Season 5 Episode #1 Author Anna Maria Didio is Sharing Adoption Wisdom!

Send us Fan MailC4 Leaders – the ONLY nonprofit to utilize the pizza making process to create space for our companions to be seen, heard, and loved.   We also write children’s books, host this podcast, and use the most amazing handmade, hand-tossed, sourdough pizza to bring out the best in each other.   Please check out PIZZADAYS.ORG to support our important work. Season 5 Episode #1 Anna Maria Didio is coming from Philadelphia, PA (inform, inspire, & transform)You can find Anna via her website: amdidio.comAbout our guest:  When Anna decided to start a family, she was unprepared for the journey ahead. Years of infertility struggles were isolating and sent her into depression. After two miscarriages, Anna and her husband Richard had a beautiful baby girl.  Realizing they wanted to expand their family they began researching ways to do so… but adding to their family seemed impossible. Until… they found themselves at an orphanage in Mexico, meeting a beautiful six-year-old girl. They thought they found the missing piece to their family puzzle but were unprepared for the trauma their newly adopted daughter’s experience in losing her culture, language, food and everything else that had been essential in her life.  Anna knew she had something to say about her family’s adoption journey so upon retiring from an incredible career as a Human Resource Consultant, Anna sat down at her desk and started writing. It began with a memoir, Love at the Border and has blossomed into writing children's books with the mission of encouraging adoptive parents and all blended families to acknowledge the trauma, various unknown challenges and to provide hope in moving forward as a thriving family.  Anna, thanks for sharing your many gifts with the world, for having the courage to share your story, and for taking the time to capture them on paper with the hope of inspiring families all over the world.   Welcome to the show!TOTD – “Empathy begins with understanding life from another person's perspective. Nobody has an objective experience of reality. It's all through our own individual prisms.”             Sterling K. BrownIn this episode:What was life like growing up?Listened to you on another podcast and heard you are a hooper… tell me about it.What are your life’s essential ingredients?National Council For Adoption:  2022 there were 368,530 children in foster care.  Number of children in foster care awaiting adoption is 108,887 with 53,665 being adopted.57% are adopted by their foster parents with 94% receiving subsidyAverage age of child awaiting adoption 7.6 years old, 43% White, 23% Hispanic, 21% Black, 9% MultiracialTime in Care for Children Awaiting Adoption – breaksdown in years – 2, 3-4, 5 plus (2 years 25,994, 3-4 27,399, 5 plus 13,497 with numbers going up).  Imagine the abandonment, decrease self-worth, self-image… Different types of adoptions…The trauma, grief, and loss of adoptionThe POWER OF THE CHILD’S STORY…Blessings of adoptionChallenges of adoption…Helping your adoptive child deal with the challenges of school and growing up with questions about growing up, birth, no family medical history, family tree…Tips for listening to your children…Books…Love at the Border, Many People to Love, How I Wonder Where You Are, Carla the Conqueror..Professional Help for people thinking about adoption…international vs. domestic, age, gender…multistage process… costs…National Council for Adoption – adoptioncouncil.orgLegacy