A House Divided Cannot Stand

Michael Rocco is joined by Co-Host Dr. Jack Rocco (not related) in OBI's premier episode. Jack is a Baby Scoop Era adoptee who strongly identified with his Italian-American, Democrat, Catholic, Yankees fan, blue-collar upbringing in Erie, Pennsylvania. But, well into adulthood, Jack's ethnic/racial identity was challenged when he learned about his black/white biracial father after meeting his biological mother. Eventually, he confirms his own biracial identity through meeting paternal cousins. Like many transracial adoptees, Jack needed to reassemble his identity both in terms of adoption and race/ethnicity. In this episode, Jack's story is examined through the adage "A House Divided Cannot Stand." Jack reads from his memoir in preparation "Recycled: Nature, Nurture and Free Will through the Eyes of an Adoptee." Michael and Jack discuss the need to reintegrate core components of one's social identity after disintegration occurs while "coming out of the adoption fog" and recognizing the central role that adoption plays in the construction of self and an understanding of one's place within the family and society. We hope you'll drop us a line and let us know how we're doing. We welcome words of encouragement as well as criticism. If you have an adoptee story that you'd like to shed light on using an adage, please pitch your idea by email in a paragraph or two. We'll contact you within 1-2 weeks if your story is a good fit for the series. Michael.Rocco.Author@gmail.com -contact Dr. Jack Rocco at JRocco34@aol.com; Instagram: #recycledchild: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackrocco/. Original song "Muse" composed and performed by David Russell (with Rob Ellenberg, collaborator and producer). Full album available at: https://open.spotify.com/album/6DejQjsIM0pQ7lMeH9EK57?si=6uaeCFy9R1eRGZeJMhCByw #adoptee #adoption #adopteevoices #adopted #transracialadoptee #adopteestories #adoptees #adopteesspeak #childhoodtrauma #cptsd #addiction #alcoholism #ptsd