what adoption meant and why she had been placed for adoption. As she got older, those unanswered questions left her searching for a deeper understanding of her story and identity. Supported by her adoptive parents, Charlotte eventually began the journey of connecting with her birth mother. Just d...

Wilson Munsterman was born in China and adopted to America at ten months old. In this episode of the I’m Adopted Podcast, Wilson talks honestly about growing up adopted and the questions he carried about identity, family, and where he fit in. He shares what led him to write Marked by Adoption , a book that became a #1 new release on Amazon and has connected with adoptees, parents, agencies, and cl...

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary on Alex Gilbert’s YouTube channel. Kelly Stringer was adopted at just two weeks old in Christchurch, New Zealand, and grew up in a family with three older brothers. Although she had always been curious about her biological roots, it wasn’t until she became a mother herself that the questions became more important. Wanting to better u...

Jay Barbanel was born in Costa Rica and spent his early years surrounded by instability and uncertainty. After being taken from his birth mother, he and his brother were placed in an orphanage and later adopted by a family in the United States. For a short time, it felt like a new beginning until, at just seven years old, Jay was separated from his brother. That loss stayed with him. Years later,...

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary on Alex Gilbert’s YouTube channel. Adopted as a baby in Auckland, New Zealand, Arna (Anna Francesca) Intra grew up always knowing she was adopted. It was never a secret, but understanding what it truly meant came much later. While her childhood was shaped by family, loss, and unanswered questions, the deeper story of where she came f...

Kian Lafford was adopted from Omsk, Russia in September 2007. He later received the name Kian after being adopted into an Irish family. Growing up in a small town in Ireland with a large Eastern European community made it easier for Kian to be open about his adoption and his background growing up. In January 2024, his adoptive mother passed away from a brain tumour. In reflecting on that loss, Kia...

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary story on Alex Gilbert's YouTube channel. Oksana Rennie was born in 1991 in a small village in the western part of Russia’s Smolensk region. In 1996, at five and a half years old, she was adopted from the Smolensk District Children’s Home by her parents and raised in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand. Growing up far from her...

James Axiotis was born in Athens, Greece, to an unwed mother named Georgia Korakis. With no support for single mothers at the time, he was handed over to the authorities after a week in the hospital. Between the late 1950s and 1960s, thousands of Greek children were sent abroad, many to the United States. The numbers vary, but estimates often range from 5,000 to 7,000. James was one of those child...

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary story on Alex Gilbert's YouTube channel. Daniela Brown was adopted from Romania when she was just three years old, during a period of great change in the country’s history. She was born in the Jilava Prison in Romania and spent the first three months of her life there with her birth mother, Angelica, before being taken to an orphanag...

Jon was adopted in the UK at the age of four and later returned to care as a teenager. For decades, he believed his birth father had died. A DNA test in his mid-50s led to an unexpected discovery that changed everything. In this episode, Jon reflects on adoption, loss, reunion, and what it means to finally find answers later in life.

From our An Adoption Story series. Adopted as a baby in Auckland, New Zealand, Tracy grew up with very little information about where she came from. Questions about her identity followed her quietly into adulthood. Adoption was always there, but rarely spoken about, leaving many parts of her story without answers. Later in life, Tracy began searching for her birth family, hoping to understand more...

Marina was born in Staryi Krym, Crimea, and later adopted from an orphanage in Simferopol by her Italian parents. She grew up in Italy, gradually learning more about her roots in Crimea — but it wasn’t until later that she began to connect more deeply with her birth family. We caught up with her as part of our Where Are They Now segments — updates from those who shared their stories in our An Adop...

Simulcast from our An Adoption Story series. Victor was adopted as a young boy and came to Auckland, New Zealand, when he was just four years old. Born in the town of Velikiye Luki in western Russia, his journey began with many unknowns. Now a science teacher and photographer in Christchurch, Victor has built a life full of curiosity, creativity, and meaningful connections in New Zealand. Alongsid...

Simulcast from our An Adoption Story series. Valentina always knew she was adopted but never knew her history. When motherhood takes her on an unexpected journey into discovering her past. What follows is a remarkable story of heartbreak, forgiveness and an incredible reunion with a long lost sibling. This is her story.

Simulcast from our An Adoption Story series. Ian was born in Waihi, New Zealand, and adopted as an infant. He didn’t discover his adoption until he was 48 years old, at which point he slowly started to find those connections with his birth mother. With the help of his daughter Yolande, Ian then uncovered his previously unknown Māori heritage. This is his story.

Ekaterina Clark's journey began in Syktyvkar, Russia, where she was adopted at the age of three. Raised in New Zealand, she shares her experiences from childhood to discovering her roots and birth family, connecting her past with her present. This is her story. Taken from the An Adoption Story Series which you can watch on YouTube via 'Alex Gilbert'.

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Felicita was born in the city of Odesa, Ukraine to then being adopted at the age of 7 months by her Italian parents. She was raised in the small village town of Ascea. A village that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea in Southern Italy. Felicita has always had an interest in her roots and ever since she could reme...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Marina was born in Staryi Krym, Crimea to then being adopted out from an orphanage in Simferopol by her Italian parents. With her life in Italy, she has grown up learning more about her roots within Crimea but it wasn't until later on when she started to connect more with her birth family links. She shares her...