When I asked New Hampshire-ite Greg Gentry how he was doing, he simply put down his musket, looked in the camera and said, "live free or die!" ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Listen in on our conversation as we take a deep dive into that tenuous thing called identity and how searching…

Season 2 of Secret Son keeps rolling along and, based on last week's number, people like hearing about identity! Secrecy is so last season. But not really. It's all a jumble, as we know. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Join show patron and fellow Midwesterner Bruce Porth and I as we d…

After a winter hiatus, lots of St. John's Wort and extensive retooling, Secret Son returns for Season 2. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Join Ruth Monnig and I as we discuss growing up in the same Midwesterner town, searching for family and how searching altered our sense of identity.…

Anna Fienbork was adopted as an infant after five days at the hospital. The fact of being adopted was part of her life from early on. The emotional wounds of this early trauma of separation eventually lead her to doing emotional and spiritual work to face what felt like a black whole inside of her – the sense of having no roots, of somehow being ut…

Join Shane Bouel and I as we delve into searching, societal resistance to our search and piecing together our new identity. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Shane Bouel, an Australian adoptee, is a compelling voice shedding light on the intricate journey of adoption. In his thought-pro…

On today's episode, Patricia Knight Meyer and I talk black market babies, the power of genetic mirroring and the magic of Glen Campbell. Join us! ________________________________________________________________________________________________ A baby-scoop era black-market "adoptee," Patricia was sold along a curb outside a Texas hospital and grew u…

Amy Lokken and I delve into the challenges of being a transracial Minnesota adoptee, the openness of 1970s hippies and the fiery spirit of Betty Jean Lifton. Join us! ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Amy Lokken is a biracial, transracial adoptee, born in the Upper Midwest in the mid-sixt…

Join Emily and I as we discuss Paris, embracing the sublimity of a neurodivergent mind and fearfully admitting to others what they actually already know about us. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Emily is a 40-year old domestic infant adoptee, born outside of Chicago, Illinois. Her roots are plan…

Emma Stevens and I discuss being the adoptee chameleon, secondary rejection and scanning strangers' faces wondering if they might be family. Join us! ___________________________________________________________________________ Emma Stevens is a U.S. domestic adoptee from birth and has survived layers of trauma that have put her on multiple journeys.…

Searching and finding disrupts long-standing family dynamics. Jack Dermody and I delve into how newly arrived adoptees are like bombs thrown into a family and how the knowledge gained by searching offers us an invaluable new perspective on ourselves. Letting go of what could have been, Billie Eilish and even Lawrence Welk make an appearance. Wunner…

David Lynch's story and mine run rather parallel. BPD adoptive mother? Check. False leads in our father searches? Also check. Our Lady of Corporal Punishment primary school? Oh, yeah. Join David and I as we delve into these topics, Barbara De Angelis and much more! ____________________________________________________________________________________…

From rural Chile to urban Sweden, Maria Diemar started life with a huge journey. Join Maria and I as we discuss kidnapping investigations, maddening bureaucratic red tape and '90s Nordic Neo-Nazis. Los Secretos are everywhere! _______________________________________________________________ My name is Maria Diemar. I’m 47 years old, adopted, a teach…

Dave Brown has his own Tales of the City. Join us for episode #11 of Secret Son as we discuss coming out in the 70s, implicit memory and meeting inebriated relatives for the first time. Thanks for listening! ________________________________________________________________________________________ I am a domestic adoptee born in Virginia, raised in S…

Hey! Yeah, you! Why not join us for episode #10? Pamela Karanova is a force to be reckoned with in the adoptee community and has a new Substack you should definitely check out! Pamela and I discuss angelic librarians, going on the wagon and wild dogs deep in the Iowa countryside. And, of course, secrecy! ____________________________________________…

Join me for episode 9 with Shawn Sigler. We cover the usual stuff - KKK relatives, Cold War Berlin and seeing ourselves in photos of our deceased fathers. Shawn has had an incredible journey of persistence, bravery and self-discovery. Somehow he seems to have emerged from it without bitterness. A very inspiring story and episode! __________________…

Oi mate, how you going? Join us for episode 8 as I chat with West Coast gal Vicky Graham in her new home in Oz. We investigate the Usual Suspects - romcom-ish reunions, local marsupials and surviving the Land of Misfit Toys. _________________________________________________ ____________________________________ “Mom and Dad adopted me when I was eig…

Sweet home Chicago! The Windy City plays a big part in Cammie Smith’s story. Join us for episode 7 as we get into how best to sneak into nursing homes, problematic Radio Shack ad campaigns and walking that fine line of being either too black or not black enough. And, as always - secrets! _____________________________________________________________…

Hey y'all - between us, some days I just wanna be sedated. This is not one of those days. In episode 6 of Secret Son, I head to the Deep South, set on the porch for a spell and have a leisurely tête-à-tête with Alicia Bratton. And, honey, let me tell you, we cover some stuff – progressive Alabama politics (no joke), bayou existentialism and the fre…

Hey all, did you know that the day destroys the night and night divides the day? Tune into episode 5 to hear author/writing coach Anne Heffron and I get psychedelic. We talk rocky reunions, wrestling with our demons and the psychological efficacy of binge eating. And, of course, breaking on through. _________________________________________________…

Join Secret Son this week as we journey back to a time when it was morning in America. Reagan was president, the Eurythmics were tearing up the charts and the nation was falling in love with a precocious teenager named Michael J. Fox. Meanwhile, today’s guest and I were sitting next to each other in high school mulling over our own Family Ties. Lia…

Folks, they threw her to the wolves and she’s come back to lead the pack. Superstar podcaster and adoptee activist Haley Radke joins me this week to regale us with tales of being a secret, stalking and the Great White North. So, while you’re (soberly, of course) shooting off those fireworks on New Years Eve, why not multitask? Put on your headphone…

I met therapist/adoptee advocate Joe Soll in the mid-90s in New York City. We'll discuss decades-long family searches, "spaciness" and getting fed up with living in secrecy. As we all slowly beat back the darkness and embrace much-needed longer days (I'm looking at you especially, Berlin), this is the perfect episode to shine some light on the adop…

Who better to launch with than the woman who helped me track down my father? Adoptee rights advocate and search angel extraordinaire Annette O' Connell and I talk family searches, secondary rejection and the ecstasy of experiencing genetic mirroring. Somehow I called her by her maiden name of Daly. Apologies! Music by the inimitable Cassis Birgit S…

Adoptees family searches, identity, women's rights, secrecy - Secret Son covers this and more. Every week a new interview, every week a new tale of searching, finding and secrecy. Secret Son launches on Friday, December 16, 2022 www.secretsonpod.com This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its…