Welcome to 2025! And to the Adoptee Diaries Community, Happy New Year, beautiful souls! As we enter this new season of The Adoptee Diaries, I reflect on the past two years, the stories that resonated most, and my hopes for the journey ahead. 2024 brought some of my most vulnerable episodes yet — including my emotional conversation with my birth father. But after that, I found myself retreating, overwhelmed by life and the emotional weight of this work. This year, I’m leading with ease — showing up authentically, without the pressure to perform. I’ve learned that storytelling is powerful, but protecting your peace is essential. In this episode, I share my personal reflections, the themes that listeners like you have connected with most, and what you can expect from me in 2025. From stories of trauma and healing to the search for identity and belonging, we’re diving deep — together. Here’s to a year of balance, connection, and showing up when it feels right. 💛 Protect your stories. Protect your peace. And most importantly, protect your beautiful, resilient spirit.

Lately, grief has been weighing heavy on my mind. On this episode, I share some of these thoughts as I try to make sense of the complex emotions surrounding grief, especially as they pertain to my journey as an adoptee. After losing my father in April 2022, I found out he kept my ethnicity a secret which added layers of confusion and anger to my feelings of grief. I discuss how these revelations have reshaped my understanding of family, identity, and the significance of truth in our relationships.   Join me as I share my story and offer support to others navigating similar paths. Your feelings are valid, and you're not alone. Helpful Resources: •The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) provides specialized adoption-competent therapy to children, teens and their families in the state of Maryland, Virginia or Washington, D.C. metro area through both in-person therapy and teletherapy. •Beth Tyson is an early Childhood Trauma Expert, Speaker, and Facilitator who taught me about ambiguous loss. Beth empowers organizations with evidence-based guidance to prevent and heal early childhood trauma. •Jonetta Moyo is the founder of My Inspiration Studio, journal-based experiences, designed to support, guide, and provide understanding throughout life's journey. Her proprietary framework, Engage the Page™, encourages situational awareness through journaling, helping individuals connect their inner thoughts and emotions to how they show up in different aspects of life. I was gifted a Jonetta journal to support my grief after my father died. Follow us on Instagram @TheAdopteeDiaries

The Adoptee Diaries is a safe space for adoptees navigating the complex emotions of identity, trauma, and healing. Join me as I share personal reflections, journal entries, and real-time learnings from our community, featuring insights from experts who help us understand genetic and birth trauma. Whether you're an adoptee or someone seeking understanding, this podcast is about finding strength, connection, and resilience in a world that can often feel overwhelming. Together, let's move from our heads into our hearts and support each other on this journey. Episode Description: In this episode, I open up about the struggles I've faced over the past six months—feeling cornered, rattled, and overwhelmed by the world around me. But/And - my community has been my anchor, providing a safe space to heal and connect. I discuss the importance of resilience, protecting our emotional well-being, and moving from head to heart. Whether you're feeling stuck or just need a reminder that you're not alone, this episode is about finding strength together and pushing through the noise of the world with compassion and support. So cheers to finding strength through community, to finding self-awareness, to protecting our emotional well-being and resisting the negativity that can come from external sources. If you're experiencing anything you'd like to share, please do feel free to reach out. You are not alone and I'm here to support.

In this compelling bonus episode of The Adoptee Diaries, host Bethany Fraser shares a deeply personal exploration of her journey to uncover her roots, navigating the complexities of adoption. Through an intimate two-part conversation with her birth father, the episode sheds light on the unspoken challenges within the adoption industry, emphasizing the importance of empathy, transparency, and inclusivity. Bethany’s poignant narrative serves as a beacon of hope and resilience, encouraging adoptees and fragmented families to seek healing and find strength in shared experiences and supportive communities.

Welcome to a heartfelt episode of "The Adoptee Diaries - Season Two". Beginning this season, our focus remains on providing a supportive platform where adoptees can freely share their stories, fostering understanding and empathy. This episode features a captivating narrative involving our host and her biological father, disclosing remarkable insights from their personal reunion. In the pursuit of truth and identity, the host initiates a journey of self-discovery, unravelling decades-long secrets about her birth, adoption, and ethnicity through an ancestry DNA test. This emotional roller coaster ride culminates in a long-awaited reunion with her birth father, unfolding a unique tale of love, loss, recovery and reconciliation. Discussing intricate racial concerns in adoption, the episode unearths the story of being raised in a predominantly white family, emphasizing the critical emotional impact the absence of physical similarities can have on one's sense of identity and belonging. The importance of technology in reconnecting severed bonds, the excitement and anxiety of making the first contact, leading to the revelation of deeply guarded family secrets. This narrative aims not only to attention to the oft-ignored perspective of birth fathers, but also to provoke discussions about the responsibilities of adoption agencies, adoptive parents, and advocating for adoptees' rights. Join us for this extraordinary exploration into one story of search and reunion. Listen to one father's story of loss, longing, determination, as well as his perseverance to be part of his daughter's life.

In this episode of The Adoptee Diaries, host Bethany Fraser sits down with Beth Tyson, a global expert in childhood trauma, organizational training, award-winning authorship, and public speaking. Beth's mission revolves around educating organizations and audiences worldwide about the profound impact of trauma. She offers guidance and tools to support affected children and families, as well as professionals like social workers, educators, child welfare practitioners, and corporate leaders. Beth's aim is to leave her audiences not just more aware of trauma but equipped to respond effectively. Beth's message is crystal clear: Trauma is not a taboo word; it can manifest in everyday life events. With Beth's wealth of knowledge and insights, she paves the way for information to replace fear. She demonstrates that healing isn't just a possibility—it's a tangible reality that begins with awareness. This episode is a transformative conversation, illuminating the world of trauma-informed care with Beth Tyson. It's a message of hope, where healing is not just attainable but within your reach.  For resources and to connect with Beth: www.bethtyson.com Instagram @bethtyson_traumaconsulting LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/bethtyson Email [email protected] Subscribe to Beth's newsletter: LinkedIn Newsletter Ambiguous loss webinar Childhood trauma webinar All Connected Academy - An animated video series to teach teens and young adults about childhood trauma. Beth is a co-writer of the All Connected Academy.

There are invisible threads that tie us to our ancestors and shape our lives today. For adoptees, and their support systems, reconciling this truth can open up a world of awareness, grace, forgiveness, and understanding. This conversation with the incredible psychologist, intergenerational trauma expert, and the author Dr. Mariel Buqué, blew my mind. What to expect in this episode... - We explore the intersection of psychology and biology, where past experiences, fractures, and uprooting can create the perfect breeding ground for trauma. - We discuss the hidden connections between our minds and bodies and how intergenerational trauma can impact us, and keep a hold on us – especially for those of us who have unknown genetic ties influencing who we are today. - Breaking generational cycles requires a level of awareness and when we don’t have that connection, we have to do excavation work. Adoptees have to understand this piece to move towards healing and breaking the cycle. And, more importantly, our caregivers, parents, and support systems have to give us our truth, so we can have at a minimum the awareness piece, and have the option to do the work. For the remainder of the year, The Adoptee Diaries will focus on introducing and aligning the adoptee community to the accessible resources, tools, and concepts that are available to ensure anyone in need of support has them so they can experience healing, a sense of belonging, and identity. Adopted or not, I encourage you to take a listen to this episode. It might just change the way you see your own existence and provide further clarity into how you show up as a parent, as a professional, in your personal relationships, and for yourself. For more information about Dr. Buqué’s work or to pre-order her book, visit: https://www.drmarielbuque.com/breakthecycle

Finding my truth wasn’t easy. Writing it and reading it was just as difficult. In this episode, I read an excerpt from my personal essay. It isn’t just about me though, it’s about your own journey too. It’s about the stories we tell ourselves, the truths we seek, and the connections that shape us. Whether you’re an adoptee, a supportive friend, or someone who believes in the power of stories to change lives, I hope this episode is helpful to your healing. You are not alone.

Dive into the powerful world of adoption and permanency with Adam Pertman, Founder & CEO of National Center Adoption & Permanency (NCAP). Adam has influenced policy, shaped laws, and advocated for change with his innovative research, powerful writing, and thought-provoking commentaries that educate professionals, parents, and the general public. His classic book, "Adoption Nation" has been hailed as a pivotal resource on the subject.

We are honored to have Audra Bullock, the President of Tidewater Friends of Foster Care (TFFC), as our special guest. Audra's dedication to making a positive impact on the lives of foster children in Hampton Roads, Virginia, has led her on an incredible journey of advocacy and compassion. Visit tidewaterffc.org to learn more.