Color Shift: Transracial Adoptees

Vinh  was born in Vietnam, with Cambodian roots, and adopted into an Icelandic, Danish, and Swedish family, where he was raised in Sweden. Growing up across multiple cultures, Vinh carried a deep curiosity about his origins—one that stayed with him for years and ultimately led him to begin searching for his birth family. Without support from any formal systems or government resources, Vinh’s search was driven by persistence, instinct, and connection. With the help of a Vietnamese friend, he was eventually reunited with his birth family—an experience that brought both answers and a new layer of emotional complexity. In this episode, Vinh shares openly about identity, belonging, and what it means to navigate life as a transracial adoptee across cultures. He also speaks candidly about deeply personal topics, including trauma, sexuality, and the emotional realities of reunion. His story challenges simplified narratives about adoption and highlights the resilience it takes to seek truth on your own terms. Vinh Professional WebsiteSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Tara was adopted as a baby from Lake Charles, Louisiana by white Mormon parents and raised in Utah with seven siblings—three biological to her adoptive parents and four adopted from different families. In 2018, she reunited with her biological family and discovered she had one full biological brother and one half-brother. Unfortunately, her biological father had passed away before she could meet him.This reunion marked a turning point. Tara began to experience a shift in her adoption narrative, emerging from the adoptee fog while simultaneously beginning to deconstruct the high-demand religion she had grown up in. This overlapping upheaval led to religious psychosis, and seeking mental health support was the first time she realized her religion might have been hurting her. She left Mormonism in 2019.Today, Tara is still navigating the complexities of belonging. She is working to build relationships with her biological family, but continues to feel the pain of not quite fitting in—either with them or her adoptive family.Projects & Communities:Pouty Mouth (podcast) Pouty Mouth Instagram Community DiscordSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode of Color Shift, we’re joined by Renee, a Korean adoptee born in Daegu in 1976 and brought to the United States in 1977. Renee’s adoption story, as she shares, isn’t a simple one—and it’s one she’s willing to speak about fully, with honesty, care, and deep intention.Renee opens up about the complexities of her experience and the ways it has shaped her identity, relationships, and healing journey over time. Through it all, she has found a path rooted in self-discovery and transformation. Since 2018, Renee has been in private practice offering Reiki—work she describes as a form of spiritual therapy that connects mind, body, and spirit, helping others move toward healing, purpose, and meaning.This conversation explores what it looks like to face difficult truths while still choosing growth, grounding, and compassion.Renee's SubstackRenee's own PodcastRenee's BusinessSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

April joins the show to share her story of growing up as a Black/biracial adoptee navigating identity, belonging, and family in predominantly white spaces.Relinquished at birth in Massachusetts, April spent her earliest months in temporary foster care before being placed in a foster-to-adopt home in Rhode Island. By the age of two, she was adopted into a white family with three biological children. Growing up, April learned to navigate the complexities of being both adopted and a person of color—experiences that would shape her understanding of identity, connection, and what it truly means to belong.In this conversation, April reflects on the realities of transracial adoption, the questions that can follow adoptees throughout their lives, and the emotional work of making sense of one’s story. She also shares how those experiences led her to dedicate her life to reforming child welfare systems and creating spaces that center empathy, inclusion, and understanding.Today, April continues that work through her speaking and coaching, the summer camp she runs, and her two podcasts, where she helps elevate adoptee voices and challenge long-standing narratives around adoption and foster care.This episode is an honest and thoughtful exploration of identity, family, and the lifelong journey of understanding where—and how—we belong.Photo Credit: Jeff ForneyApril's projects:Born in June, Raised in April Podcast - A podcast exploring adoption, identity, and race through the universal framework of the calendar.Calendar Conversations Podcast  - A guide for adoptive parents to navigate sensitive milestones and inclusive parenting month-by-month.Together on the Journey - A community initiative and camp designed to support and educate transracial adoptive families.June in April (Official Website) - The central hub for April’s professional consulting, public speaking, and DEIB advocacy work.Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode of Color Shift, Nathan sits down with Amy, a Black transracial adoptee who was adopted at just two months old and primarily raised by a single white mother in Rhode Island. Amy reflects on what it was like growing up in a predominantly white environment and how those early experiences shaped her understanding of identity, race, and belonging.Amy speaks candidly about her adoption story and the complicated realities that can exist within adoptive families. She shares openly about her decision to go no-contact with her adoptive mother and what it meant for her to make that choice. With honesty and clarity, Amy discusses the emotional weight of setting boundaries and the process of redefining family on her own terms.Throughout the conversation, Amy explores the intersections of race, adoption, and self-discovery, and what it has looked like for her to claim her own voice as an adult adoptee. Her willingness to talk about the difficult parts—while still holding space for growth and reflection—makes this a deeply honest and powerful conversation.This episode speaks to the complexities many adoptees carry but don’t always feel safe expressing out loud. Amy’s story is one of truth-telling, agency, and the ongoing journey of understanding who you are beyond the narratives others may have written for you.Where you can find Amy: Tik tok: @divinely.amyyInstagram: @amyjacksonhouseFacebook: Amy Jackson HouseSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Patrick (“Pat”) was adopted from Vietnam at six months old and raised in Central Pennsylvania, just outside of Harrisburg, where he still lives today. At sixteen, he returned to Vietnam on a motherland tour with his adoption agency — a trip that would profoundly shape his understanding of his own story. During that visit, he met his birth mother for the first time. His birth father had already passed away.In this episode of Color Shift, Pat reflects on what it was like to return to his birth country as a teenager, to stand face-to-face with the woman who gave him life, and to begin integrating pieces of his identity that once felt distant or abstract.He also shares about finding adoptee community later in life through a local social media group — and what happened when he took a chance and showed up to an event without knowing anyone in the room.This is a conversation about reunion, risk, and the unexpected ways belonging can find us when we decide to step into the unknown.Harrisburg AAPI Website: HAAPIHAAPI Instagram: @harrisburgaapiPat's personal Instagram: @pattythangSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode, Nathan sits down with Hasina, a transracial adoptee born in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1977. With little known about her birth story, Hasina spent her earliest years in an orphanage before being adopted at age three by a white Canadian family and raised on a farm outside of London, Ontario.Hasina shares what it was like growing up in isolation, navigating identity without mirrors, and carrying unanswered questions about her beginnings. She also reflects on a later turning point—leaving home and moving to Toronto, where she entered a family made up of adoptees from around the world and experienced diversity in a new, embodied way.This conversation explores belonging, displacement, and the quiet shifts that happen when adoptees find reflection, proximity, and chosen family.Find Hasina's book here: Longing to BelongSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this special episode of Color Shift, we have invited a panel of guest to talk about their experiences at Camp Rice.  A Korean Culture camp hosted by Asia Families.  Hyn and Monica attended Camp Rice last year as "campers" for the first time.  They report that their experience and time there was nothing short of life changing, rejuvenating and much needed.  Hollee had the incredible task of leading Camp Rice for the Korean Adult Adoptees, she expresses her joy, slight fatigue but overall amazement of how incredible the "campers" were during this extended weekend.  Join your host, Nathan Choi, as he deep dives into the experiences of Monica, Hyun and Hollee.Below is an excerpt from ASIA Families' website, describing a little about Camp Rice. "Healing with our Ancestors"Adult Adoptee Program at Camp Rice with Hollee McGinnis aka Lee Hwa Young and Kim-Sue Stevensa body, heart, and soul journey of re•clamation and re•indigenizing ourselves  to our ancestral wisdom“Theme: A Journey of Friendship” "Healing with Our Ancestors" is an adult adoptee program developed by Korean adoptee Hollee McGinnis, PhD, and co-facilitated with Kim-Sue Stevens that will be offered at Asia Families' annual Camp Rice. This program for adult adoptees is intended to be a space for us to re•claim those parts of us that were taken, abandoned, or forgotten and re•indigenize ourselves to our inner truths and ancestral wisdom. This year’s theme invites us to walk a path of friendship, coming to befriend ourselves, each other, and the world.Set within the context of Asia Familie's Camp Rice for Korean adoptive families, this program is unique for adoptees who may want to bring their children to a Korean culture camp, or who are looking to experience a retreat space for their growth and meaning of being adopted. During our time we will engage in various contemporary mind, body, and energetic practices rooted in ancestral wisdom from Asia and South Korea to harmonize and integrate various parts of ourselves: East and West, suffering and joy, mind and heart, body and spirit, logic and intuition, giving and receiving, doing and being.We will engage in activities that will explore who we are, the parts we are ready to set down, reconnect with those parts we had lost so we can feel more whole, and show up the way we want to be in the world.Website: Adult Adoptee RegistrationFacebook:  Asia FamiliesInstagram: Asia FamiliesSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode of Color Shift, we’re joined by Steven, a Vietnamese adoptee who grew up in Wyoming and has returned to Vietnam several times as an adult. Steven reflects on transracial adoption, identity, and what it means to reconnect with a place that holds both history and possibility.We also talk about Adoptive Threads, a project Steven created to support adoptee-led organizations and provide supplies to orphanages, including the one where his life began.This conversation explores belonging, memory, and how adoptees navigate the spaces between past and present—holding complexity, curiosity, and care along the way.Steven's t-shirt company: www.adoptivethreads.comSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Most of the time, I would have a nice info here for the show notes about the guest.  Well, this time, I am keeping short and sweet.  The guest this week is none other than myself, Nate Choi.  I am also happy to introduce my long time friend Jeremy.  Jeremy did an amazing job interviewing and being such a respectful host for this episode. This episode was scary, hard, wonderful and amazing.  I teared up a little bit and we definitely laughed a lot as well.  Thank you to Jeremy for being a great host.  I hope you enjoy. Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Karasalla was born in Hawaiʻi, mixed Samoan and Black, and entered the foster care system before her first birthday. She was later adopted by a white, conservative family in Oregon, where she grew up navigating questions of race, identity, and belonging—often without the language or mirrors to fully understand her experience.In this episode of Color Shift, Karasalla reflects on what it meant to grow up racially different within her adoptive family and community, and the ways love, effort, and limitation can coexist. She shares about her adoptive mother’s willingness to learn—especially the significance of seeking out how to care for her hair—and how those acts of intention mattered deeply.Karasalla also speaks candidly about being in reunion with her biological mother and siblings, offering an honest perspective on reunion as not a finish line, but the beginning of another journey—one filled with connection, grief, curiosity, and growth.This episode explores the ongoing nature of identity, the complexity of family, and what it means to continue becoming, long after adoption papers are signed.Tiktok: @karasallafaleSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode, Alejandra shares her journey as a Guatemalan adoptee raised in the predominately white suburbs of Baltimore. Adopted at 15 months old, Alejandra always knew she was adopted — but knowing didn’t mean understanding. From growing up without Spanish to navigating a childhood where no one looked like her, she reflects on the quiet but constant reminders of difference that shaped her identity.Alejandra talks about the pivotal year her mother took a sabbatical to live with her in Mexico so she could learn Spanish, and later, her decision to spend a year in Guatemala reconnecting with the country she came from. She also shares the emotional experience of searching for and meeting her biological family in 2019, and how becoming a mother herself has deepened her appreciation, compassion, and grief for the woman who gave birth to her.This episode explores identity, language loss, reunion, and the weight of what it means to know — and not know — where you come from. Alejandra’s story offers tenderness, honesty, and a window into the layered reality of transnational adoption.https://www.safepassage.orghttps://www.thetiesprogram.com/guatemala-ties-heritage-toursSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Episode Description – Jacob: When Adoption Breaks DownIn this episode of Color Shift, host Nathan Choi talks with Jacob, who shares a powerful and often overlooked side of adoption — what happens when an adoptive placement doesn’t last.Adopted from Ethiopia at age two and raised in Brisbane, Jacob spent his early childhood in an Australian family until, at age eleven, he was handed over to the Department of Human Services. From there, he entered the foster care system, moving through multiple placements, navigating instability, and enduring experiences no child should have to face. By eighteen, he aged out of care and stepped into adulthood completely on his own.Despite losing connection with his adoptive parents, Jacob maintains a strong, meaningful relationship with his adopted sister—a bond that helped him stay grounded through years of upheaval.In our conversation, Jacob opens up about the realities of bouncing from home to home, the emotional weight of feeling unwanted, and the resilience required to build a life without familial stability. His story shines a light on the gaps in both adoption and foster care systems, and on the strength it takes to survive when every anchor is pulled away.This episode is a raw and necessary look into the experiences rarely talked about in adoption: breakdown, displacement, and the long road toward creating your own sense of safety and belonging.ICAV -Intercountry Adoptee VoicesSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Episode Description: In this episode of Color Shift, Nathan sits down with Claire, a Korean adoptee, empowerment coach, and somatic practitioner. Claire shares her journey of reconnection—how exploring the body’s wisdom helped her navigate questions of identity, belonging, and healing as a transracial adoptee.Together, they talk about what it means to move beyond survival, reclaim voice, and find grounding in one’s own truth. This conversation invites listeners to slow down, reflect, and consider how healing can begin with simply learning to listen—to ourselves and to each [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/17YkL44RD7/?mibextid=wwXIfrInsta: https://www.instagram.com/claire_magenheimer?igsh=bjNuczA0d2ZmbWpy&utm_source=qrhttps://www.theempoweredadopteecoaching.com/group-coachinghttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-empowered-adoptee-podcast/id1731324487Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode of Color Shift: Transracial Adoptees, Nathan sits down with Kae (she/they), an adoptee with Indonesian roots who was adopted at birth in the U.S.Kae opens up about what it means to unpack adoption later in life — even when you have a “good” relationship with your adoptive parents. From the emotional process of changing her name to the silence that came after reaching out to biological relatives, Kae reflects on how identity, belonging, and family can evolve over time.She also shares what it’s been like to find a sense of kinship for the first time — through community with other Indonesian adoptees.This conversation is tender, honest, and a reminder that the adoptee story doesn’t end with adoption — it keeps unfolding.An organization I would promote would be Rihlat Ar Rahma, an organization that provides aid to Palestinian orphan families. Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode of Color Shift, host Nathan Choi sits down with Fai, a Vietnamese and White adoptee who grew up in small-town Pennsylvania as the only Asian kid around. Adopted at just one month old, Fai’s race and adoption were rarely acknowledged at home — leaving them to navigate questions of identity and belonging mostly on their own.It wasn’t until college that Fai began to “come out of the fog,” confronting the realities of transracial adoption and beginning the process of reconnecting with their roots. Along the way, they’ve built a relationship with their birth father, faced rejection from their birth mother, and learned to hold both the pain and clarity that come with truth.Now based in Pittsburgh, Fai co-leads a local chapter of Adoptees Connect, creating the kind of community they once needed — a space for adoptees to share stories, find belonging, and heal together.This conversation explores what it means to grow up unseen, the complicated layers of reunion, and how connection and community can help us rebuild what was once lost.🎧 Listen as Fai shares their story of identity, rejection, resilience, and the ongoing journey of self-discovery.Adoptee therapist directory: https://growbeyondwords.com/adoptee-therapist-directory/Adoption competency-trained therapists:  https://adoptionsupport.org/national-directory/Adoptees Connect Pittsburgh: https://www.instagram.com/adopteesconnectpghInstagram @goodfaiththerapyMy website: goodfaiththerapy.comSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode of Color Shift, we sit down with Ezra, a Korean adoptee who was adopted at six months old and grew up in Indianapolis inside a strict, isolating bubble. With no access to peers, friends, or other adoptees, Ezra was raised under the belief that “if you don’t make it a big deal, it won’t be a big deal.” That silence around his adoption created distance with his adoptive parents and left Ezra struggling to make sense of his identity.Ezra opens up about the dark periods of his life, including times when he considered suicide, and how the deep wounds of abandonment extend far beyond the physical. He also shares how therapy, reflection, and the support of other adoptees have helped him begin to heal and rebuild a sense of connection.This episode is a raw and vulnerable conversation about isolation, survival, and the lifelong process of reclaiming identity.Ezra's Instagram: @betterthanezrahSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode, I sit down with Keith, a transracial and late discovery adoptee who learned at age 33 that he was adopted. As the only adopted child in a family of six, Keith’s world shifted when he uncovered the truth about his beginnings—and later discovered he was one of eight biological siblings, most of whom were adopted into separate families.Keith shares the complexities of reunion, including reconnecting with his biological father and other relatives, and how those relationships have shaped his understanding of identity, belonging, and trust. He also speaks candidly about his current battle with sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that has forced him to face his health in a new way and deepened his perspective on resilience, vulnerability, and what truly matters.From adoption secrecy to the realities of reunion, from navigating illness to finding strength in community, Keith’s story is one of honesty, loss, and rediscovery. Along the way, he highlights the support he’s found through TRJ Camp, C.A.S.E., and the power of adoptee connections.This conversation invites listeners into the intimate realities of late discovery adoption, the challenges of living with a serious health condition, and the ongoing work of healing and reclaiming one’s story.Keith's Go Fund Me: https://gofund.me/e2b577400Family Camp 2025: Together on the Journey – TRJMyth of the Ghost Kingdom (a movie about adoption): MOTGK | HOMESupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode of Color Shift, we sit down with Abby, a Chinese adoptee who has recently begun the vulnerable process of “coming out of the fog.”Abby was supposedly found as an infant at a train station in China and adopted to Alaska at about 14 months old. Growing up as an only child in a family that traveled and lived internationally, she always knew she was adopted—but for years, she distanced herself from her Asian identity and kept her story at arm’s length. It wasn’t until recently that Abby began unpacking what adoption truly means for her, and with that, all the emotions and realizations that come with it.In our conversation, Abby reflects on her childhood, the complexities of denying and then reclaiming identity, and the tender, sometimes disorienting work of beginning to see adoption through a new lens. Her honesty reminds us that the adoptee journey is not linear—and that stepping into truth often happens in layers, at the right time.This is a story about awakening, self-recognition, and the courage it takes to start asking deeper questions.Find Abby on: IG: @globalabby Blog: https://www.justthisamateurwriter.com Helpful Chinese adoptee based links Chinese Adoptee Collective Conference https://chineseadopteecollective.com/ Nanchang project: https://www.nanchangproject.com/ Chinese Children International:  https://chinaschildreninternational.org/ International Child Search Alliance: https://www.icsachina.org/ Book recs  Messages From an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran One Child by Mei FongThe Primal Wound by Nancy Newton Documenterie  recs. Meet me at the bridge: Youtube Somewhere Between: Youtube Found: Netflix One Child Nation: Amazon Prime Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

 In this episode, we sit down with Rob, a Korean adoptee raised in Denver, Colorado. Rob shares his adoption story, from his early months in foster care to growing up in a family that embraced openness and love. He talks about starting his birth family search as a teenager, the relationships that have grown from that journey, and the powerful role Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families has played in his life — first as a camper for over a decade and now as a counselor. This conversation explores the importance of cultural connection, community, and staying rooted in both personal history and shared identity. Link to the Heritage Camp: Heritage Camps For Adoptive Families | Colorado Family CampRob's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robreese20?igsh=MXZuOHdlNHNkN3V0bw%3D%3D&utm_source=qrSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Today on Color Shift, I’m honored to be joined by Dewi—a powerful voice in the adoptee community whose story spans continents, generations, and identities.Dewi was born in Indonesia in 1978 and adopted as an infant by white American parents. Renamed "Amy" and raised in white suburbia, she spent years navigating life in silence—until reclaiming her birth name and reconnecting with both birth parents as an adult. She now identifies as a displaced Indigenous person.Dewi is a mother, a birth mother, and a vocal advocate for adoptee healing. She uplifts spaces like Adoption Mosaic and is the creator of MY NAME IS NOT AMY—a documentary about her boldly reclaiming her identity.In this conversation, we talk about names, reunion, and what it means to mother yourself while mothering others. Dewi speaks through adoption with truth, depth, and dignity.Links:https://www.eight16creative.com/https://www.mynameisnotamy.com/Adoption Mosaic: https://adoptionmosaic.com/Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode, I talk with Marcela, a Chilean adoptee who was adopted at one month old and raised in Massachusetts by a white American family. Without connection to her culture or heritage growing up, Marcela always felt something was missing. That changed in 2019 when she found and reunited with her birth mother in Chile. We talk about what reunion has meant to her, how it's shaped her understanding of identity, and how it's influenced the way she thinks about becoming a mother one day. TikTok : https://www.tiktok.com/@marcellamaybe?_t=ZT-8y3q5mJm7D5&_r=1Insta: https://www.instagram.com/littleholyspirits?igsh=MTNycmVnenNzdjYwaA==Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Kellan's Journey Through Adoption and Queer IdentityIn this episode of Color Shift, Kellan shares their story of being adopted from China to the UK and raised in a white family and community. They reflect on the complexities of identity, silence, and survival that shaped their early years—and the deep healing work they’ve done since. Kellan speaks openly about what it means to reclaim space as a queer, transracial adoptee, and how building community with other adoptees and queer folks has been essential to their growth. This conversation is honest, grounding, and a powerful reminder of the importance of telling our own stories.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaimingholistics/?hl=enWebsite: https://KaiMingHolistics.as.me/ Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Hannah was born in Kansas City to a white birth mother and Black birth father, and adopted into a white family in Pennsylvania. Raised in a community where no one looked like her, Hannah’s early years were marked by isolation, a lack of racial mirrors, and a longing to understand where she came from. In this episode, she shares what it was like to grow up feeling disconnected from her Black identity, how her search for belonging led her through music, literature, and eventually into the embrace of her racial community.We talk about the moment everything shifted—an unexpected meeting with her birth mother during a visit to Kansas City—and how that encounter cracked open deeper questions around origin, identity, and healing. Now an educator, mother, and advocate, Hannah supports transracial adoptees and adoptive parents through her coaching work, online course, and writing.This conversation explores the complexity of being raised in a world that doesn’t reflect you, the layered grief that comes with reunion, and the power of reclaiming your story on your own terms.Hannah's website: https://www.hannahjmatthews.com/ — where folks can find my course as well as products and services for adoptees and caregiversPodcast with my adopted Brother https://rss.com/podcasts/fakesiblingspodcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahjacksonmatthews?igsh=MWNtY2JkMzZ2enZhNA%3D%3D&utm_source=qrWorkbook https://www.amazon.com/Standing-Gap-Unapologetic-Reflective-Transracial/dp/B0CVVD11DPSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this episode, Nathan sits down with Saskia, a Chilean adoptee raised in a predominantly white town in New Jersey after being adopted at just two and a half months old. As the only girl and only adoptee in a family with three biological brothers, Saskia grew up surrounded by the narrative that adoption was something to be grateful for. But as she got older, questions about her origins led her to a years-long search, a surprising Facebook message, and an emotional reunion that would shift everything—including a pivotal moment you'll hear about later in the episode. Saskia shares her journey through identity, reconnection, and the upcoming return to Chile that marks a new chapter in reclaiming her story.Tiktok: @spicychileThe poem she wrote in school: IndividualI am from the mother who I don’t know anything about.I am from the father who doesn’t know I exist.I am from a family that is make-believe to me.I am in a family where I am an outsider,An outsider who looks different in every way possible.I am from the place that is imaginary to me.Dreams of being back in Chile being with my biological motherFloating all through my head.Wondering, wondering what she is like,How we are similar,Or if I could ever meet her again.I am the one who sticks out like a big bright moon in the dark starry sky.I am like the flower in the field that sticks out from everything else.I am from the dreams of being with herAs if our lives were perfect side by side,But those dreams will never come trueFor I am the unknown individual.Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

Nicky Hammond is a Korean Australian adoptee, coach, and breathworker who helps intercountry adoptees reconnect with identity and community. In this episode, she shares her journey from growing up in a white Australian family to rediscovering her heritage, living in Seoul, and creating healing spaces for fellow adoptees. Links and info for Nicky:[email protected]  Handle: Coachscoach.coWebsite: www.coachscoach.coSupport the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected] 

In this preview episode, host Nathan Choi introduces Color Shift: Transracial Adoptees — a podcast created by and for transracial adoptees, and for anyone who wants to understand us better. Nathan shares what you can expect from future episodes, what the term “color shift” means, and how the show is designed to feel like three friends catching up over coffee — one speaking, one listening and asking questions, and you, the audience, quietly taking it all in.This is not a podcast about adoption policy — it’s about the lived experience of growing up between cultures, identities, and expectations. Whether you’re a TRA yourself or someone who cares about one, this is your invitation to listen deeply.Support the showInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/color_shift_tra?igsh=em5ka3hkMXJxODA5TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive ThreadsIf you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/supportIf you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: [email protected]