Breanna’s teenage mother attempts to hide her pregnancy, but when she goes into labor on her High School Graduation Day, her own mother forces her to place the child for adoption. Baby Breanna is fostered and then adopted, after remaining in the foster care system for 3 years. While her adoptive parents informed church members of she and her siblings’ adoption status, they never had an explicit conversation to define what it meant to be adopted. As a self-described “weird child, Breanna searched the pages of a dictionary she carried around with her. Reading the definition provided comfort, but thrust her into a world of fantasy as she aimed to resolve her belief that this situation – this family, was temporary.
After suffering sexual abuse at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, Breanna leaves home after her senior year of high school. This decision severed the relationship with she and her adoptive family, but friends encourage her to engage in a search and reunion process. The information she receives from her adoption file and a Facebook search have her connected with her biological mother, overnight. Over the span of a decade, there has yet to be an official meeting with her biological mother, siblings, and other blood relatives due to fear and continued secrecy. In spite of it all, Breanna shares how she has defined family for herself, is using her voice to speak her truth, and is finally on the path to healing.
SHOW NOTES
CONNECT WITH US!
- Black to the Beginning on Instagram
- Black to the Beginning on Facebook
- Black to the Beginning on Youtube
- Breanna Wyley on Instagram
RECOMMENDED ADOPTION RESOURCES
- Therapy for Black Girls
- LISTEN: The Black Adoption Podcast
- Black Adoptee Support Group on Instagram
- REQUIRED READING: Black to the Beginning Reads Bookshop - A carefully curated list of #BTTBreads...for the culture!
SUPPORT THE BLACK ADOPTION PODCAST
- SUPPORTER: Make a monthly contribution of $0.99, $4.99, or $9.99
- PayPal/Zelle: info@blacktothebeginning.com
- SHOP Black to the Beginning
SHARE YOUR BLACK ADOPTION EXPERIENCE
#ADOPTION #BLACKADOPTION #FOSTERCARE #SEARCHANDREUNION #AFRICANAMERICANADOPTION
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com