Podcast
The Adoption Files
Hosted by Ande Stanley · EN
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.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Returning to the Familiar: When we keep going back to things that hurt
6d ago00:38:02Tap to summarizePlease join Dani Joy and I as we continue to explore spiritual trauma using the book Holy Hurt by Hillary L McBride Phd as a scaffold for our discussion. How might these spiritual wounds relate to Dani's experience as a mother of loss to adoption? How has my being an adopted person been shaped by spiritual trauma? In this installment we talk about the return to the familiar, even when the familiar hurts. Dani Joy is a mother of loss to adoption, a homesteader and blogger. She can be found at: https://medium.com/@danijoyhttps://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355967https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24881-cptsd-complex-ptsdhttps://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-healthThe opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinionsThe host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professionalThank you for listening.
Transcribe →What we need from the beginning: Continuing the conversation on spiritual trauma
2w ago00:53:13Tap to summarizePlease join Dani Joy and I as we discuss the section What we need from the beginning, from the book Holy Hurt by Hilary L McBride, PhD.Dani is a mother of loss to adoption, as well as a homesteader, advocate and writer. Dani can be found at: https://medium.com/@danijoyhttps://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-healthThe opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinions. The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professionalThank you for listening!
Transcribe →Alert: California SB 381. California adopted people need your support
2w ago00:07:58Tap to summarizeCalifornia Alliance For Adoptee Rights and Senator Wahab have a bill being heard in the Health Committee this Tuesday, 23 June 2026. They need you to call the members of the Health Committee to ask that they vote yes on the bill as it is written, without amendments. Please follow the link to find a script and the phone numbers of the members of the Health Committee. https://www.facebook.com/CAadopteerights/posts/pfbid034DfNoKF8Kd3KM7c5jHPbu7XEAKBGkhFMbmLAH2GTVTzBQLcbjkZsFadKhyvMaBgSlIf for some reason the link does not work, please go to California Alliance for Adoptee Rights and click on the featured post at the top of the page. Thank you so much for your support. The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professional.The opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinions. Thank you for listening.
Transcribe →The Culture we Swim in, Pt 2. Spiritual Trauma is NOT fun!
4w ago00:39:52Tap to summarizePlease join me and Dani Joy as we continue our conversation about the intersection of spiritual trauma and adoption. We are talking trauma, just nonstop, processing! It's so fun. Come have fun with us! We are using the book Holy Hurt; Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing as a scaffold for our conversations. Dani can be found at: https://medium.com/@danijoyI can be found here, pretty much. https://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-healthThe opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinionsThe host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professionalPlease consider rating and sharing the episode. Thank you!
Transcribe →The Culture we swim in: continuing the conversation on spiritual trauma and adoption
4w ago00:55:30Tap to summarizePlease join me and Dani Joy as we continue to address spiritual trauma from our lived experience as a mother of loss to adoption and as a late discovery adopted person. Dani can be found at: https://medium.com/@danijoyhttps://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-healthThe opinions of the host and their guest are just that- their opinionsThe host is not a lawyer, therapist, or an adoption professional. Thank you for listening!
Transcribe →The Adoption Paradox: a Conversation with Author Jean Kelly Widner
Jun 200:54:34Tap to summarizePlease join me for my conversation with Jean Kelly Widner, a domestically adopted person who is the author of The Adoption Paradox: Putting Adoption in Perspective. Jean is a Baby Scoop Era adopted person from Washington who has found herself as an Accidental Tourist in the paradox that is living adopted. https://adoptionparadox.com/Mentioned in the episode:https://boothcampus.salvationarmy.org/booth_campus/booth-records/https://doh.wa.gov/licenses-permits-and-certificates/vital-records/adoptions/original-birth-certificate-adopted-personhttps://adopteerightslaw.com/truth/https://savingoursistersadoption.org/https://thefamilypreservationproject.com/https://www.relinquishedbook.com/https://www.thegirlswhowentaway.com/https://onadoption.net/The opinions of the host and their guest are just that, our opinions. The host is not a therapist, a lawyer, or an adoption professional. Thank you for listening!
Transcribe →Fundamentally Bad: a Survivor's Universal Experience of Spiritual Trauma
May 2601:06:13Tap to summarizePlease join Dani Joy and I as we continue our conversation about spiritual trauma using the book Holy Hurt by Hilary L McBride PhD as a guide as we explore how this has impacted us as a mother of loss to adoption and as an adopted person. Both Dani and I come from a Christian religious tradition, and we speak to our own lived experience as people deconstructing from religion and from the adoption narrative.Dani can be found at: https://medium.com/@danijoyhttps://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/Mentioned on the podcast:https://candacecahill.com/book/https://www.youtube.com/@maklelanhttps://www.youtube.com/@dataoverdogmaIf you are experiencing distress and need to talk, please reach out to one of the trained responders or to someone you feel safe with: https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-healthThe opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinions. The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professionalThank you for listening! Please rate and review the show. We appreciate you.
Transcribe →This Feels Familiar: How leaving the system that harmed you can be hard to do. Plus more fun stuff about spiritual trauma!
May 2001:04:49Tap to summarizePlease join me and mom Dani Joy as we wrap up chapter 3 in our discussion of spiritual trauma using the book Holy Hurt by Hilary L McBride PhD as a guide. In this episode we talk about how leaving can end up being more of the same, and why that happens. We also talk about characteristics of marginalized groups that intersect with our experiences with adoption. Dani can be found at: https://medium.com/@danijoyhttps://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/https://thebloggess.com/https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-healthThe opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinionsThe host is not a therapist, a lawyer or an adoption professionalThank you for listening!
Transcribe →System Erasure; Ecological Systems Theory and adoption. More on Spiritual Trauma and Adoption
May 1401:11:55Tap to summarizePlease join Dani Joy and me as we continue our conversation on spiritual trauma using the book Holy Hurt: understandin spiritual trauma and the process of healing by Hillary McBride, PhDDani can be found at https://medium.com/@danijoyHoly Hurt: https://hillarylmcbride.com/holy-hurt-book/https://scienceinsights.org/what-is-ecological-systems-theory-and-why-it-matters/https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-healthIf you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide, please contact one of the help lines for support. Ask for help finding a support group or other resource to help you through this time. You are not alone. The opinions of the host and their guest are just that, their opinions.The host is not a lawyer, a therapist or an adoption professionalThank you for listening. You are appreciated.
Transcribe →Happy Mother's Day?
May 1000:23:24Tap to summarizeHi! This is me, stream-of-thought-ing my way through a monologue on one of my least favorite days of the year. Enjoy!The host is not a therapist, a lawyer or an adoption professional. The opinions of the host are just that, their opinions. Thank you for listening.
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