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

Jodi is a Baby Scoop Era adoptee, born in Los Angeles, California, in 1966. For her, adoption has never been a single event but a lifelong journey of searching, questioning, and seeking understanding. She is now in reunion with her father, and both share a deep connection as artists. Jodi lives in Los Angeles with her family. Her story reflects the complexities of identity, family, and belonging, and she continues to honor both the...

Mike Knox is a Los Angeles-based stand-up comedian, writer, actor, and performing artist whose work blends personal storytelling with observational humor. Originally from Pasadena, California, he was adopted at birth from White Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles.

Mike Knox is the author of the books Vivien’s Rain, written about his daughter’s experience with epilepsy, and Straight Fish, and Isla Vista Halloween.

In addition to stand-...

Recinda is an artist, writer, and TikTok creator. The chasm between Recinda now and
the baby dropped off at an orphanage based in Beirut, Lebanon, is large. She was profoundly
changed by her adoption from an American family stationed in Izmir, Turkey, after a seven-year
span of life at the orphanage. She had to become adaptive to a new language, an American
way of living, as well as the many schools and locations that are an elemen...

Stephanie was born in the Chicago suburbs in June 1983 and adopted 4 days after birth. Her birth mother was 19 years old and was an employee of an attorney associate of her adoptive father's.  Through a private adoption arranged by the attorney, Stephanie was placed into a loving adoptive family with two biological children (and later one adopted sister and one biological brother), both of whom were affected by Canavan Disease and ...

Douglas Shaver was born at Florence Crittenton's Home for Unwed Mothers in Kansas City in 1968. He was adopted five weeks after birth. Though adopted into a loving and supportive family, he struggled with identity and with his place in the world. During middle school, his family moved to Saudi Arabia.  It was during that time in the Middle East that he developed a passion and understanding of different cultures and the communities ...

Elena S. Hall is a Russian adoptee, author, social worker, and the voice behind the Instagram page @ThroughAdoptedEyes. She is passionate about her faith, finding joy amidst grief, and loves ice cream! Adopted at a year and a half into a family that was always open about adoption, Elena brings a unique blend of personal experience and professional insight to her work. She began writing Through Adopted Eyes in 2016—a collection of m...

Charlotte Angeles was conceived during an affair that her biological father was having with her biological mother. She was born in Pasadena, CA, in 1987, and was held in her adoptive parents’ arms that same day.  She knew from an early age that she was adopted - that her birth mother was very young and didn’t have the means to raise her alone - and her adoptive parents always offered a safe space to ask questions. But Charlotte did...

Award-winning author and journalist Kim Orendor was adopted at three months old. Her parents told her about the day she joined their family, along with other stories at bedtime. Kim continues to share her own story with others and has authored an adoption-themed young adult novel. She lives in Northern California.

Kim's YA fiction story "To Whom It May Concern" with an adoption theme, won the NextGen INDIE gold medal.

Sea...

Tim Perdion was born in 1969 and relinquished for adoption at birth. Around two months later, he was adopted into a loving family in Ohio. Though surrounded by care and support, he carried a quiet ache beneath the surface—a longing to understand his identity and a sense of not fully belonging. These hidden wounds, rooted in adoption, shame, and early emotional neglect, followed him into adulthood.

At 46, Tim reunited with both of h...

Dr. Abigail Hasberry is an author, speaker, and educator. She is also a certified executive
leadership coach, licensed clinical marriage and family therapist, and holds a school
superintendent certification. With a background in education as a former teacher and
founding school principal, she has experience in private, traditional public, and charter
schools.

Dr. Hasberry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in African American studi...

Susie DeTitta was born in California in 1965 and adopted at three months old by a family unable
to have children due to infertility. Her parents had previously adopted two other children. Shortly
after her adoption, the family relocated to Arizona, where Susie spent her childhood and later
attended university.

While in college, a spontaneous call with a friend to the adoption agency proved to be a dead
end in her search for her bio...

Born in Long Island in 1966, Dave Verrone’s life began with separation — just five days after birth, he was placed with a foster family. For the next 14 months, he bonded deeply with his foster parents and three siblings. In October 1967, he joined the Verrone family, adjusting to his third mother, his father, and a new sister, also adopted.

Childhood brought both love and challenge. Though his adoptive parents cared for him deeply...

Karen was adopted domestically at birth, and found by her birth family at 29, and entered reunion soon after. The experience of merging her past and present was both transformational and complex, bringing up emotions and questions she hadn’t fully confronted before. During this time, Karen sought therapy but struggled to find someone who truly understood the adoptee experience. Many available therapists were adoptive parents—well-i...

Pete Droge is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter based in Seattle, WA who rocketed to early stardom on the strength of his 1994 debut Necktie Second. The Los Angeles Times compared his songwriting to Bob Dylan and Neil Young while also earning similar praise from Rolling Stone and Boston Globe among many others, and within a year he was on the road supporting Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He has since released a series of ...

Bob Wilson an adoptee born in the early 1970s at the end of the Baby Scoop Era. During his childhood and young adulthood, he thought little about the fact that he was adopted. But after reading Ann Fessler’s groundbreaking book The Girls Who Went Away (2007) about adoption in mid-twentieth century America, he began the legal process of unsealing his adoption records and attempting to find his birthmother. He located and contacted h...

Mee Ok Icaro (pronounced “Mee Oak Ee-car-oh”), is a unique and powerful voice in the world of visionary medicine and personal growth. As a Sacred Medicine Advisor and Integration Specialist, Life Purpose Coach and Guide, Writer and Book Doula Mee Ok is dedicated to helping individuals heal and find their path in life. She integrates many teachings from a variety of traditions, from ancient to modern.

With a passion for writing and ...

Simon Njoroge is an adopted person from Kenya. He has been involved in the child care reform agenda in Kenya in various capacities for more than a decade, including coordinating an adopted persons support group.

Barbara was born in 1964 and although given up within the first week of life, she wasn’t ultimately adopted until she was 16 months old. She was never told why or where she was that first 16 months. While growing up Barbara occasionally asked about her biological mother. Her adoptive mother told her that she would never be able to find her, as the records in New York State were sealed. Barbara accepted that as fact, and never sough...

Katherine Allen McNally is an adoptee and a licensed therapist who specializes in working with adoptees and their adoptive families. She transitioned from a career in graphic design and advertising to pursue this path, driven by a deep personal commitment to supporting this unique population. Over the course of her work, she has encountered a wide spectrum of adoption narratives, including various forms of conception, gestation, bi...