Open Adoption Project cover art

Open Adoption Project

Open Adoption Project

By: Lanette & Shaun Nelson
Listen for free

About this listen

This podcast is about connecting. It's about growing. It's about stretching. In society nowadays, it's easy to fall into echo chambers. This is not an echo chamber. Open Adoption Project is a community dedicated to listening and learning, and building relationships based on healthy respect and communication.

The Open Adoption Project focuses on improving adoptee experiences by encouraging open communication between all members of the adoption constellation, nurturing ongoing open adoption relationships and promoting ethical adoption practices. Follow us on Instagram @OpenAdoptionProject and at our website, openadoptionproject.org (http://openadoptionproject.org).

Everyone is welcome here. Considering adopting? Adoptive parents tune in as we listen and learn from adoptees first and foremost. Adopted individuals share a wide spectrum of experiences, including search and reunion. This podcast is a safe space for any perspectives and experiences adoptees and first parents share, while adopters and those wanting to adopt listen and learn. Academics and others also share with us.

This podcast is a passion project. No one here is connected to any adoption agencies. We do not profit from this podcast. It is a volunteer project we embrace to better enable adoptees and birth parents / biological parents to share their stories.

March 2021 Parenting & Families Relationships Social Sciences
Episodes
  • An International Adoptee's Journey with Anna Lehnardt

    An International Adoptee's Journey with Anna Lehnardt
    Mar 3 2025

    In this episode, we sit down with Anna Lehnardt, an international adoptee, to learn about the personal and emotional challenges from her experience of growing up in a family across borders. From navigating identity to facing the complexities of belonging, this conversation sheds light on the realities of international adoption.
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • Adoption and Suicidal Ideation: A Conversation with Beth Syverson

    Adoption and Suicidal Ideation: A Conversation with Beth Syverson
    Feb 3 2025

    In 2019, when Beth Syverson's adopted son Joey was 15, he was hospitalized with a mental health crisis. While there, Beth discovered he had been using cannabis, psychedelics, and more. It has been a sometimes-excruciating marathon since then, with runaways, overdoses, psych hospitals and treatment centers, relapses, suicidal ideation, and anxiety & depression. But Beth's family is now on a healing journey, and they are committed to walking beside each other with positive and compassionate relationships, no matter what. Beth has discovered that Joey’s relinquishment trauma from his inter-country adoption at 7 months old is one of his core issues.

    Beth wants to help other families struggling with adoption, addiction, mental health, and diversity. Join her in this heartfelt episode where we sit down with Beth Syverson, the author of Adoption and Suicide. Beth shares her deeply personal journey, discussing the sensitive topics of suicide and suicidal ideation. We advise listeners to approach this episode with care. Beth's son, Joey, who has faced his own struggles, is still with us and fully supports his mom in sharing their story. Join us for this important conversation that sheds light on these critical issues.

    If you or someone that you know is struggling with suicidal ideation, please call 988.

    https://unravelingadoption.com/

    https://www.instagram.com/unravelingadoption/
    Show More Show Less
    44 mins
  • Pioneering Openness with Linda R. Sexton

    Pioneering Openness with Linda R. Sexton
    Jan 13 2025

    Linda R. Sexton shares her experiences and insights regarding open adoption, including the challenges and benefits involved. She also discusses the importance of prioritizing the child's needs, maintaining open communication with birth parents, and the potential for intergenerational trauma to impact adoptees.

    Additionally, Linda shares about her book, The Branches We Cherish: An Open Adoption Memoir and about her open adoption journey.

    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.