A comprehensive list of adoption resources including podcasts, search angels, organizations, and events.
EVENTS
Through Adopted Eyes: A Collection of Memoirs from Adoptees
Through Adopted Eyes explores the world of adoption from the viewpoint of adoptees. Russian adoptee Elena S. Hall shares her own story and thoughts on the subject of adoption in addition to interviews from other adoptees of different ages, heritages, and perspectives. Whether you are an adoptive parent, curious about adoption, or an adoptee yourself, this unique collection of memoirs provides real insight into lives directly impacted by adoption.
The Adoptee’s Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment
Adoptee and counselor Cameron Lee Small names the realities of the adoptee’s journey, narrating his own and other adoptees’ stories in all their complexity. He unpacks the history of how adoption has worked and names how the church influenced adoption practices with unintended negative impacts on adoptees’ faith. Small’s own tumultuous search for and reunion with his mother in Korea inspired him to help other adoptees navigate what it means to carry multiple stories. His adoptee-centered advocacy helps adoptees regain their agency and identity on a journey of integration and healing, with meaningful relationships in all their family systems.
Finding Loretta: An Adopted Daughter’s Search to Define Family
A touching memoir of self-discovery, Finding Loretta is Diane’s tale of searching for history, roots, and family. Adopted as an infant, Diane Wheaton has always heard conflicting versions of the truth of her origins—but it’s not until she is forty-seven years old that she begins to search for her biological family. Amid search and reunion, however, Diane’s adoptive parents become ill—and while overseeing their care, she is told about a secret they have kept from her for more than fifteen years. This shocking disclosure requires Diane to face an important decision, which results in a level of healing she never could have anticipated.
The Adoption Paradox: Putting Adoption in Perspective
An ambitious book by Jean Kelly Widner, an adult adoptee, who explores the current and historical culture of American adoptions. Widner examines the unaddressed pain and systemic flaws in the system, and calls for a more transparent and compassionate approach to adoption.
Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood
Author Sherry Bridgette Healey, a victim of forced adoption, exposes how government policies legally erased birth identities. Her raw memoir draws powerful parallels to historical human rights violations.
Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging
Julie’s search for her birth relatives spans years and involves a search agency, a PI, a confidential intermediary, a judge, an adoption agency, a social worker, and a genealogist. By journey’s end, what began as a simple desire for a family medical history has evolved into a complicated quest―one that unearths secrets, lies, and family members that are literally right next door.
If you know of an event you would like added to this list, email me at [email protected].
PODCASTS
If you know of a podcast you would like added to this list, email me at [email protected].
BOOKS
Ithaka: A Daughter’s Memoir of Being Found
The voice on the other end of the line was soft, yet forthright: “Sarah, my name is Hannah Morgan. I think I’m your birth mother.”
The phone call, wholly unexpected, instantly turned Sarah Saffian’s world upside-down, threatening her sense of family, identity, self. Adopted as an infant twenty-three years before, living happily in New York, Sarah had been “”found”” by her biological parents despite her reluctance to embrace them.
In this searing, lyrical memoir, Sarah chronicles her painful journey from confusion and anger to acceptance and, finally, reunion–but not until three soul-searching years had passed. In spare, luminous prose, Sarah Saffian crafts a powerful story of self-discovery and belonging–a deeply personal memoir told with grace, eloquence, and compassion. At once heartbreaking and profoundly uplifting, Ithaka is sure to touch anyone who has grappled with who they are.
Akin to the Truth: A Memoir of Adoption and Identity
In 1961 Paige was put up for adoption, a more taboo and secretive topic than it is today. Paige’s adoptive family chose not to focus on the adoption, but instead function as a regular family with natural children. However, being adopted made her feel vulnerable and unreal. She longed to know more about her true self. In Akin to the Truth: A Memoir of Adoption and Identity, Paige tells stories from the perspective of a child and adolescent, growing up with a closely guarded secret. Through vignettes, Paige relates feelings about her adoption to forming and maintaining relationships, caring for pets, moving to new houses and neighborhoods, losing loved ones and entering young adulthood. Her need for acceptance is juxtaposed with her adoptive father’s increasingly erratic behavior. This is a tale of family joys and hardships, friendships, falling in love and the need to belong. It is set in the era of free love, social unrest and unexpected change during the 1960s, 70s and 80s
Adopting Privilege: A Memoir of Reinventing My Adoptee Narrative
Adopting Privilege is Dr. Hasberry’s attempt at not only reckoning with her past, but offering unfiltered guidance to other transracial adoptees, and the larger adoption community, navigating what it means to exist in a familial limbo while also discovering what it means to simply exist.
Abigail Hasberry is no stranger to adoption. As both a Black adoptee to a white family, and a birth mother, her intimate understanding of this experience has shaped her career as both a therapist and transracial adoption scholar. However, the intricacies of transracial adoption narratives leave much to be discovered, and with stories often shared from the perspective of the adoptive family, the most affected group—the adoptees—are often left to fend for themselves in their own self discoveries.
A Life Let Go: A Memoir and Five Birth Mother Stories of Closed Adoption
Closed adoption, heralded as the answer to the problem of unplanned pregnancy, shows its other side in A Life Let Go, A Memoir and Five Birth Mother Stories of Closed Adoption. These women tell how they experienced unplanned pregnancy in the restrictiveness of the last decades of the twentieth century. All gave up a child in closed adoption–the only option–understanding they would never see them again, a dark contract made under great duress.
Through Adopted Eyes: A Collection of Memoirs from Adoptees
Through Adopted Eyes explores the world of adoption from the viewpoint of adoptees. Russian adoptee Elena S. Hall shares her own story and thoughts on the subject of adoption in addition to interviews from other adoptees of different ages, heritages, and perspectives. Whether you are an adoptive parent, curious about adoption, or an adoptee yourself, this unique collection of memoirs provides real insight into lives directly impacted by adoption.
The Adoptee’s Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment
Adoptee and counselor Cameron Lee Small names the realities of the adoptee’s journey, narrating his own and other adoptees’ stories in all their complexity. He unpacks the history of how adoption has worked and names how the church influenced adoption practices with unintended negative impacts on adoptees’ faith. Small’s own tumultuous search for and reunion with his mother in Korea inspired him to help other adoptees navigate what it means to carry multiple stories. His adoptee-centered advocacy helps adoptees regain their agency and identity on a journey of integration and healing, with meaningful relationships in all their family systems.
Through Adopted Eyes: A Collection of Memoirs from Adoptees
Through Adopted Eyes explores the world of adoption from the viewpoint of adoptees. Russian adoptee Elena S. Hall shares her own story and thoughts on the subject of adoption in addition to interviews from other adoptees of different ages, heritages, and perspectives. Whether you are an adoptive parent, curious about adoption, or an adoptee yourself, this unique collection of memoirs provides real insight into lives directly impacted by adoption.
The Adoptee’s Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment
Adoptee and counselor Cameron Lee Small names the realities of the adoptee’s journey, narrating his own and other adoptees’ stories in all their complexity. He unpacks the history of how adoption has worked and names how the church influenced adoption practices with unintended negative impacts on adoptees’ faith. Small’s own tumultuous search for and reunion with his mother in Korea inspired him to help other adoptees navigate what it means to carry multiple stories. His adoptee-centered advocacy helps adoptees regain their agency and identity on a journey of integration and healing, with meaningful relationships in all their family systems.
Finding Loretta: An Adopted Daughter’s Search to Define Family
A touching memoir of self-discovery, Finding Loretta is Diane’s tale of searching for history, roots, and family. Adopted as an infant, Diane Wheaton has always heard conflicting versions of the truth of her origins—but it’s not until she is forty-seven years old that she begins to search for her biological family. Amid search and reunion, however, Diane’s adoptive parents become ill—and while overseeing their care, she is told about a secret they have kept from her for more than fifteen years. This shocking disclosure requires Diane to face an important decision, which results in a level of healing she never could have anticipated.
The Adoption Paradox: Putting Adoption in Perspective
An ambitious book by Jean Kelly Widner, an adult adoptee, who explores the current and historical culture of American adoptions. Widner examines the unaddressed pain and systemic flaws in the system, and calls for a more transparent and compassionate approach to adoption.
Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood
Author Sherry Bridgette Healey, a victim of forced adoption, exposes how government policies legally erased birth identities. Her raw memoir draws powerful parallels to historical human rights violations.
Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging
Julie’s search for her birth relatives spans years and involves a search agency, a PI, a confidential intermediary, a judge, an adoption agency, a social worker, and a genealogist. By journey’s end, what began as a simple desire for a family medical history has evolved into a complicated quest―one that unearths secrets, lies, and family members that are literally right next door.
The Body Keeps The Score
A pioneering researcher and one of the world’s foremost experts on traumatic stress offers a bold new paradigm for healing.
Adoption Therapy
A much-needed anthology addressing a variety of potential psychological and physiological concerns, Adoption Therapy, Perspectives from Clients and Clinicians on Processing and Healing Post-Adoption Issues is a must-read for adoptees, adoptive parents, first families, and vitally, mental health professionals.
The Journey from Abandonment to Healing
The fear of abandonment is one of our most primal fears, and deservedly so. Its pain is often overwhelming, and can leave its mark on the rest of your life. In the midst of the hurt, it’s hard to see an end to your feelings of rejection, shame, and betrayal.
Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanancy
Based on a hugely successful US model, the Seven Core Issues in Adoption is the first conceptual framework of its kind to offer a unifying lens that was inclusive of all individuals touched by the adoption experience.
When the Past is Present: Healing the emotional wounds that Sabotage our Relationships
The popular author of How to Be an Adult in Relationships reveals how past trauma can negatively impact our present-day relationships—and offers guidance on what to do about it
Healing the Child Within
Here, frontline physician and therapist Charles Whitfield describes the process of wounding that the Child Within (True Self) experiences and shows how to differentiate the True Self from the false self.
If you know of a book you would like added to this list, email me at [email protected].
SEARCH & SUPPORT
Search Angels & Organizations
- Angel Search Network: A dedicated team of search angels offering adoption search support and assistance. They have a wide network of resources and volunteers ready to help individuals in their search for birth parents, adoptees, and other relatives.
- Search Angels Worldwide: A global community of search angels providing support and guidance to those involved in adoption searches. They offer various services, including document research, DNA analysis, and emotional support throughout the search process.
- Adoption Reunion Registry Search Angels: This organization specializes in reuniting birth families and adoptees through their search angel network. They provide personalized assistance, access to databases, and expert guidance to navigate the complexities of adoption searches.
- DNA Detectives: A group of experienced genetic genealogists who offer their expertise in using DNA testing and analysis to uncover family connections. They specialize in adoption-related searches and can help individuals interpret DNA results and navigate genetic genealogy databases.
- Search Squad: Composed of volunteer search angels, Search Squad assists individuals in finding their birth families through research, public records, and social media platforms. They have a dedicated online community where individuals can seek guidance and support throughout their search journey.
- Find My Family Adoption Search Angels: A team of passionate search angels dedicated to helping adoptees, birth parents, and siblings find each other. They provide personalized search plans, access to databases, and emotional support during the search process.
- Adoption Search Consultants: A group of professional search consultants who specialize in adoption searches. They offer comprehensive search services, including record retrieval, genetic genealogy research, and expert advice on navigating adoption laws and regulations.
- Birth Parent Finder: A network of search angels with expertise in locating birth parents and facilitating reunions. They offer personalized search strategies, document retrieval, and emotional support for both adoptees and birth parents throughout the search process.
- Search Angels of Adoption: A nonprofit organization comprised of dedicated search angels who volunteer their time and expertise to assist individuals in finding their biological families. They provide guidance, research assistance, and emotional support to individuals searching for their roots.
- The Seeker’s Heart: A group of search angels committed to helping adoptees and birth families find each other. They offer a range of services, including record searches, DNA analysis, and personalized support throughout the search and reunion process.
“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.”
-Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
ORGANIZATIONS
Through Adopted Eyes: A Collection of Memoirs from Adoptees
Through Adopted Eyes explores the world of adoption from the viewpoint of adoptees. Russian adoptee Elena S. Hall shares her own story and thoughts on the subject of adoption in addition to interviews from other adoptees of different ages, heritages, and perspectives. Whether you are an adoptive parent, curious about adoption, or an adoptee yourself, this unique collection of memoirs provides real insight into lives directly impacted by adoption.
The Adoptee’s Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment
Adoptee and counselor Cameron Lee Small names the realities of the adoptee’s journey, narrating his own and other adoptees’ stories in all their complexity. He unpacks the history of how adoption has worked and names how the church influenced adoption practices with unintended negative impacts on adoptees’ faith. Small’s own tumultuous search for and reunion with his mother in Korea inspired him to help other adoptees navigate what it means to carry multiple stories. His adoptee-centered advocacy helps adoptees regain their agency and identity on a journey of integration and healing, with meaningful relationships in all their family systems.
Finding Loretta: An Adopted Daughter’s Search to Define Family
A touching memoir of self-discovery, Finding Loretta is Diane’s tale of searching for history, roots, and family. Adopted as an infant, Diane Wheaton has always heard conflicting versions of the truth of her origins—but it’s not until she is forty-seven years old that she begins to search for her biological family. Amid search and reunion, however, Diane’s adoptive parents become ill—and while overseeing their care, she is told about a secret they have kept from her for more than fifteen years. This shocking disclosure requires Diane to face an important decision, which results in a level of healing she never could have anticipated.
The Adoption Paradox: Putting Adoption in Perspective
An ambitious book by Jean Kelly Widner, an adult adoptee, who explores the current and historical culture of American adoptions. Widner examines the unaddressed pain and systemic flaws in the system, and calls for a more transparent and compassionate approach to adoption.
Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood
Author Sherry Bridgette Healey, a victim of forced adoption, exposes how government policies legally erased birth identities. Her raw memoir draws powerful parallels to historical human rights violations.
Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging
Julie’s search for her birth relatives spans years and involves a search agency, a PI, a confidential intermediary, a judge, an adoption agency, a social worker, and a genealogist. By journey’s end, what began as a simple desire for a family medical history has evolved into a complicated quest―one that unearths secrets, lies, and family members that are literally right next door.
If you know of an organization you would like added to this list, email me at [email protected].
