Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories

Louise Browne & Sarah Reinhardt
  • 5.0 (2)
  • PARENTING
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories Podcast

Two adult adoptees, Sarah Reinhardt and Louise Browne, delve into all things adoption - from their perspectives as adult adoptees. Each season Sarah and Louise recap a chapter from a book centered on adoption and then interview a guest.  Sarah and Louise come out of the 'fog' in real-time through Seasons One and Two and are advocating for change in the adoption industry. They want to give voice to all adoptees. Adoptee stories are needed to reframe the narrative around adoption.Sarah and Louise, two former business partners who had a successful ice cream truck in Los Angeles, team up again - this time in frank and honest conversations about all things adoption from the adoptee perspective. Both were adopted shortly after birth, but they had very different experiences. These will be intimate conversations, but also fun - because Sarah and Louise know how to lighten things up and have a good time. They also have an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a subject with anyone who crosses their path - so conversations will take many turns. 

  1. Liz: Migrating Toward Wholeness

    23 HR AGO

    Liz: Migrating Toward Wholeness

    Dr. Liz DeBetta, creator of Migrating Toward Wholeness© is an adoptee and independent scholar-artist-activist committed to changing systems and helping people navigate trauma through creative processes. She believes that stories are powerful change agents and when we write them and share them we connect and heal. Liz is a proud member of Actor's Equity, SAG-AFTRA, Affiliate Faculty at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, and part of the Diversity Scholars Network at the National Ce...

    1h 17m
  2. Michael: Beckett's Children: A Literary Memoir - Live Episode from Kansas City 9.7.24

    17 SEPT

    Michael: Beckett's Children: A Literary Memoir - Live Episode from Kansas City 9.7.24

    Born at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village on Nov. 11, 1954, Michael was adopted five weeks later by John and Eleanor Coffey, a corrections officer and an RN, respectively. The adoption was handled by the New York Foundling Hospital. John and Eleanor had been unable to have children.He was raised as an only child in a small town in the Adirondacks. By the time his parents told him overtly that he was adopted, at age 8, he already knew. Following the Foundling’s reco...

    1h 3m
  3. Lea: Late Reunion Brings Love and Connection

    10 SEPT

    Lea: Late Reunion Brings Love and Connection

    Lea is an adoptee born at the end of the Baby Scoop era, 1970. She was born and raised in the city where she currently lives with her family. She knew from a young age that she was an adopted, a "chosen baby". She was always proud to say she was adopted and would challenge classmates when asked about her "real parents". Lea believes that she was raised by her "real" parents and does not refer to them as her adoptive parents. Lea stood out from her family at an ea...

    55 min
  4. Patti: The Girl With Three Birthdays

    3 SEPT

    Patti: The Girl With Three Birthdays

    Patti Eddington is a newspaper and magazine journalist whose favorite job ever was interviewing famous authors who came through town on book tours. She never dreamed of writing about her life because she was too busy helping build her husband’s veterinary practice, caring for her animal-obsessed daughter—whose favorite childhood toy was an inflatable tick—and learning to tap dance. Then fate, and a DNA test, led her to a story she felt compelled to tell. Today, the mid-century modern design e...

    1h 3m
  5. Kathleen: A Reunion Full of Surprises

    27 AUG

    Kathleen: A Reunion Full of Surprises

    Kathleen was born in 1968 in Northern California. Her birth mother relinquished her for adoption immediately upon birth, and Kathleen was then adopted by a loving family who already had a 3-year-old adopted son. When Kathleen was 22 years old she found her birth mother. Thirty years later she learned that her birth father was an enforcer for the Hells Angels and was shot and killed when Kathleen was seven years old.She also learned that she has at least seven sisters and one brother on h...

    1h 10m
  6. Gaynor: An Adoptee Finds Resilience

    20 AUG

    Gaynor: An Adoptee Finds Resilience

    Gaynor was born in a mother-and-baby home and spent the first six weeks of life there before being adopted in the same town of birth. Despite a challenging childhood with an adoptive mother who exhibited narcissistic tendencies, Gaynor persevered through an unhappy adoption experience. At the age of 31, after becoming a parent, Gaynor reconnected with their birth family. This reunion, spanning over 30 years, has been a remarkable success, with Gaynor finding a true sense of belonging and love...

    50 min
  7. Aje: Finding Her Voice and Facing Hard Truths

    13 AUG

    Aje: Finding Her Voice and Facing Hard Truths

    Adopted at birth, Ajé loved sharing her adoption story throughout her childhood. She always had a feeling that she had been wanted by her birth parents, and was a tad obsessed with discovering where, and who, she came from. Around age 9, good, old-fashioned snooping led her to a document with clues about her birth parents and the person she would have been if they had kept her. She had no way of knowing that document would later lead to an unexpected, serendipitous, [absolutely impossible] re...

    1h 28m
  8. Angela: An Early Reunion Led to Belonging

    6 AUG

    Angela: An Early Reunion Led to Belonging

    Angela was born in Nebraska in 1979 and adopted at 3 days old. She grew up in a family that came with many complexities and issues, and she struggled to feel content with not knowing and being with her first family. At 16, she was able to reunite with her birth mother and half-siblings in person and has been in reunion ever since. Throughout the years, she's met more of her first family and has gone through the many challenges of reunion and the search for her birth father. Angela now resides...

    59 min
See All (133)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Two adult adoptees, Sarah Reinhardt and Louise Browne, delve into all things adoption - from their perspectives as adult adoptees. Each season Sarah and Louise recap a chapter from a book centered on adoption and then interview a guest.  Sarah and Louise come out of the 'fog' in real-time through Seasons One and Two and are advocating for change in the adoption industry. They want to give voice to all adoptees. Adoptee stories are needed to reframe the narrative around adoption.Sarah and Louise, two former business partners who had a successful ice cream truck in Los Angeles, team up again - this time in frank and honest conversations about all things adoption from the adoptee perspective. Both were adopted shortly after birth, but they had very different experiences. These will be intimate conversations, but also fun - because Sarah and Louise know how to lighten things up and have a good time. They also have an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a subject with anyone who crosses their path - so conversations will take many turns. 

Information

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada