Season 1, Episode 7: Mary Anna

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An interview with Mary Anna King who shares her fascinating in-family adoption story. She describes her experiences of being adopted as an older child, and also her separation from (and subsequent reunions with) her other biological siblings. We also discuss common adoptee feelings of guilt and indebtedness.

Show Notes

Topics We Discussed

 
  • In-Family Adoption
  • Reunion with siblings, highs and crashes
  • Keeping journals to catalogue events
  • Physical reaction to a surprise reunion: losing voice
  • Adoption as an older child, with a name change
  • Relationship with biological sister
  • Contact with birthmother
  • Biological father's belief in adoption as "God's plan"
  • Adoption meant moving from poverty to middle-class, a feeling of giving up birthparents for financial stability
  • Feelings of indebtedness, adoptee guilt
  • Shift in perspective from adoption as win-win-win, to adoption involving loss for all three parties of the triad

Recommended Resources

 
  • Bastards: A Memoir, by Mary Anna King
  • Angela Tucker's blog, The Adopted Life, her web series, and documentary Closure