Adoption: The Making of Me. An Oral History of Adoptee Stories

Adrian Burks is a filmmaker, writer, director, producer, and recovery professional with more than 15 years of experience telling authentic, human-centered stories. He began his career as an actor before transitioning into directing and producing films that explore identity, resilience, healing, and the human experience.

As a domestic adoptee who spent time in the foster care system, Adrian found strength and purpose through sports, which became both an outlet and a form of therapy during his childhood. Later, filmmaking became another powerful way to process his experiences, express his creativity, and give voice to stories that inspire hope and connection.

Today, Adrian combines his passion for storytelling with his work in recovery, helping individuals—including mobility and paralysis patients—improve their mobility, confidence, and overall quality of life as they rebuild their independence. He is also currently pursuing a degree in Physical Therapist Assistant studies, furthering his commitment to helping people heal through movement, rehabilitation, and compassionate care.

Whether behind the camera or working one-on-one with clients, Adrian’s mission is the same: to help people discover resilience, find hope, and realize that healing—both physical and emotional—is possible.

Adrian on YouTube

Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, August 8th at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Christy Gilvear is the creator of The Rooted Petal, a plant-centered brand where she shares the connection between houseplants, healing, and personal transformation. Through storytelling, plant care, and everyday moments in her indoor jungle, Christy invites people to slow down and reconnect with themselves and the natural world. Christy’s work is deeply shaped by her experience as an adoptee and her personal journey of identity, belonging, and healing. During a period of deep self-reflection, she began practicing yoga and meditation and slowly filled her home with houseplants. Part of that journey was recreating the feeling of Brazil, where she spent her teenage years and experienced a deep sense of belonging. Surrounding herself with plants and memories of that time became a way to bring that environment home and helped her regulate her nervous system and reconnect with herself. A Citizen Potawatomi Nation member, Christy honors the understanding that plants are not simply decor but living relatives that exist in relationship with us. This perspective shapes the philosophy she shares with her community, often expressed through the phrase, “We water them, and they water us.” Through The Rooted Petal, Christy shares plant care, hosts workshops and community events, and creates custom plant arrangements that bring living beauty into people’s homes and spaces. Her work blends practical plant knowledge with deeper reflections on healing, connection, and the quiet wisdom the natural world offers. Christy lives in Utah with her family, where her home has become a lush plant sanctuary she shares with a growing global community of plant lovers, inviting others to discover how caring for plants can also be a path back to themselves.

Christy on YouTube
Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, August 8th at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Patsy Brooks-Tallant is a member of the Baby Scoop Era, the mid-20th-century period when societal pressures often forced unmarried or young mothers to surrender their infants for adoption. Born to a 21-year-old mother already raising four children, Patsy’s pregnancy stemmed from an affair while the mother’s military husband was overseas. To this day—over 63 years later—he believes Patsy is merely a family friend, unaware she is his wife’s biological daughter and his stepchild. The couple remains married. Unable to keep her child, Patsy’s birth mother arranged a private adoption through a family connection. Her own mother knew an older couple, aged 44 and 46, desperate for a child after the adoptive mother had lost her only biological infant. Bypassing formal agencies, the adoption was facilitated by a county judge, social worker, and private attorney who falsified documents. The adoptive parents were present at the birth and took Patsy home shortly after. Raised in a loving, stable home, Patsy always knew she was adopted. Three years later, the same family adopted her biological cousin, further linking the families. From her teens, Patsy pursued genealogy relentlessly. In high school, she located her birth mother but delayed contact. Their reunion revealed five half-siblings—four older, one younger—none aware of Patsy’s existence, per her mother’s request for secrecy. Years later, DNA testing uncovered her biological father’s identity and seven additional paternal half-siblings. Tragically, he had passed away. Patsy has since met all her paternal siblings and maintains a close relationship with one younger maternal half-brother and his children. Ties with most maternal siblings remain distant to protect their mother’s secret. Professionally, Patsy enjoyed a 49-year career as a Master Pet Stylist, owning mobile grooming units and teaching nationally and internationally. Now, her greatest passion is adoptee rights and DNA research. She advocates for unrestricted access to original birth records, refusing to uphold past secrecy. Married 42 years to her high school sweetheart, Patsy has three children and seven grandchildren. Despite a fulfilling life, she feels the primal loss of adoption daily. Forming sibling bonds in one’s fifties and sixties - without shared childhoods - is difficult. Having lost her adoptive parents at ages 15 and 22, Patsy navigated these complexities largely alone. For her, adoptee identity remains a lifelong reality.

Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A lifelong resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Susan "Cricket" Fedorko (Grand Portage Band of Chippewa - Oijbwe) has contributed her writing to four anthologies on the subject of being adopted and has done numerous media interviews.

Her Chippewa - Oijbwe, birthmother, a famous supermodel, died in 1997, a short distance from Susan's home.

Suzie always knew she was adopted out at the early age of 11 months. She discovers at the age of 40 who her biological family is. Suzie discovers her birth mother is the first native american supermodel "Cathee Dahmen". Suzie is currently 64 and has been reunited with her biological birth family for 24 years.

Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jackson TerKeurst is an author, speaker, and adoptee originally from Liberia, West Africa. At seven years old, he was separated from his family during the Liberian civil war and spent years living in an orphanage. At age 15, Jackson came to the United States as part of the African Children’s Choir, where his journey eventually led to his adoption by an American family. Despite arriving with limited formal education, he defied the odds and became the first person in his family line to graduate from college. Today, Jackson shares his remarkable story to inspire hope, resilience, and purpose in others. Drawing from his experiences of loss, displacement, adoption, and personal transformation, he speaks on identity, belonging, faith, and overcoming adversity. He is the author of The Only Way Forward Is Back and lives in Tennessee with his wife, Amanda, and their children.

Season 12 Book: The Adoption Paradox by Jean Kelly Widner

Eventbrite Link: Live Podcast Event in Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 11th-13th

Sign up to be part of our mailing list!

Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly ADOPTEE CAFE community. The next meeting will be Saturday, July 11th, at 1 pm ET.

RESOURCES for Adoptees:

Adoptees Connect

Adoptee Mentoring Society

Gregory Luce and Adoptee Rights Law
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Dr. Liz Debetta: Migrating Toward Wholeness Movement
Moses Farrow - Trauma therapist and advocate
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1-800-273-8255 OR Dial or Text 988.

Kristal Parke Because She Is Adopted

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.