Once Upon A Time...In Adopteeland

Janeen Jackson is an adoptee, children's book author, and powerful advocate for adult adoptees—especially those who discover the truth about their adoption later in life. Through her blog Mixed Up Diary and her book Hello, Sweet Baby!, Janeen creates space for honest conversations about identity, race, and healing. Her mission is to provide comfort and understanding to others facing similar revelations and to help families navigate the emotional complexities of adoption with empathy and truth.In 2017, Janeen took a DNA test out of curiosity. What followed was a life-altering discovery: she was adopted, had been in foster care, and was biracial. She uncovered this truth in her 40s, a revelation that completely redefined her sense of self and understanding of her past. This experience launched her into a journey of emotional excavation, family redefinition, and self-empowerment. Janeen’s late discovery of her adoption brought with it many emotional and psychological challenges, including grief, anger, confusion, and a profound identity crisis. She wrestled with issues of trust, colorism, belonging, and depression. Learning how to set healthy boundaries, confront painful family secrets, and process her biracial identity has been central to her personal transformation.Websites: https://mixedupdiary.com/ https://janeenjackson.com/Music by Corey Quinn

Eric Shaw in Southern California is an educator (Elementary School PE and High School basketball coach), adopted at birth by same race and adopted siblings with Koko, @TheBlackAdoptea on IG.Resource: https://adoptionmosaic.com/adoptee-beaconMusic by Corey Quinn 

Kevin Hodge-Niblack Barnett Sr. is a retired Army veteran and a product of the foster care/adoption system. He is the author of two books: Living My Shadows: Dreams Do Come True and Shadows of Emotion: Life After the Dream, which outline his experiences as an adoptee and person who lived in foster care.Website: https://www.livingmyshadows.org/Resources: https://www.adoptionknowledge.org/registration-2025.htmlMusic by Corey Quinn

Jasmin, a New York adoptee, host of the Once an Orphan podcast kept the story of her adoption to herself until she was in her 30’s. Today, she’ll talk about why the silence for so long and what finally brought about the change. https://www.youtube.com/@OnceanOrphanhttps://www.blackadopteesmeetup.org/Recommended Resource: https://events.adoptionmosaic.com/launch-landMusic by Corey Quinn

Katie is an adoptee who has always known she was adopted. Abuse and neglect by adoptive parents growing up led her to feeling unloved or unwanted by them. As a younger person, Katie felt so broken and joined Al-Anon and (ACA) Adult Children of Alcoholics for healing. She still felt like something was missing in her recovery. A friend gave Katie the book, The Primal Wound by Nancy Verrier, and she then sought out podcasts about adoptees which all proved to be great resources.Katie never had the desire to look for her birth parents, but an acquaintance insisted, and found maternal and paternal birth parents within days in 1996. She has met both birth families and have different relationships with them today.Music by Corey Quinn

Jennifer Hiltebeitel (HILL-ta-bite-el) is a returning guest.Jennifer is an adopted person on a lifelong healing journey. As an Enneagram Coach, she loves talking with other adoptees about how this tool for growth builds understanding and compassion for our whole selves. She believes healing happens in community and through the telling of our stories. You can connect with Jennifer on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/throughyourlensenneagram/, through email: jhiltebeitel@outlook.com or set up a free 30-minute Enneagram Coaching consultation with her at https://calendly.com/jhiltebeitelMusic by Corey Quinn

Original air date: October 25, 2022During times in this episode, there is sensitive content that may be traumatizing to some audiences. Listener discretion advised.Katie is an adoptee who has always known she was adopted. Abuse and neglect by adoptive parents growing up led her to feeling unloved or unwanted by them. As a younger person, Katie felt so broken and joined Al-Anon and (ACA) Adult Children of Alcoholics for healing. She still felt like something was missing in her recovery. A friend gave Katie the book, The Primal Wound by Nancy Verrier, and she then sought out podcasts about adoptees which all proved to be great resources.Katie never had the desire to look for her birth parents, but an acquaintance insisted, and found maternal and paternal birth parents within days in 1996. She has met both birth families and have different relationships with them today.Music by Corey Quinn

Debbie Nahid is a transracial intercountry adoptee born in 1968 in the UK. She was raised in foster care in a white English community and was adopted as a teenager by her foster mother. It was at this time that she also discovered the truth about her parents and heritage. Debbie has spent her life searching for birth relatives and cultural connections and is the founder of Transracial Adult Adoptee Network (TAAN), a community of peers. She has created and facilitates two in-person support groups for adult adoptees in London and is also the co-founder of the Adult Adoptee Movement UK.Debbie uses her lived experience to help others heal and inform of the dislocation, alienation and isolation that occurs from being raised in a white foster or adoptive home without a biological identity or same race role model. Paul Sunderland Talks to Adoptees About HealingFrom Relinquishment Trauma and Complex PPTSD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8njTJVfsVAMusic by Corey Quinn

Linda Pevac (aka Emma Stevens) is a returning guest.Linda is a U.S. domestic adoptee from birth and has survived layers of trauma that have put her on multiple journeys. She developed the inner strength and courage to surmount the many struggles she faced. Her traumas were born from being an adoptee who struggled with being forced to wear an impossible mask of playing the part of the “good adopted child.” Because being relinquished and adopted has colored her life, it’s Linda’s desire to be part of the movement that is dedicated to helping bring forth change to the way our world views the needs and support of adopted individuals. She believes strongly in adoptees finding their voice and discovering their truth to have a solid sense of self and to reclaim their identities. Through telling her story, Linda is dedicated to help redefine the narrative of adoption to include the entire complex truth.This memoir is Linda Pavac (aka Emma Stevens’) third book. She has an undergraduate degree in journalism and has completed Master’s level course work in psychology, specializing in Marriage, Family, and Child counseling. She has two adult children and two cat children who she adores.https://emmastevenswriter.com/https://www.adopteetherapy.com/Music by Corey Quinn

This solo episode embodies the anticipation of Autumn.https://adoptee-voices.com/Music by Corey Quinn

Original air date: April 5, 2022Emma Stevens is a U.S. domestic adoptee from birth and has survived layers of trauma that have put her on multiple journeys. She developed the inner strength and courage to surmount the many struggles she faced. Her traumas were born from being an adoptee who struggled with being forced to wear an impossible mask of playing the part of the “good adopted child.” Because being relinquished and adopted has colored her life, it’s Emma’s desire to be part of the movement that is dedicated to helping bring forth change to the way our world views the needs and support of adopted individuals. She believes strongly in adoptees finding their voice and discovering their truth to have a solid sense of self and to reclaim their identities. Through telling her story, Emma is dedicated to help redefine the narrative of adoption to include the entire complex truth.This memoir is Emma Stevens’ first book. She has an undergraduate degree in journalism and has completed Master’s level course work in psychology, specializing in Marriage, Family, and Child counseling. She has two adult children and two cat children who she adores. "The Gathering Place, An Adoptee's Story" by Emma Stevens is available on Amazon.https://emmastevenswriter.com/Music by Corey Quinn

Astrid Castro, founder and CEO of Adoption Mosaic—an adoptee-led, BIPOC woman-founded nonprofit—has dedicated over three decades to serving the adoption constellation through innovative, adoptee-centered programs, events, courses, and consultations. Adopted from Colombia at the age of four (along with her older sister), Astrid’s life's work and interest in adoption shifted dramatically after reuniting with her birth/first mother in 2011, when she discovered she had been kidnapped and sold through the black market of adoption. Everything changed from that moment, reshaping not only her personal journey but also her professional commitment. Prior to creating Adoption Mosaic, Astrid worked in both the private and public sectors of adoption, including at the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC), Holt International, and the Rocky Mountain Adoption Exchange. Her work continues to highlight the adoptee experience and expand access to essential post-adoption services for individuals and families.https://adoptionmosaic.com/Nomi Kaie is a Black same race domestic adoptee who enjoys connecting with others, daydreaming, delicious meals, the arts, and running fast, to name a few interests. https://www.onceuponatimeinadopteeland.com/episode/31-nomi-an-adoptee-and-writer-who-is-new-to-the-adoption-communityMusic by Corey Quinn

Greta Handgis (Fadness) is a domestic same-race adoptee adopted through Lutheran Welfare Services in a closed adoption in 1968. She was relinquished immediately at birth and spent no time with her teenage biological mother. After a month in foster care, she was adopted. She was raised in a family with a younger sister, who was also adopted, and an older brother, who is the only biological child of her adoptive parents. She is in reunion with both her paternal and maternal families but is estranged from her birth mother after a 30-year relationship. She has two full-blood siblings, two half-blood siblings and is extremely close to her maternal aunt. Greta earned a degree in theatre and played NCAA women’s basketball on a full-ride scholarship. After college, Greta spent 10 years as an actor in Los Angeles before moving to Phoenix in 2001. She is a playwright, actor, acting coach and a former paralegal in the public defender system in Phoenix. She recently wrote and performed her award-winning one-woman show "Searching for Me in All the Wrong Places” in Los Angeles and is currently developing a new one-woman show that focuses on her adoption story as well as integrating other voices that make up the adoption constellation. In recovery from anorexia, Greta hopes that through her art she might help someone feel a little less alone as well as bring awareness to those who don’t know or understand the complexities of adoption and the challenges it can cause. Creativity, connection and community have been so healing in her navigating her own path, and also having an amazing husband, rescue dog and therapist doesn’t hurt either.Website: https://gretafadness.com/https://events.adoptionmosaic.com/wte-reg-disordered-eatinghttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/live-podcast-event-with-atmom-special-guests-tickets-1413096101479Music by Corey Quinn

Original air date: August 16, 2022Danielle Orr is a writer, painter and animal lover. She is currently working on her memoir.Music by Corey Quinn

Jenna Lowe is a domestic same race adoptee, adopted through Catholic Charities in a closed adoption. Her biological half-brother was also placed into the same family when Jenna was 17 months old. She is in reunion with both her paternal and maternal birth families and finds it her personal mission to spread awareness around relinquishment trauma to other adoptees, members of the adoption constellation, and humanity at large. Jenna is a trauma-informed holistic spiritual consultant; her approach to healing blends Ayurvedic science, astrology, and general energy work to meet the unique needs of her clientshttps://www.frequencyastrology.com/Music by Corey Quinn

Bridgett McGowen-Hawkins is an award-winning international speaker, author, and publisher who energizes audiences and empowers voices. A late discovery adoptee, Bridgett found out at the age of 31 that she was adopted, an experience that reshaped her understanding of identity, family, trust, and truth. Today, she shares her story to support others with healing, speaking boldly, and reclaiming their narratives.Bridgett is on a mission to inspire a global audience to reframe public speaking and communication not merely as a professional skill but as a fundamental human right and a lever of influence, equity, and justice. She is the founder of Press 49, a hybrid publishing company that amplifies untold stories and transformational voices.Website: https://www.bridgettmcgowen.com/Book recommendations: The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk M.D., Lions Roaring Far From Home by Aselefech Evans , Kassaye Berhanu-MacDonald, et al., Journey of the Adopted Self by Betty Jean Lifton.Music by Corey Quinn

Jackson TerKeurst’s new book, The Only Way Forward is Back: A Story of War, Adoption, and Finding Your Purpose in God’s Plan, is an inspirational memoir taking the reader on a journey through war-torn Liberia to the United States, watching God do a mighty work during difficult and heart-breaking circumstances.Jackson is an entrepreneur and leader who continues to defy the odds as a first-generation immigrant from West Africa who owns and runs a small business. The adopted son of bestselling author and speaker Lysa TerKeurst, Jackson is passionate about drawing together people from diverse backgrounds to experience authentic community. He lives with his wife and their two children outside Nashville, Tennessee.Website: https://www.jacksonterkeurst.com/Music by Corey Quinn

Original air date: January 10, 2023Dan Smith is an adoptee in reunion who co-facilitates a support group with Adoption Network Cleveland for all members of the constellation. It meets the last Thursday of each month online. He resides in Ohio and enjoys his retirement after a career as a firefighter.Music by Corey Quinn

Original air date: June 14, 2022Zhen E (pronounced like Jenny) is a transnational transracial Korean Adoptee who was abducted through Holt in the 1970s to an all white family and community. She and her husband Robert (also white) are foodies and travelers and cat-parents to 4 cats and proud parents to Jordan and his wife Skyler and grandparents to granddaughter Jasmine Nari (3 years) and grandson Soren Eujin (3 weeks).Zhen E is an adoptee advocate and has gone to Washington DC, LA, and the Iowa Legislatures to pass the Adoptee Citizenship Act.  Zhen E has performed her pieces "Black Box: An Adoption Story Choreopoem" and other spoken word poetry about adoption at several play festivals, at KAAN and IKAA in the US and Seoul, South Korea.  Music by Corey Quinn

Original air date: May 2, 2023Laura L. Engel likes to say she is late to the game as a budding new author. Originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, Laura has lived in Southern California for over 50 years. She and her husband, Gene are the proud parents of six grown children along with their significant others. They are delighted to be Grammy and PaPa to ten grandchildren. Recently retired after 30 plus years as a regional sales representative for an international title insurance company, Laura left the corporate world and plunged headlong into her second career as a writer in 2017.Laura has had two scenes from her memoir chosen for the San Diego Memoir Showcase. Her scene, 'Secret Son' is published in the award winning anthology 'Shaking the Tree'. Her scene 'Do They Know?' was selected as one of the ten winners for the San Diego Memoir Showcase in 2018. It was published in 2019 in Amazon Best Seller and Award winning Shaking The Tree 2 and Shaking The Tree 3. She is a current member of the International Women Writers Guild and President of the San Diego Memoir Writers Association. Laura's memoir is 'You’ll Forget This Ever Happened'. Check out her website for more information regarding her memoir.https://lauralengel.com/Music by Corey Quinn