Claiming Your Voice

Angelica is a fan of spelunking, reptiles, and research! She shares about how growing up in a poverty stricken family helped her to learn the value of earning her own way.  Angelica's life path has launched her into a scientific medical career. She wants to help others know the power of science and education. 

Margaret was adopted in 1958 from South Korea. She was found on the floor of an orphanage alongside of her adopted brother Charles. They were both starving and in need of immediate attention. They were featured in many newspapers and tv shows because of their unique family which was made up of 19 adopted children.  https://youtu.be/zeFSItRl1r0 To Tell the Truth (1967) https://youtu.be/JmHmD55eIZg   The Mike Douglas Show  (1965,  Start at the 53 minute mark)

Fred Nicora grew up in a traditional American family. While Fred was at a family gathering, he found out that his family had been keeping a secret. The parents that raised him were not his biological family. Listen to this account of a late discovery adoptee.  Fred is the author of Forbbiden Roots which tells his story of late discovery adoption and discovering his true identity.  https://www.frednicora.com   Fred@fredsbreadstore.com

Candace Cahill is the author of Goodbye Again which tells her experience of being young, single, pregnant and alone.  The manipulative techniques of adoption counseling convinced her to relinquish her baby. In this episode she tells her story of losing her son, finding him, and losing him again. Candace's writing has been featured in Newsweek, NBC Today, and the Huffington Post. You can find her work in the links below.  Goodbye Again: A Memoir Recent Published Work HuffPost: My Relationship With My Mom Was A Nightmare. Then An Unexpected Tragedy Changed Everything. Newsweek: I Found My Adopted Son, But We'll Never Spend a Holiday Together NBC TODAY: I met my birth son once, then he died. The man who adopted him helped me grieve Newsweek: 'I Gave My Son Up for Adoption—23 Years Later My Life Was Turned Upside Down' Severance Mag: Blue Baby Blanket

Anne is a Korean born adoptee who was raised in Minnesota and Missouri. She has two adopted siblings from Korea and together they traveled back to their birth country in the summer of 2022. Anne tells her story of reunion and also shares her opinion of adoption.  

Katie is a Chinese adoptee who grew up in Texas. During her formative years she chose her own identity. Now as an adult she is proud to be Chinese and American. 

Shirley is a mixed race intercountry adoptee. She is on the journey to finding her birth parents and has some interesting leads. Also, at the time of adoption, her US citizenship was not finalized through the naturalization process. At present she is seeking how to gain US citizenship 

Glenda is a Korean born adoptee who chose to forgive her abusive parents. She is writing a book about her life experiences and is planning on going to visit Korea. 

Mary Ellen Gambutti was adopted as an infant into an Air Force family. In this conversation she shares her quest of finding her biological family. Here is the link to her book: I Must Have Wandered: An Adopted Air Force Daughter Recalls https://www.amazon.com/Must-Have-Wandered-Adopted-Daughter-ebook/dp/B0B94T45JY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=FI7X51BX8OPZ&keywords=books+mary+ellen+gambutti+i+must+have+wandered&qid=1667707360&sprefix=I+must+have+wan%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-1 

Dee was adopted around age two from a home of neglect. He was raised by a loving adoptive mother who showed him love and stability. Dee is the survivor of sexual asault and encourages anyone who has trauma to seek therapy. He says, 'it will be okay." Trigger warning topic of sexual abuse. 

I was honored to be the guest host for Fireside Adoptees interview series with special guest Lynelle Long. Lynelle is the founder of InterCountry Adoptee Voices which serves for providing rich resources for adoptees. This interview is posted with permission of Fireside Adoptees.

This podcast is about infertility and the feelings of loss that accompanying it We also talked on topics of adoption and foster care.  And the questions of how to talk to someone who has experienced miscarriage and infertility. 

Polly is a professional flutist and  is also a private flute instructor. Growing up with a musical father provided an encouraging environment to learn the accordion, piano, and flute. Her desire was to be a performance major and has earned a  Masters  from the Eastman school of music. Take a listen to a light hearted conversation about Polly's beginning interest in music that took her on a musical path to teaching and then to performance!

Jay was adopted at the age of 8 months old to a family in Minnesota. As a young adult he was incarcerated where he was able to further his education in psychology. Jay also found a connection to God and faith and now works in prison ministry. Listener warning: suicide ideation topic is mentioned

Sherrie was born in prison to a teen mom. She was placed into foster care at age two. At age nine, her mom wanted her back, but it was not a fairytale reunion. Sherrie suffered being molested by a family member and was placed into 47 different foster homes. Please listen as she shares her story of hope and her faith in God. 

TJ is a Korean born adoptee who resides on the East Coast of the US. She came to the US at age three and remembers her father's ice cream shop in Ithaca, NY. Later when she moved to another state she experienced being made fun of because of the shape of her face and dealt with sadness and loneliness as a junior high student. TJ also had to deal with the feelings of reabandonment when her mother left the family. Through it all she has accomplished much and continues to work toward her life goals.

Listener discretion: The topic of assault occurs in this conversation.  TruGuy is an ambassador of the heart, a poet, and a musician. He was born to parents who were blind. At six years old he experienenced a traumatic assault. Despite these traumatic experiences, Tru has been a seeker of the truth and is a healer through his poetry and music. 

Emma Stevens is the author of The Gathering Place. In this interview she discusses her book and the impacts of adoption.

Brett is a first generation queer transfer student who now works in student services in higher education. He is an advocate for all students who are on their pathway in higher education. He also wants to helps students and staff broaden their understanding of the queeer community through inclusivity and advocacy via displayed artifacts in workspaces. 

In this episode I visited with Dr. Patrick Dupont, who teaches courses in health professions. We talked about our journey through the doctoral process at ACU, career transitioning as mature individuals, and the desire to help students.

Kristen is an adoptee who grew up in the same town as members of her biological family. She never knew the truth until she was 18 years old. On the date of this interview she celebrated 92 days of sobriety. 

Jessica was adopted at birth to her forever mom.  When she became and adult she began a search for her biological family. What she found out was not a happy ever after ending to her search. She believes that God used her in an amazing way to help take care of her birth mother. Jessica says that she has found the diamonds of life amid the pain of her birth search. 

Keith grew up in a big Italian family in New York. It wasn't until his early 30's that he found out that he had been adopted and it had been kept a secret from him. He then went on a journey to find his biological family. 

In this episode I talk with guests Joe Soll and Mark Miner about adoption. The opinions expressed in this episode are those of the individuals.

Matthew is an Amerasian Korean Adoptee who was adopted at age seven. He grew up in New Hampshire, joined the military and served in two wars. In 2018 Matthew found his father through DNA testing. After the experience of identity confusion as a child, he can now proudly say that he has paternal roots in Kentucky.

Ryan Anderson was adopted as an infant from Morocco and grew up in Scotland.  He shares his story how he used addiction to deal with feelings of shame. Now he is on a mission to help others by telling his message of hope to live life through conection and support. Disclaimer: topic of addiction and suicide.

In this episode of Claiming Your Voice my guest Judy Wong talks about how people can plan for living life not just retirement. Judy is on a mission to help people over 60 to raise their foundation of life! Judy Wong can be contacted through these links: Link to my Giveaway: A Free 30 minute Deep Dive Session with Judy https://calendly.com/livingoutloudaintoveryet/30-minute-raising-your-light-of-life-deep-dive Website: https://LivingOutLoudAintOverYet.com

As an infant, Joe Soll was trafficked into the adoption system. He grew up to be a psychotherapist and author of ten books. He facilitates a free nightly chat where participants can work on healing adoption related trauma. Joe wrote Adoption Healing...A Path to Revcovery to help adoptees on their healing journey. 

In this interview, Mark Miner shares his story of foster care and adoption. He and his sister were taken from their family at very young ages and lived through abuse and neglect in the foster system. Mark's story is one of encouragement and empathy.