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 his birthmother nearly two decades ago and has had a close relationship with her since then. In 2020, GeoHumanities published his essay “Relinquished,” a narrative of his birthmother’s fraught journey to surrender him for adoption and the legacy of that decision. “Relinquished” is a story of a birthmother and adoptee, but it also illuminates the history of adoption, abortion, and unplanned pregnancies in the decades before Roe v. Wade. He is currently associate professor of geography and the environment in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, where he teaches courses in historical geography, environmental history, and the environmental humanities.
Season 11: Adoptee Memoirs - books in order:
Practically Still a Virgin by Monica Hall
You Can't Get Rid of Me by Jesse Scott and Keri Ault
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This episode of the Making of Me Podcast is brought to you by the Adoptee Mentoring Society - a virtual community built by adoptees, for adoptees. They offer adoptee-centric mentorship for adopted persons 12 and up, led by trained adoptee mentors. Whether you’re navigating identity, searching for the words, or simply wondering how adoption has shaped you, they get it.
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AMS offers free mentorship to adoptees in Washington State and Oregon, as well as scholarships for those facing financial barriers. Learn more at adopteementorship.org or email them at: info@adopteementorship.org
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RESOURCES for Adoptees:
- Adoptees Connect
- Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.
- Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted
- Reckoning With The Primal Wound
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