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The Adoption Files

Ande Stanley
The Adoption Files
Latest episode

176 episodes

  • The Adoption Files

    On Being Trafficked: a conversation with Patricia Knight Meyer, author and adoption reform advocate

    31/10/2026 | 59 mins.
    Please join me for a conversation with author and adoption reform advocate Patricia Knight Meyer, about being trafficked for the purpose of adoption; an adoption that never legally took place
    Patricias new memoir, Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption will be available from Unsolicited Press on 3 November 2026
    Patricia can be found at: https://myadoptedlife.com/ Please visit her website and join the launch list to receive updates and to sign up for free giveaways related to the release of her memoir.
    Patricia can also be reached at Patricia@myadoptedlife.com, and at 512-289-5372
    Patricia was born in Texas, and supposedly adopted under Texas adoption laws.
    https://adopteerightslaw.com/texas/
    https://www.dshs.texas.gov/vital-statistics/birth-records/original-birth-certificate-adult
    Please be aware that, in order to receive a noncertified copy of an original birth certificate if adopted in Texas, the adopted person must already know the name(s) of any parents listed on the certificate
    Mentioned in the episode:
    Georgia Tann https://www.historydefined.net/georgia-tann/
    https://lisacooperellison.com/
    https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-human-design-8729468
    https://psychiatrymagazine.com/why-trauma-affects-memory-ptsd-memory-loss/
    The listing of services and of human design is provided for informational purposes and should not be considered an endorsement by the host or the podcast
    The opinions of the host and of their guest are just that, their opinions
    The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professional
    https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-health
    Thank you for listening!
  • The Adoption Files

    Bearing Witness: Holding Space for Our Selves

    26/10/2026 | 55 mins.
    Hi! Please join Dani Joy and me as we continue our conversation about adoption and spiritual trauma. We are using the book Holy Hurt, Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing by Hillary L McBride PhD as a framework for our discussion.
    Dani Joy is a mother of loss to adoption, a blogger, a homesteader and an advocate for family preservation, mothers rights and adoptee rights. She can be found at:
    https://danijoy.substack.com/
    https://medium.com/@danijoy/melissa-thank-you-for-adding-me-304c03f358be
    https://www.facebook.com/joyfuldj
    Holy Hurt: https://www.hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt
    Mentioned in the episode:
    https://ifs-institute.com/resources/articles/internal-family-systems-model-outline
    https://ifs-institute.com/store/419
    https://concernedunitedbirthparents.org/
    https://health.clevelandclinic.org/a-psychologist-explains-how-to-deal-with-imposter-syndrome
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/self-talk
    The opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinions
    The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professional
    Please reach out for help if you are struggling. You matter.
    https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-health
    https://rainn.org/
    https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

    Thank you for listening!
  • The Adoption Files

    Seeing or Solving: Adoption and Spiritual Trauma

    19/10/2026 | 1h 1 mins.
    Please join me and guest host Dani Joy as we continue our conversation on adoption and spiritual healing. We are using the book Holy Hurt: Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing, by Hillary L McBride, PhD as a framework for our series.
    Dani is a homesteader, writer, mother of loss to adoption and family preservation advocate. She can be found at
    https://medium.com/@danijoy/dissociation-8118d4adad70
    https://danijoy.substack.com/
    https:/www.facebook.com/joyfuldj
    Holy Hurt book can be found at : https://www.hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt
    Mentioned in the podcast:
    https://concernedunitedbirthparents.org/
    https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-health
    The opinions of the host and their guest are just that, our opinions.
    The host is not a lawyer, a therapist, or an adoption professional.
    Thank you for listening!
  • The Adoption Files

    Being Held, or How Attending CUB 2026 Profoundly Impacted Me

    14/10/2026 | 32 mins.
    I did a scary thing. Now I am doing another scary thing and sharing some impressions from attending the annual retreat for Concerned United Birthparents without relistening or editing or anything! Because, why not?
    https://concernedunitedbirthparents.org/
    https://savingoursistersadoption.org/
    https://thefamilypreservationproject.com/
    https://www.adopteeson.com/
    https://www.adopteesffp.org/
    https://adoptionpop.com/
    https://kristalparke.net/
    https://aireroots.com/
    https://depts.washington.edu/mswnews/2024/11/adoptee-consciousness-model-workshop-w-bipoc-adoptee-collective/
    https://dearabbycounseling.com/
    If you are struggling, please reach out for help.
    https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-health
    The opinions of the host are just that, my opinions.
    Thank you for listening.
  • The Adoption Files

    Adoption Abolition: A Conversation

    01/10/2026 | 1h 9 mins.
    What does Adoption Abolition mean? Please join me and my guest Lorah Gerald as we talk about some of our thoughts on this topic.
    Lorah is a Baby Scoop Era, Domestic US adopted person. She can be found athttps://lorahgerald.com/

    There are some statistics quoted in the episode that may be difficult to believe, and hard to find. This is because they change from year to year, and the way you input your query changes the results you will receive. I am going to just list some of the sources for information and you can go and check them out.
    Regarding the number of private infant adoptions in the United States per year-these numbers are not adequately captured, as reporting is uneven and not tracked in many locations. The best we can do is estimates based on different adoption organizations. This means the numbers can vary even in a single calendar year. The numbers also vary depending on whether you consider the sale of frozen embryos to be adoption, which legally is not considered adoption, even if there is zero genetic connection between the birthing person and the embryo. This is because an embryo is not a person. It is a tissue transfer.
    Unicefs reports on children in substitute care and on quality of life for children and families
    https://unioncitizenship.com/best-family-friendly-countries/
    childbenefitstracker.org

    https://gitnux.org/current-foster-care-statistics/
    World Population Review
    https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/best-countries-for-quality-of-life
    Scotland's baby boxes:
    https://www.mygov.scot/baby-box
    vs the US version, which is not a resource program:
    https://stopshbbnow.org/
    The opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinions
    The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professional
    https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-health
    Thank you for listening!
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About The Adoption Files
The Adoption files seeks to provide a place for adoptees and allies to discuss the laws preventing adoptees from accessing their identities, and the emotional and physical challenges adoptees face in the process of dealing with the obstacles we face. We recognize the need to expose the problematic aspects of the adoption industry and the narrative they perpetuate. We will not only talk about the laws and the challenges they create, but also the ways that the mythology around adoption impacts the way we move through our lives, as adopted people and as mothers and other family members.
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