Who Am I Really?
byDamon L. Davis
EducationSelf-ImprovementHealthFitnessMentalSocietyCulture
Adoptees telling their own stories of life in adoption, their search for their birth family, and how their reunion attempt turned out. Stories that make you laugh, cry, or simply say "wow". This podcast has two purposes: 1) To help you explore your own feelings about your adoption, accept your desire understand your own personal history, and decide for yourself whether reunification with your biological relatives is right for you. It will help you understand how others have dealt with issues related to protecting the feelings of their adopted families who may be supportive of your search, or question your motives...
Episodes(40 episodes)
S17E262 - 262 - Un-M-Othered
Dr. Liz Debetta spoke to me from Plymouth, Michigan. Growing up, adoption was an open topic until her younger brother's birth changed the family's focus. A series of bad relationships and feeling lost in life led Liz back to school where she rediscovered writing and the award-winning adoption story she's always had inside.In reunion, Liz found the first mother whom she always knew wanted to know her. But herdeep exploration of her adoption has driven a wedge between Liz and her older brother. This is Liz's journey.LizDebetta.com<...
Published: Sep 6, 2025Duration: 1:08:38
S8E142 - 142 - "American Baby", Gabrielle Glaser
David, and his birth mother Margaret's story of adoption relinquishment, lives lived apart but close to one another, and their brief emotional reunion is told in the book, "American Baby", written by New York Times Best Selling Author, Gabrielle Glaser. Gabrielle first met David while he was on kidney dialysis awaiting a transplant where he shared that he hoped he would find his birth mother one day. In reunion, David learned that he had always been loved, and his birth parents never forgot about him. Gabrielle share's David's journey.
Published: Aug 23, 2025Duration: 1:11:17
S6E115 - Shadows of the Night
DL called me from Manhattan, New York. He talks about his youth in a home with a mother addicted to prescription medications who probably wasn’t fit to adopt. When he moved out at 18, he followed his natural talent to climb his way into the music industry. However his suspicion that his birth mother was alive, contrary to what he was told, never left him. In reunion, DL's birth mother nearly backed out of meeting him as the guilt of his relinquishment washed over her decades after her decision. Thankfully DL’s sister made sure their reunion, and his reun...
Published: Aug 16, 2025Duration: 36:06
S8E147 - 147 - Please Don't Carry That Weight Anymore
Lisa Marie chatted with me via Skype from Lake Garda in the North of Italy.In her journey you'll hear the impact of a transracial adoptee who grew up in a homogenous world that didn't look like herself, and the serendipitous meeting that allowed Lisa to free herself from part of her past. Even though she lived a world away, technology allowed her to find her birth mother and spend the entire day online with her and her birth family. In front of an intimate audience in Colorado, Lisa got the once in a...
Published: Aug 9, 2025Duration: 1:00:52
S7E135 - 135 Something About This Tells Me We're Family
Isaac, from Hawaii, talks about himself as a boy who was loved, but struggled to connect with his adoptive parents in certain ways. Having left the island, a chance musical gig put him back on Hawaiian soil and in position to launch his adoption reunion search. In reunion he reconnected with both of his parents at the same time, elected to move back to Hawaii to reconnect with the land and his people, and even found that learning more about the island made him closer to his adoptive family too. This is Isaac’s journey.
Published: Aug 2, 2025Duration: 1:03:00
S7E129 - 129 - Finding Him Has Made The Heartache Non-Existent
Tracey called me from Nashville, TN. She was raised in a family with a genetic trait that deeply impacted her middle sister, driving her appreciation for the power of genetic testing. Tracey knows a lot about her birth mother even though the woman rejected her twice.Process of elimination led her to her birth father, several loving siblings, and healing from the heartache of her first attempt at reunion. This is Tracey’s journey.
Published: Jul 26, 2025Duration: 45:00
S10E175 - 175 - The Thing I Needed To Forgive Myself
Kristen, from Minnesota, was a multi-sport athlete in high school, even competing while pregnant with her daughter. She tells the story of giving birth, placing her daughter, then needing years to get her life back on track. In one incredible year, Kristen learned that her birth parents were looking for her, her daughter wanted to find her and that reunion can bring closure and healing while revealing unbelievable coincidences. Kristen talks about some of the right decisions she made in her life and some of the missteps that she wishes she would have done differently as a...
Published: Jul 19, 2025Duration: 48:34
S5E106 - 106 – Beautiful Truth
For Shelby, growing up as a Korean adoptee left her feeling “othered” as she didn’t quite fit into her community. The Korean school her parents tried to raise her in wouldn’t accept her either. She was forced to live in between her culture and what Americans would or would not let her be.On a heritage trip to South Korea she experienced the heavy emotions of reunion with her birth mother, the challenge of remaining a secret, and witnessed the frustrations of her brother who couldn’t locate his biological family. Shelby also gained a real compassion f...
Published: Jul 5, 2025Duration: 45:38
S16E261 - 261 - Born Without A Race
Sean from, Fishers, Indiana, grew up the only person of color in his entire rural town. Yet his ethnicity was hidden from him by his adoptive mother. In Reunion, Sean finally met his birth mother, but realized he needed to establish a special boundary with her to protect his adopted children. Lacking mirroring all his life, Sean finally heard one of his paternal relatives say, he looks just like someone special in their family. Sean's book is called Born Without a Race. This is Sean's journey.Born Without A Race:The St...
Published: Jun 28, 2025Duration: 1:05:02
S16E260 - 260 - Il Mio Posto a Tavola (My Place at the Table)
Santo, from Redding, PA, grew up knowing he was adopted, and that his family could have also adopted his siblings from Italy. As an adult, when a friend's wedding took him to Spain, he arrived early to make the long drive across Europe to northern Italy to be face to face with his birth mother. Santo and his team made a documentary about his life is called Il Mio Posto a Tavola, or My Place at the Table where he uncovers research about his thread in the mosaic of European children adopted into the United St...
Published: Jun 14, 2025Duration: 1:01:15
S16E259 - 259 - The Innocent People Project
Jeff, from southern California, grew up with the knowledge of and separation anxiety about his adoption. In reunion, he found his birth mother who mirrored his looks, but who has pushed the boundaries of their relationship, and a birth father who is simply not his type of guy.Jeff is the inspirational photographer behind the adoptee focused innocent People Project. This is Jeff's journey.Jeff Forney.com/Innocent PeopleIG: @JeffForneyFB: Jeff Forney PhotographyNew Book! Inside the Adoptee ExperienceWho Am I Really?...
Published: Jun 7, 2025Duration: 1:03:22
S16E258 - 258 - Twice the Family
Julie from Chicago, Illinois is rare in the world of adoption because she wasn't adopted alone. She and her identical twin sister were placed together, secure in their sense of family. The twins never sought adoption reunion until health concerns emerged for Julie in adulthood. Julie describes the initial rejection of her first mother, the misidentification of her birth father, and the eventual softening of the feelings of a mother of twins who finally needed to know that her girls were okay.This is Julie and Jenny's journey.Twice the Family: A Memoir of...
Published: May 31, 2025Duration: 54:48
S16E257 - 257 - Unjustified Rejection
Melissa, who called me from Harrison, Arkansas, says she always felt chosen and grateful for her adoption. But after decades of peace with her origin story, something shifted. A small-town newspaper article, a newborn daughter, and an aging parent all conspired to push her toward a search.When the time was finally right—when a DNA match opened the door to her paternal family—she stepped forward in grace, only to be met with silence on her maternal side. Melissa took a clandestine trip to see the woman her half-sisters had been blocking access to.This...
Published: May 24, 2025Duration: 1:17:36
S16E256 - 256 - I'm Not The Finished Package
Ryan, from Edinburgh, Scotland, grew up ashamed of his Moroccan heritage and faced bullying due to his background and religion. At 18, a letter from his mother revealed his adoption, shaking his world and leading him to hide the truth for 13 years. Ryan struggled with depression, substance abuse, and a pervasive sense of otherness. Eventually Ryan confronted his adoption trauma, seeking therapy and connecting with the adoptee community. Ryan's continues his relentless search for his birth family in Morocco. This is Ryan's journey.Who Am I Really?Who Am I Really? Website Share Your StoryDamon's...
Published: May 17, 2025Duration: 47:20
S16E255 - 255 - This Is Me, But Why Is It Me?
Katie was adopted from China as a baby and raised in a predominantly white suburb south of Boston. Her adoptive family gave her a life full of opportunity—but as she grew older, the distance between who she was and the world around her only deepened. In this episode, Katie shares how her search for identity has expanded beyond finding her birth parents. She opens up about being raised without cultural mirrors, navigating the silence around her story, and reclaiming pieces of herself that were left behind.This is Katie's journey. Who Am I Really?...
Published: May 10, 2025Duration: 47:47
S16E254 - 254 - I Do Not Want My DNA In Their System
George grew up in Soviet Georgia knowing he was different—both visibly and emotionally—in a society where adoption and his sexuality were dangerous secrets. He spent his early life navigating fear, hiding truths, and surviving systems designed to silence him.When a search angel from Russia responded to a single Facebook post, everything changed. George embarked on a digital trail of late-night texts, uncovering the truth of his birth, a sister who had been searching for him for 50 years, and a family that thought he was lost forever.George shares how he’s learning to tru...
Published: May 3, 2025Duration: 42:55
S16E253 - 253 - The Veteran Community Helped Me Save Myself
Forrest's life began in chaos, abuse, and danger at home and in the foster care system. Forest says he joined the military to make an honorable exit from this life and shares the moment he found his calling as a tattoo artist to his brothers in Iraq. But when Fort decided to get his passport, the process revealed that he had been adopted by a devious woman who had taken him in, but had never told him her plans. Today he has transformed his life into one of purpose and healing. This is Fo...
Published: Apr 26, 2025Duration: 46:14
S16E252 - 252 - Stoicism and Radical Acceptance
Raised in the mountains of the midwest, Misty endured neglect and abuse when she was a child. She took matters into her own hands to separate from her family, survived a period in foster care, then was adopted by her extended family. Misty, was forced to learn what life should be like in a properly functioning family while unlearning what she had experienced in her first family. Today Misty uses lessons from her past to maintain stoicism to move forward in life.This is Misty's journey. Who Am I Really?Who Am I Really? We...
Published: Apr 19, 2025Duration: 49:18
S16E251 - 251 - Adult-Adoptees.com, Dr. Amy Geller
Dr. Amy Geller, from Wykoff New Jersey, had had an idyllic adopted life as the youngest child and the only girl in her family. But an accidental discovery put her in front of her adoptive parents facing an uncomfortable situation and feelings she chose to bury. As a young adult, Amy was found by her birth mother, found herself angered by the intrusion, but had the presence of mind to pause to gather herself in order to enter reunion with caution. Today, Amy is a therapist and adoption researcher with an exciting new online resource called Adult-Adoptees.com...
Published: Apr 12, 2025Duration: 51:30
S6E119 - 119 - Refined By Fire
Tezita (te zi TA) called me from Sacramento, CA, but she tells a harrowing story that originates in Ethiopia. Tezita’s adopted family had many other international adoptees, but she was singled out for solitary confinement. She was sent back to her homeland where she thrived mentally in a boarding school away from her adopters. When she returned she witnessed more abuse and decided she’d had enough. Kicked out of the family, she was forced to thrive independently relying on her communities in faith and adoption.This is Tezita’s journey.
Published: Apr 5, 2025Duration: 59:15