The Adoption Files

Ande Stanley
  • 4.4 (7)
  • SOCIAL SCIENCES
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Adoption files seeks to provide a place for adoptees and allies to discuss the laws preventing adoptees from accessing their identities, and the emotional and physical challenges adoptees face in the process of dealing with the obstacles we face. We recognize the need to expose the problematic aspects of the adoption industry and the narrative they perpetuate. We will not only talk about the laws and the challenges they create, but also the ways that the mythology around adoption impacts the way we move through our lives, as adopted people and as mothers and other family members.

  1. 2D AGO

    Adriana Calin is still fighting to be recognized as a person: A Romanian Adoptee/ Human Trade Victim

    Please join me and Adriana Rockefeller as we talk about what has happened in her fight to be recognized as a person since we spoke early last year in a two part interview here on the podcast. Adriana is still fighting to be recognized by Romania and Canada as a legal person. You can be a part of making that happen, as her court case continues. Adriana was raised as Roxana Pamela. Two years ago, she discovered that she had been adopted to Canada from Romania using another infants birth certificate. She subsequently discovered that this invalidates her own legal identity, leaving her in limbo, and without a state. You can help Adriana achieve personhood by purchasing her book and by donating to her fundraiser for legal funds. In a time where we often feel powerless, this is an opportunity to do something concrete for a victim of human trafficking. Her book Ne M'appelez pas Roxana: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/ne-mappelez-pasroxana/9782897612764.html Instagram: @adriana.citizenofnowhere gofundme.com/f/Help-Adriana-Reclaim-Her-Identity tiktok: @adriana.citizenofnowhere https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2024/12/07/adoption-et-trafic-denfants-en-roumanie-une-quebecoise-part-a-la-recherche-de-sa-veritable-identite TVA JE Episode: Adoption ou Trafique Humain? Available in Canada or if you have a VPN

    1h 21m

  2. 4D AGO · BONUS

    The Mom Myth: thoughts on my conversation with Cindy Shultz

    Just a short episode sharing some of what came up for me after talking with mom Cindy Shultz. Reconciling the reality of how the adoption industry uses coercion to separate families with the stereotypes and the myth of Rescue that is presented to adopted people is an ongoing struggle for me. As my (now retired) therapist used to ask: How is that story serving you? The opinion of the host is just that, their opinion. The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professional. Thank you for listening! Please rate and review, as this helps to make the podcast more visible.

    18 min

  3. 4D AGO

    Open Adoption is Not the Answer: a conversation with Cindy Shultz

    Please join me as I talk with mom Cindy Shultz about her experience with open adoption. Cindy Shultz is a mother of church-coerced child loss who transforms lived experience into advocacy. Raised in the shadow of poverty and stigma, Cindy was a mother in crisis when Catholic Charities pressured her into relinquishing her son in a process she felt powerless to stop. This experience of unnecessary child loss is the foundation of her mission to support the systematically oppressed. As the founder of Cindy's Family Preservation Alliance and a volunteer for Saving Our Sisters, she provides pregnant women the education and resource navigation she was once denied. Professionally, Cindy serves as a Wellness and Services coordinator at two local shelters, providing holistic case management for unhoused women. She is a certified Holistic Life Coach, Recovery Coach and Laughter Yoga Leader creating healing centered environments that honor the intersections of trauma, substance use, and family separation. Her work is a living testament that healing is possible and that family preservation is a fundamental human right that must be protected. If you are interested in Coaching or the healing power of Laughter Yoga, join her free Skool community Love Our Laughter. https://www.facebook.com/familypreservationalliance/ https://www.skool.com/love-our-laughter-wellness-5520/about https://savingoursistersadoption.org/ The opinions of the host and their guest(s) are just that, our opinions. The host is not a lawyer, therapist or adoption professional. All resources shared are shared as a courtesy to the podcasts guests. The host encourages everyone to vet resources for themselves. Thank you for listening!

    1h 7m

  4. FEB 24

    Fragmentation: continuing the conversation . Holy Hurt and Spiritual Trauma, episode 2

    Please join mom, adoptee advocate, writer and homesteader Dani Joy and me as we continue to explore the intersection of spiritual trauma and adoption through our conversation with the book Holy Hurt, Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing by Hillary L McBride PhD. https://medium.com/@danijoy https://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/ https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-health The opinions of the host and their guest are just that, our opinions. The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professional.

    1h 35m

  5. FEB 20

    Be a Partner in Something Powerful: a conversation with Sullivan Summer, Lora Alegria and Lilly Anspach, the Board of Adoptees for Family Preservation

    Please join me as I speak with the board of Adoptees for Family Preservation. AdopteesFFP.org was formed with the goal of supporting advocacy and education about the way that the adoption industry functions today and to promote family preservation rather than family dissolution. The board members all bring their own lived experience as adopted people to the conversation, along with their skills as professionals in a range of career fields. Please check out their bios at the non-profits website for more information about Sullivan Summer, Lora Alegria and Lilly Anspach. Please share the links to adopteesffp.org with everyone you know! Be a part of something powerful. https://www.adopteesffp.org/ Find them on Instagram @adopteesffp Check out Haley Radke at: https://onadoption.net/ https://www.adopteeson.com/about Donate and be a part of creating healthier communities at: https://www.adopteesffp.org/donations The opinions of the host and their guests are just that, our opinions. The host is not a therapist, lawyer or adoption professional

    47 min

  6. FEB 19

    At the Intersection of adoption and spiritual trauma; Holy Hurt: Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing by Hillary L McBride PhD,

    First mom Dani Joy joins me as we discuss spiritual trauma through the lens of adoption. We are reading and discussing the book Holy Hurt, by Hillary L McBride PhD. We hope the listeners will join us in this journey to understand and to navigate adoption related spiritual and religious trauma. https://medium.com/@danijoy https://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355967?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=acd48c2d0b8111f1804e00550a1eba24&cm_mmc=CJ-_-100357191-_-5250933-_-Evergreen+Link+for+Mayo+Clinic+Diet&utm_source=cj&utm_content=100357191&utm_capaign=3-months https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/txessentials/complex_ptsd_assessment.asp https://www.nicabm.com/program/a1-brain-trauma-fb2/?del=bing.1718.ptsd&network=o&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=530620131&ad_group_id=1351302280065123&utm_term=traumatic%20stress&utm_content=&del=bing530620131&msclkid=bee2c579db9c177b015bacea48f39198 https://www.mhanational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/MHM-2025-Resource-List.pdf https://rainn.org/ https://www.thetrevorproject.org/ https://health.clevelandclinic.org/vagus-nerve-reset https://health.clevelandclinic.org/box-breathing-benefits The opinions of the host and their guest are just that, our opinions. The host is not a therapist, a lawyer or an adoption professional.

    1h 30m

  7. FEB 8

    Spiritual Trauma and Adoption, an unholy union. Reviewing Holy Hurt by Hillary L McBride PhD from the lens of an adoptee and a first mom's experiences

    Dani Joy, first mom, birthmothers rights advocate, adoptee ally. amazing friend joins me in reviewing the book Holy Hurt Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing by Hillary L Mc Bride PhD. https://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/ We are reviewing the book from the perspectives of a mother of loss to adoption and a person lost to adoption. Religion contributed a great deal to the trauma we have both experienced and informs the family severance narrative to this day. We hope you will join us in this journey. Please be aware that the episodes will discuss things that may be triggering to many of our listeners. Please take care of yourself. The host and their guest are not adoption professionals, lawyers or mental health professionals. Our opinions are just that, our opinions. They are informed by our respective educations and lived experiences.

    11 min

  8. FEB 6

    Did they or didn't they? The Conclusion to my trip to Georgia to maybe meet maternal family

    This episode is the conclusion to my trip to Georgia, hoping to meet maternal family, and walk in circles for a lot of hours just in case no one showed up.

    41 min
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About

The Adoption files seeks to provide a place for adoptees and allies to discuss the laws preventing adoptees from accessing their identities, and the emotional and physical challenges adoptees face in the process of dealing with the obstacles we face. We recognize the need to expose the problematic aspects of the adoption industry and the narrative they perpetuate. We will not only talk about the laws and the challenges they create, but also the ways that the mythology around adoption impacts the way we move through our lives, as adopted people and as mothers and other family members.

Information

  • Creator
    Ande Stanley
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    137
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Ande Stanley
  • Show Website
    The Adoption Files

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