In this episode, Jo Sparrow speaks with Caroline Liesegang about her journey of discovering her adoption at the age of 27. Caroline shares her experiences growing up in a family where all siblings were adopted but none were told the truth. The conversation delves into the emotional impact of secrecy, the complexities of trust in relationships, and the challenges of navigating family dynamics after such a revelation. Caroline reflects on her reunion with her biological family and the ongoing struggles with identity and belonging, offering insights for others who may find themselves in similar situations.

Chapters

00:00 The Journey of Discovery

04:39 The Impact of Secrecy

09:48 Navigating Trust and Relationships

15:17 Conversations with Adoptive Parents

20:07 Reunion with Biological Family

25:15 Reflections on Identity and Belonging

30:20 Understanding the Wider Experience

This episode will resonate with adopted adults, late discovery adopted people, parents who lost children to adoption, siblings, adoptive parents, practitioners, and anyone seeking a deeper, more honest understanding of the lifelong impacts of adoption.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe for more honest discussions about adoption, identity and the lived experience of adopted adults, mothers and fathers who lost children to adoption and therapists, researchers and policy makers in this space.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to ⁠http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/podcast⁠

To be considered for interview on the podcast, fill in the prospective guest form you'll find on the podcast page of the website.

Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (⁠www.jigsawqueensland.com⁠)

Connect with us Instagram - adopt_perspective_podcast

Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

If you are looking for support and reside in Queensland, Australia, you can reach Jigsaw Queensland's Forced Adoption Support Service on toll-free 1800 21 03 13, or you can call Jigsaw on 07 3358 6666. If you live in another state of Australia, you can still call the Forced Adoption Support Service in the state that you're calling from. In every other state of Australia, Relationships Australia operates this service.

A big thank you to Matt Sparrow for composing and recording our original theme music.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing.

In this episode, Ben Straker shares his journey of self-discovery as an adopted person. He reflects on his childhood, the complexities of family dynamics, and the impact of adoption on his identity. Ben discusses the trauma associated with his birth experience and how it resurfaced during the birth of his own child. He explores the concept of the primal wound and the emotional turmoil of searching for his biological family. Despite facing rejection and unanswered questions, Ben emphasises the importance of finding peace and connection within himself and his family through ritual.

Chapters

00:00 Ben's Adoption Journey

09:00 The Impact of Adoption on Identity

18:34 Trauma and the Birth Experience

22:10 Discovering the Primal Wound

28:15 Searching for Roots and Original Identity

30:53 Unpacking Identity and Adoption

33:37 Discovering Birth Family: The Search

37:31 The Emotional Impact of Discovery & Using ritual for healing

40:19 Navigating Silence and Rejection

50:12 The Search for Father: Challenges and Obstacles

56:08 Finding Peace in Unanswered Questions

This episode will resonate with adopted adults, parents who lost children to adoption, siblings, adoptive parents, practitioners, and anyone seeking a deeper, more honest understanding of the lifelong impacts of adoption.

If this conversation resonates, subscribe for more honest discussions about adoption, identity and the lived experience of adopted adults, mothers and fathers who lost children to adoption and therapists, researchers and policy makers in this space.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to ⁠http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/podcast⁠

To be considered for interview on the podcast, fill in the prospective guest form you'll find on the podcast page of the website.

Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (⁠www.jigsawqueensland.com⁠)

Connect with us Instagram - adopt_perspective_podcast

Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

If you are looking for support and reside in Queensland, Australia, you can reach Jigsaw Queensland's Forced Adoption Support Service on toll-free 1800 21 03 13, or you can call Jigsaw on 07 3358 6666. If you live in another state of Australia, you can still call the Forced Adoption Support Service in the state that you're calling from. In every other state of Australia, Relationships Australia operates this service.

A big thank you to Matt Sparrow for composing and recording our original theme music.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing.

Jeannot Farmer is from Glasgow, Scotland, although she is joining us today from Melbourne Australia where she is holidaying with family. In 1978 she lost her son to forced adoption. Thirty-one years later they were reunited. In more recent years, Jeannot has become a powerful advocate in Scotland’s forced adoption space.

Jigsaw Qld first connected with Jeannot in 2023 when she reached out while undertaking a Churchill Fellowship. Her research explored what happened in Australia following our 2013 National Apology for Forced Adoptions so that Scotland could learn from our experience after its own national apology, delivered a decade later in the Scottish Parliament on 22 March 2023.

Jeannot travelled to Australia in September 2023, meeting with advocates, support organisations and stakeholders across Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, including Jigsaw, and published her findings in 2024.

In this episode she shares her personal story of losing her son to forced adoption and their reunion and how it led to her to stepping into the advocacy space, and what she learned about Australia's post national apology response.

This episode will resonate with adopted adults, parents who lost children to adoption, siblings, adoptive parents, practitioners, policy makers, and anyone seeking a deeper, more honest understanding of the lifelong impacts of adoption.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jeannot Farmer's Journey

04:58 The Birth Experience and Hospital Treatment

10:34 The Aftermath of Birth and Adoption Process

15:42 Reunion After 31 Years

34:58 The Journey of Connection

41:56 Isolation and the Power of Shared Stories

47:54 Advocacy and the Path to Apology

55:41 Insights from Australia: Adoption Policies and Support

🎧 If this conversation resonates, subscribe for more honest discussions about adoption, identity and the lived experience of adopted adults, mothers and fathers who lost children to adoption and therapists, researchers and policy makers in this space.

This episode discusses adult themes and listener discretion is advised. For more information go to ⁠http://www.jigsawqueensland.com/podcast⁠

To be considered for interview on the podcast, fill in the prospective guest form you'll find on the podcast page of the website. (scroll down)

Your host is Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow - President of Jigsaw Queensland (⁠www.jigsawqueensland.com⁠)

Connect with us Instagram - adopt_perspective_podcast

Facebook - Jigsaw Post-Adoption Centre Queensland

If you are looking for support and reside in Queensland, Australia, you can reach Jigsaw Queensland's Forced Adoption Support Service on toll-free 1800 21 03 13, or you can call Jigsaw on 07 3358 6666. If you live in another state of Australia, you can still call the Forced Adoption Support Service in the state that you're calling from. In every other state of Australia, Relationships Australia operates this service.

A big thank you to Matt Sparrow for composing and recording our original theme music.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and the many lands that our clients now live on and we wish to acknowledge and show our respects to Elders past and present for their continuing connection to culture and the contributions they make to community. We acknowledge how much we have to learn from them and their unique understanding of connection and adoption and their recognition that at the base of every change is truth telling and healing.