Setting Our Holiday and Community Tables with Melissa Guida-Richards

In this November episode of Born in June, Raised in April: What Adoption Can Teach the World, April sits down with author, educator, and Late Discovery adopted person Melissa Guida-Richards (@adopteethoughts) for a grounding, honest, and deeply human conversation. Fresh off co-hosting the Adoption Changemakers Conference, Melissa returns to reflect on the joys, challenges, and lessons learned from creating space within the adoption community—an effort that is meaningful, but not always easy. As we close out National Adoption Awareness Month and move into a holiday season filled with memory, meaning, and complexity, April and Melissa explore: The holiday tables Melissa grew up around as a Late Discovery adopted person How those tables have evolved as she parents her own children What it takes to intentionally set a holiday table that honors truth, identity, and connection How we build community tables rooted in compassion, honesty, and inclusion Why making space in community is vital—and why it can stretch us This episode is an invitation to think about the tables you're setting this season—literal and figurative—and how to make room for the fullness of your reality.