Your Child is From Two Worlds: How to Bridge Resilience

Welcome to the Called to Love Podcast! For this episode, I am joined by Dr. Mary Ann McMillan. Mary Ann is a former foster youth and adoptee whose life has been shaped by family separation, identity, and the search for belonging. Guided by her Christian faith, she is a writer, professor, and global advocate working at the intersection of trauma, justice, and healing. She holds a doctorate and teaches international relations, human rights, and criminal justice. Her perspective bridges lived experience, scholarship, and global practice, with a focus on vulnerable children in the United States and globally. In this conversation, Mary Ann shares some of her story and experiences as a former foster youth and adoptee who did have an open-adoption with her family, but still struggled immensely with her identity, a sense of belonging, and why she was even adopted. Mary Ann describes how things changed after coming to Christ and her identity was shaped by who God says she is, but she still needed to unpack more of who God created her to be. She encourages parents to invite a child’s heritage and culture into their life and reminds us that our child is from two worlds - their biological one and the adopted one - and they can’t choose either of them, they are a part of them both, so it is our job to bridge those gaps to help our child develop a healthy and positive self-identity. I am so glad you’ve joined me for this episode. Let’s dive in! Key topics in this episode: Questions around identity and belonging Making your child’s heritage and culture part of their life Have the hard conversations sooner rather than later Be open and always willing to learn Take care of yourself, as the adoptive parent To learn more about Mary Ann McMillan check her out on Instagram or buy her new book, “Bridging Resilience: A Guide to Healing for Adoptees and Former Foster Youth, Families, and the Leaders Who Walk with Them” To submit your prayer requests, use this form by clicking here! You can email me your questions about adoption and foster care at [email protected]. I would love to connect with you on Instagram or send you my monthly newsletter with free resources and first access to episodes and more! Called to Love is a part of the Christian Parenting Podcast Network. To learn more, check out their other shows or resources, head to their website: https://www.christianparenting.org/