Non-Adoptee/Adoptee conversations: a talk with Andrea Coates about respectful dialogue

Andrea is a licensed clinical social worker. She is also a search angel with the Search Squad. Andrea was one of the first people I interviewed when I began this podcast. A non-adoptee, or Kept person, Andrea has devoted a great deal of energy to an intentional exploration of adoptees lived experience. Through countless hours of reading adoptee memoir, blogs and articles; listening to podcasts and viewing recordings, and via her work as a search angel, Andrea has worked to become informed and to gain a greater understanding of how adoption impacts adopted people.  Mentioned in the show/ Resources: DNA Detectives: a private Facebook group founded by CeCe Moore, genetic genealogist. The group is dedicated to assisting people with genetic genealogy work Search Squad:  Search Squad is a private Facebook group which provides free assistance for adoptees, birth parents, biological family through trained, vetted volunteers Family Preservation: attempts to provide assistance to families with the intent of keeping families together.  The Girls Who Went Away: by Ann Fessler. This book is an important discussion of the history of coercive treatment of unwed pregnant women sent away to give birth in secret in the decades prior to Roe v Wade. The children born were lost to adoption or to the foster care system. Adopteereading.com: a website dedicated to providing a list of books written by or recommended by adoptees.  Finding Family: my search for roots and the secrets in my DNA, by Richard HIll. Hill's memoir recounts his use of DNA to unravel the secrets of his origins.  Adoptee podcasts and blogs: There are many good lists of podcasts and blogs by adoptees that can be found by simply googling Adoptee podcasts and Adoptee blogs. I have partial lists included with these two blog posts:  https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2022/01/14/adoptee-podcasts/ https://theadoptionfilescom.wordpress.com/2022/01/14/adoptee-blogs/ Baby Scoop Era: a period from approximately 1946 to 1975(dates vary) where coercive adoption industry practices resulted in up to four million babies being given up for adoption in the United States alone. Similar practices occurred in other countries.