56 min
17: Healing From Being a Product of Rape with Michelle McManus ADOPT YOURSELF
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- Self-Improvement
It was so inspiring to interview fellow adoptee Michelle McManus for Episode 17 of the Adopt Yourself Podcast! She shares her courageous story of how she went from thinking the rape of her birthmother was her fault to accepting it as it is while choosing to turn her pain into inspiration to help others
Michelle explains how she navigated her emotions learning she was adopted at 8 years old which led to childhood bullying for being adopted resulting self-bullying. As she became more curious about her origins she hired a private investigator to find her biological families when she was only in high school. She was then challenged with depression after learning she is the product of rape + that her birthmother did not desire to grow a relationship with her, yet through all of these circumstances she’s been able to find closure + love for herself through accepting it all just as it is
As many adoptees can relate, even though Michelle comes from a family that made her feel loved she still faced the feelings of not belonging, codependency, + people pleasing
We connected through social media earlier this year + bonded about our adoptee healing journeys. She is a passionate, determined, + courageous woman who I know will inspire so many fellow adoptees to find closure by learning to accept their circumstances + choose to find love for themselves just as they are
Her piece of advice for adoptees:
“It is absolutely ok to have mixed feelings about your adoption. You can be happy, sad, you can feel disconnected from your family but that doesn’t mean that you don’t love them. You have the right to search for your family without feeling like you’re betraying your adoptive family. There is no right or wrong way to feel. There are others around you, you have the right to answers + if you get answers that you don’t want you have to accept it + move on. Closure for me wasn’t finding love from my birthparents it was finding love for myself.”
And my favorite quote of hers on this episode:
“I thought me finding my birth family was going to be my closure but it wasn’t. My closure was me accepting what it was and finally loving myself and that’s when I found my true closure”
ACTIVATION WARNING: On this episode we discuss her birthmother’s rape + our experiences of suicidal thoughts
Connect with Michelle on Instagram @babybebrave_24
If you’re an adoptee, birthparent, or adoptive parent + you desire to share your story on the podcast about how adoption has impacted your life or how you’ve chosen to Adopt Yourself then fill out this form www.alijameson.com/podcast or contact Ali at adoptyourself@gmail.com.
Our Adoptee Healing + Support Group is open to any adoptee anywhere in the world, we meet via zoom every Tuesday at 5:30 pm PST, link to register is here https://www.alijameson.com/adopteecommunity. I'll be adding another time slot soon for European residents!
Thank you for listening + sharing with anyone you think will resonate!
Sending Mother Earth Blessings + All my love,
Ali
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adoptyourself/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adoptyourself/support
It was so inspiring to interview fellow adoptee Michelle McManus for Episode 17 of the Adopt Yourself Podcast! She shares her courageous story of how she went from thinking the rape of her birthmother was her fault to accepting it as it is while choosing to turn her pain into inspiration to help others
Michelle explains how she navigated her emotions learning she was adopted at 8 years old which led to childhood bullying for being adopted resulting self-bullying. As she became more curious about her origins she hired a private investigator to find her biological families when she was only in high school. She was then challenged with depression after learning she is the product of rape + that her birthmother did not desire to grow a relationship with her, yet through all of these circumstances she’s been able to find closure + love for herself through accepting it all just as it is
As many adoptees can relate, even though Michelle comes from a family that made her feel loved she still faced the feelings of not belonging, codependency, + people pleasing
We connected through social media earlier this year + bonded about our adoptee healing journeys. She is a passionate, determined, + courageous woman who I know will inspire so many fellow adoptees to find closure by learning to accept their circumstances + choose to find love for themselves just as they are
Her piece of advice for adoptees:
“It is absolutely ok to have mixed feelings about your adoption. You can be happy, sad, you can feel disconnected from your family but that doesn’t mean that you don’t love them. You have the right to search for your family without feeling like you’re betraying your adoptive family. There is no right or wrong way to feel. There are others around you, you have the right to answers + if you get answers that you don’t want you have to accept it + move on. Closure for me wasn’t finding love from my birthparents it was finding love for myself.”
And my favorite quote of hers on this episode:
“I thought me finding my birth family was going to be my closure but it wasn’t. My closure was me accepting what it was and finally loving myself and that’s when I found my true closure”
ACTIVATION WARNING: On this episode we discuss her birthmother’s rape + our experiences of suicidal thoughts
Connect with Michelle on Instagram @babybebrave_24
If you’re an adoptee, birthparent, or adoptive parent + you desire to share your story on the podcast about how adoption has impacted your life or how you’ve chosen to Adopt Yourself then fill out this form www.alijameson.com/podcast or contact Ali at adoptyourself@gmail.com.
Our Adoptee Healing + Support Group is open to any adoptee anywhere in the world, we meet via zoom every Tuesday at 5:30 pm PST, link to register is here https://www.alijameson.com/adopteecommunity. I'll be adding another time slot soon for European residents!
Thank you for listening + sharing with anyone you think will resonate!
Sending Mother Earth Blessings + All my love,
Ali
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adoptyourself/message
Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/adoptyourself/support
56 min