I hope you'll join me for this conversation with Veronique. It's not often that I do interviews with adoptive parents, and maybe it's been my assumption that I know their stories already. Do you have assumptions about their stories, too? Veronique is an adoptive mother of a baby girl through an open adoption in 2021. She is originally from the French Caribbean but was born and grew up in France. She is married and is a mother of 2 lovely girls. She moved to the United States in 2003 and has been living in California for 20 years. She worked in the tech industry for years but now wants to spe ..read more

Julie Ryan McGue is an American writer, a domestic adoptee, and an identical twin. In her books, essays, and blogs, she explores the topics of finding out who you are, where you belong, and making sense of it. Her award-winning memoir, Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging, was released in May of 2021. Her work has appeared in multiple journals, anthologies, and online sites, such as the Story Circle Network Journal, Brevity Nonfiction Blog, and Severance Magazine. Her latest book, a collection of essays titled Belonging Matters: Conversations on Adoption, Family, and ..read more

Jessica Pearson was born in Billings MT in 1981. Her bio mother was a teenager who found herself pregnant, and with a family that wasn't interested in raising a baby and decided adoption was the best option for them. Jessica was the first private adoption in the state of Montana. She was raised by a medical doctor and stay-at-home mom, and it all seemed perfectly "normal" and good to her — until she faced the circumstances of reunion and becoming a mother herself. From there, she set out on a decades-long healing journey, and now assists adoptees with turning their trauma into triumph. Jessica ..read more

TRIGGER WARNING! TALK OF SUICIDE. Kevin Berthia is a suicide survivor, advocate, and speaker. Kevin pours his heart into sharing his powerful story of growing up in silence, always feeling the need to hide the unbearable pain he was in. Through high school and into his early twenties, Kevin was known as the life of the party… until his very public suicide attempt at the Golden Gate Bridge changed everything. Since 2013, Kevin has captivated his audiences with his candidness about how he was able to overcome his pain and fully embrace himself in order to live his best life. He lives to inspire ..read more

TRIGGER WARNING: Themes of a traumatized adoptee infant discussed. Listen to what happened when I reposted a video I saw on TikTok showing a traumatized infant being handed over to it's new adoptive mother. If you or someone you know would like to tell their adoption story on the podcast (anyone in the adoptee constellation), please send an email to mindyourownkarma@gmail.com, and your story will be considered for the podcast. _________ Due to the LONG-LASTING EMOTIONAL FALLOUT that can be part of adoption, I highly suggest the GENTLE HEALING SUPPORT of SMGI®: Somatic Mind ..read more

TRIGGER WARNING: THEMES OF SUICIDE. Laura was a teenage girl in the '60s when she found out she was pregnant. With no support from the father of the child and feeling the shame of her circumstances from her parents, Laura found herself in a home for unwed mothers, feeling forced to give her baby up for adoption. Laura wrote a book about her experience called You’ll Forget This Ever Happened, and according to Laura, one of the most rewarding things about writing her book has been readers reaching out to tell her how much her book has helped them as well as increased their knowledge of women’s l ..read more

TRIGGER WARNING: THEMES OF SUICIDE. Laura was a teenage girl in the '60s when she found out she was pregnant. With no support from the father of the child and feeling the shame of her circumstances from her parents, Laura found herself in a home for unwed mothers, feeling forced to give her baby up for adoption. Laura wrote a book about her experience called You’ll Forget This Ever Happened, and according to Laura, one of the most rewarding things about writing her book has been readers reaching out to tell her how much her book has helped them as well as increased their knowledge of women’s ..read more

Anna Maria DiDio, MSW is an adoptive mother and children’s author whose adoption-themed books encourage open and honest conversation between parents and children. Anna Maria’s L.I.F.E.* Adventures children’s book series feature stories about adoption from the point of view of the child. It all started with her memoir, Love at the Border. Anna Maria holds a BA in Psychology from Villanova University and an MSW in Family Specialization from the University of Pennsylvania. She is the mother of two young wonderful women and is at her most creative when she is traveling and experiencing new people ..read more

Jenny is a wife of 28-1/2 years, a mother of 6 and a grandmother of 5. She is a birth mother and adoptive parent. Last year she and her husband adopted a boy who is 17, and her oldest is her 31-year-old ONLY daughter, who she had an open adoption with. Jenny says the open adoption with her daughter included face-to-face visits, and that she was included and welcomed by the adoptive family for the first 18 years of her daughter's life. Because of her experience as a birth mother, she feels it is very important for the correct information to be given to girls who find themselves at a crossroads ..read more

Paul Allen Fiscus III, a devoted father, brings a unique perspective to the discussion on adoption, parental rights, and judicial corruption—being the first parent in Kansas history to contest a private adoption to this extent.  His unwavering determination and in-depth understanding of the legal intricacies surrounding adoption highlight the hurdles that natural fathers encounter when their infant child is placed for adoption without their knowledge.  His insights and commitment to creating change in the treatment of natural fathers make him an invaluable voice in the ongoing dialog ..read more