Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories

Diane, an accomplished artist who has created work for most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area, was adopted in 1964 by a couple who thought they were unable to have children. 8 months later, her brother, a biological child, was born. Diane’s parents told her when she was 4 years old that she was adopted. She was curious about her birth parents, yet it was the one subject in the family that could never be discussed. As a result, Diane developed an avid practice of searching the drawers and cupboards in her family’s house, looking for information. Later, in the 1990s, she worked in secret with the Adoptees Liberty Movement Association, discovering, after years of research, the name of her birth mother, only to learn that she had died a decade before. Diane did find an aunt, a younger half-sister, and many of her mother’s friends, who together drew a picture of her mother.

When genetic genealogy became a viable tool, Diane, through extensive research, was able to find her father, whom she met in New York City five years later. He did not know he had a child, and in the years that followed, until his death at age 89, they became close – talking on the phone every few weeks, visiting a few times a year, and traveling to his homeland, Estonia, together. There, Diane saw where he was born and met members of her extended family. 

Through her investigation and the relationships that grew from it, Diane learned that she is the biological child of two artists who grew up in a family of doctors and businesspeople. Knowing nothing of her origins, she became an artist herself, and now makes paintings and sculpture rooted in her adoption experience. Her most recent paintings are shimmering data-driven visualizations of how her DNA connects with that of her parents and her sister. The sculptural and wall works she has been making over the past couple of years are based on her long-ago searches through the drawers of her family house for information relating to her origins. As a means of articulating and expressing her experience as an adoptee, Diane has been drawn to atypical materials, such as unconventionally marbled paper and ostrich skin, to speak about the adoptee experience, which she employs in the sculptures and wall works that explore what happens when the secrets are gone, and the drawers stand open.

Diane on YouTube

Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

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Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, August 8th at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

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Adrian Burks is a filmmaker, writer, director, producer, and recovery professional with more than 15 years of experience telling authentic, human-centered stories. He began his career as an actor before transitioning into directing and producing films that explore identity, resilience, healing, and the human experience.

As a domestic adoptee who spent time in the foster care system, Adrian found strength and purpose through sports, which became both an outlet and a form of therapy during his childhood. Later, filmmaking became another powerful way to process his experiences, express his creativity, and give voice to stories that inspire hope and connection.

Today, Adrian combines his passion for storytelling with his work in recovery, helping individuals—including mobility and paralysis patients—improve their mobility, confidence, and overall quality of life as they rebuild their independence. He is also currently pursuing a degree in Physical Therapist Assistant studies, furthering his commitment to helping people heal through movement, rehabilitation, and compassionate care.

Whether behind the camera or working one-on-one with clients, Adrian’s mission is the same: to help people discover resilience, find hope, and realize that healing—both physical and emotional—is possible.

Adrian on YouTube

Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, August 8th at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

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Christy Gilvear is the creator of The Rooted Petal, a plant-centered brand where she shares the connection between houseplants, healing, and personal transformation. Through storytelling, plant care, and everyday moments in her indoor jungle, Christy invites people to slow down and reconnect with themselves and the natural world. Christy’s work is deeply shaped by her experience as an adoptee and her personal journey of identity, belonging, and healing. During a period of deep self-reflection, she began practicing yoga and meditation and slowly filled her home with houseplants. Part of that journey was recreating the feeling of Brazil, where she spent her teenage years and experienced a deep sense of belonging. Surrounding herself with plants and memories of that time became a way to bring that environment home and helped her regulate her nervous system and reconnect with herself. A Citizen Potawatomi Nation member, Christy honors the understanding that plants are not simply decor but living relatives that exist in relationship with us. This perspective shapes the philosophy she shares with her community, often expressed through the phrase, “We water them, and they water us.” Through The Rooted Petal, Christy shares plant care, hosts workshops and community events, and creates custom plant arrangements that bring living beauty into people’s homes and spaces. Her work blends practical plant knowledge with deeper reflections on healing, connection, and the quiet wisdom the natural world offers. Christy lives in Utah with her family, where her home has become a lush plant sanctuary she shares with a growing global community of plant lovers, inviting others to discover how caring for plants can also be a path back to themselves.

Christy on YouTube
Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, August 8th at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Patsy Brooks-Tallant is a member of the Baby Scoop Era, the mid-20th-century period when societal pressures often forced unmarried or young mothers to surrender their infants for adoption. Born to a 21-year-old mother already raising four children, Patsy’s pregnancy stemmed from an affair while the mother’s military husband was overseas. To this day—over 63 years later—he believes Patsy is merely a family friend, unaware she is his wife’s biological daughter and his stepchild. The couple remains married. Unable to keep her child, Patsy’s birth mother arranged a private adoption through a family connection. Her own mother knew an older couple, aged 44 and 46, desperate for a child after the adoptive mother had lost her only biological infant. Bypassing formal agencies, the adoption was facilitated by a county judge, social worker, and private attorney who falsified documents. The adoptive parents were present at the birth and took Patsy home shortly after. Raised in a loving, stable home, Patsy always knew she was adopted. Three years later, the same family adopted her biological cousin, further linking the families. From her teens, Patsy pursued genealogy relentlessly. In high school, she located her birth mother but delayed contact. Their reunion revealed five half-siblings—four older, one younger—none aware of Patsy’s existence, per her mother’s request for secrecy. Years later, DNA testing uncovered her biological father’s identity and seven additional paternal half-siblings. Tragically, he had passed away. Patsy has since met all her paternal siblings and maintains a close relationship with one younger maternal half-brother and his children. Ties with most maternal siblings remain distant to protect their mother’s secret. Professionally, Patsy enjoyed a 49-year career as a Master Pet Stylist, owning mobile grooming units and teaching nationally and internationally. Now, her greatest passion is adoptee rights and DNA research. She advocates for unrestricted access to original birth records, refusing to uphold past secrecy. Married 42 years to her high school sweetheart, Patsy has three children and seven grandchildren. Despite a fulfilling life, she feels the primal loss of adoption daily. Forming sibling bonds in one’s fifties and sixties - without shared childhoods - is difficult. Having lost her adoptive parents at ages 15 and 22, Patsy navigated these complexities largely alone. For her, adoptee identity remains a lifelong reality.

Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A lifelong resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Susan "Cricket" Fedorko (Grand Portage Band of Chippewa - Oijbwe) has contributed her writing to four anthologies on the subject of being adopted and has done numerous media interviews.

Her Chippewa - Oijbwe, birthmother, a famous supermodel, died in 1997, a short distance from Susan's home.

Suzie always knew she was adopted out at the early age of 11 months. She discovers at the age of 40 who her biological family is. Suzie discovers her birth mother is the first native american supermodel "Cathee Dahmen". Suzie is currently 64 and has been reunited with her biological birth family for 24 years.

Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.