Podcast

Adoption Retold is committed to retelling adoption stories from the lived experiences of those whose stories have often been told for them. In this podcast, your adoption knowledge will be enriched by Christian voices that:

Center adoptee and birth parent narratives.
Illuminate lived-experience truths often missing from conversations about adoption in communities of faith.
Support those who have been pushed out of God’s story because of harmful adoption messaging and practices.
Offer help to those recovering from the trauma of relinquishment and separation in adoption.
Advocate for reforming adoption practices and policies.

Adoption Retold is an initiative of the Faith Collective for Truth and Healing in Adoption. We are a collective of adoptees and birth parents from diverse Christian communities and theological backgrounds. Our goal is to bring balance and breadth to the narrative of adoption within Christianity through education, theological reflection, support, and storytelling.

A big thanks to Seth Overby and Corey Loftus for composing and digitally mastering the music for the show.

Episodes

Episode 5

In the United States, families seeking to adopt outnumber available babies by approximately 50 to 1. This imbalance often leads to aggressive, sometimes exploitative practices toward mothers in crisis by an adoption industry swamped with misinformation. Furthermore, churches are often at the forefront of promoting and facilitating adoptions, with an abundance of money and resources changing hands that could otherwise be used to help these mothers in need. Those in the church who promote adoption tend to portray birth mothers who relinquish as making the brave, loving, selfless choice. But what do birth mothers have to say to the church? Today, we talk to three birth mothers, members of the Faith Collective for Truth and Healing in Adoption who grew up and remain Christian, about the complexities of their experiences—of shame, grief, loss, reunion, faith, and how they believe churches can better care for struggling mothers.

Episode 4

Today we celebrate Black History Month with our guest, Iris Bryant, an adoptee and member of the Faith Collective for Truth and Healing in Adoption. Iris is passionate about helping fellow adoptees find purpose and well-being. We explore the connections between shame, race, and adoption, how shame flourishes when we cannot speak the truth, and how churches need to foster courageous truth-telling and listening in order to be places of healing and welcome for all. We also discuss our contrasting experiences as two same-race adoptees and one cross-racial adoptee, and speak on how to reclaim our unique, God-given identities.

Episode 3

In this first episode of the new year, we explore the topic renewal and resetting, which can be particularly sensitive for adoptees. As a twice-adopted person, Julian Washio-Collette is certainly no stranger to starting over, whether in his childhood or in his life as an adult. With Julian, we explore how the impacts of choicelessly starting over twice through relinquishment and adoption linger into adulthood; how a mysterious intuition to visit a monastery while bicycle touring transformed the adoption script and fostered a life-changing renewal of faith; and how to navigate at the intersections of spirituality and healing, contemplation and a life of service in community.

Episode 2

Meet the members of the Faith Collective for Truth and Healing in Adoption in this special Christmas episode, as we explore what “Emmanuel, God with us” means to each us as adoptees and first mothers, and how Emmanuel motivates us toward service and growth.

Episode 1

Today we talk to adoptee and founder of the Faith Collective for Truth and Healing in Adoption, Sara Easterly, about who among the adoption constellation is given a seat at the table in conversations about adoption, especially in communities of faith. Are the voices of adult adoptees and first mothers welcomed, or are our voices stifled by those who claim to speak for us? Is there room at the table for uncomfortable truths and the painful impacts of relinquishment and adoption to be heard? What can we do to foster greater inclusion?

Trailer

Meet your hosts, Patrice Martin and Natasha Tripplett, learn about the work of the Faith Collective for Truth and Healing in Adoption, and hear about the exciting content we have in store for you. We are committed to lifting up the voices and perspectives of Christian adoptees and birth mothers in order to foster healing, reclaim our stories, offer support and resources, and advocate for adoption reform in and beyond communities of faith.