Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories
Two adult adoptees, Sarah Reinhardt and Louise Browne, delve into all things adoption - from their perspectives as adult adoptees.
Each season Sarah and Louise recap a chapter from a book centered on adoption and then interview a guest. Sarah and Louise come out of the 'fog' in real-time through Seasons One and Two and are advocating for change in the adoption industry. They want to give voice to all adoptees. Adoptee stories are needed to reframe the narrative around adoption.
Sarah and Louise, two former business partners who had a successful ice cream truck in Los Angeles, team up again - this time in frank and honest conversations about all things adoption from the adoptee perspective. Both were adopted shortly after birth, but they had very different experiences.
These will be intimate conversations, but also fun - because Sarah and Louise know how to lighten things up and have a good time. They also have an uncanny ability to get to the heart of a subject with anyone who crosses their path - so conversations will take many turns.
Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories
Carolyn: Healing through Poetry
Carolyn Hill-Bjerke is an adoptee born in 1967, during the Baby Scoop Era.
She was born to 20-year-old students at the University of Connecticut.
Carolyn’s biological mother was put into a maternity home. Her father
moved to New York City and became a lawyer. He worked in the
entertainment business.
Carolyn was in foster care for the first five months of her life as her
biological mother resisted relinquishment until she no longer could.
Carolyn grew up in the Washington, DC area as the daughter of a nuclear
engineer and a doctor. She was an artist and writer who was
misunderstood in her early life.
Carolyn attended Syracuse University and moved to New York City in 1989. Carolyn worked as a journalist before launching her career in advertising and film production. Carolyn is still a production executive, consultant, and agent – www.carolynreps.com Carolyn also earned her MFA in Poetry from Columbia University in 2003. Upon meeting her biological father in 2011, Carolyn learned her family name – Pennella – means “of the pen” in Italian signifying a lineage in
writing.
Carolyn met her husband, the artist Wayne Bjerke, in New York City. They
live in Connecticut near where she was born. Carolyn and Wayne have
three children. The oldest, Paige Bjerke, now attends the University of
Connecticut.
Carolyn's Substack - https://carolynhill.substack.com
Carolyn's Book - https://www.amazon.com/Things-Dont-Want-Talk-About-ebook/dp/B01AIGC3R8
To skip ahead to the interview go to timestamp: 11:28
The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler
September 7th in Kansas City, Missouri
Eventbrite: LIVE RECORDED PODCAST with Adoption: The Making of Me (ATMOM) & A PHOTO JOURNEY with Jeff Forney of The Innocent People Project
RESOURCES for Adoptees
S12F Helping Adoptees
Gregory Luce and Adoptees Rights Law
Joe Soll & other adoptee resources
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Reckoning with the Primal Wound Documentary
Hiraeth Hope & Healing
Moses Farrow
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.
NAMI Hotline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email them at info@nami.org
Adoptee Therapist Directory
To support the show - Patreon.
