Season 6: Understanding Adoption Through Stories – How Narratives Shape Parenting

Stories play a powerful role in shaping how adoption is understood, both within families and in wider society. For adoptees, writing can offer a way to explore identity, make sense of complex experiences and reclaim narratives that have often been told by others. This episode focuses on the role of storytelling in adoption, and the opportunities and challenges that come with putting personal experiences into words.Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with Dr Liz DeBetta, adoptee, author, scholar and creator of the Migrating Toward Wholeness framework. Drawing on her work with adoptees and her own experience, Liz reflects on the process of writing about adoption, balancing honesty with privacy, and navigating the responsibilities that can come with sharing personal stories.They explore how writing can support reflection and emotional processing, the adoption narratives that are often missing from mainstream conversations, and some of the common tropes that can oversimplify adoptee experiences. The discussion also considers how adoptive parents can engage thoughtfully with adoptee memoirs and fiction, create space for their children to tell their own stories, and support self-expression without expectation or pressure.This episode offers thoughtful insight into the power of storytelling, the importance of adoptee voices and the ways writing can help foster understanding, connection and more honest conversations about adoption.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

Adopted people often reflect on their experiences differently as they grow older, gaining new perspectives on identity, belonging, family and what support felt most meaningful along the way. This episode centres adoptee experience, offering parents an opportunity to hear directly from someone who has lived it.Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with James, a screenwriting graduate, care-experienced advocate and adoptee, about his experiences of growing up adopted and the things he wishes his parents had known. Fostered from two months old and adopted at the age of two, James reflects on what helped him feel secure in his adoption story, how his feelings about adoption changed over time, and the value of having space to explore difficult emotions openly.They discuss common misconceptions about adoption, ways parents can encourage honest conversations, and how families can create a sense of belonging while recognising the complexities that adoption can bring. The conversation also explores the importance of listening to children's experiences, validating their feelings and supporting them as their understanding of adoption develops through childhood and into adulthood.This episode offers thoughtful insight for adoptive parents looking to better understand their child's perspective and build relationships rooted in openness, trust and connection.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

Children's books can play an important role in helping young children understand adoption, explore questions of identity and belonging, and find language for feelings that can be difficult to express. This episode focuses on how parents can choose books that support meaningful conversations about adoption and help children see themselves reflected in the stories they read.Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with Robin Stevens, author of Ezra and the Great Bin Jah Meen and an adoptive parent, about what makes an adoption-related children's book effective. Drawing on both his experience as a writer and as a parent, Robin reflects on the importance of representation, authenticity and including a range of adoption experiences in children's literature.They explore how books can help children process emotions, understand their life story and engage with conversations about adoption in an age-appropriate way. The discussion also considers how stories can support a child's sense of identity, encourage curiosity about their background and heritage, and provide a safe starting point for family conversations. Robin also shares his motivation for writing a story featuring an adopted child at its centre, and why seeing themselves reflected in books can be so important for young readers.This episode offers thoughtful, practical insight for parents looking to build an adoption-friendly bookshelf and use stories to support open conversations, emotional understanding and a sense of belonging.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

Stories can help adoptive parents see adoption from a different perspective. Whether through memoirs, books, articles or personal accounts, they can open up new ways of understanding a child’s experiences and create opportunities for more thoughtful conversations at home.Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with Lisa Mainwaring, a journalist, writer, communications professional and adoptive mum of two boys. Together, they discuss the value of reading different lived experiences and how stories can help parents approach conversations about adoption with greater curiosity and empathy. This episode offers practical insight for parents who want to learn from the experiences of others and use stories as a starting point for more open conversations about adoption.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

This special episode is part of our Teens and Tweens Support Programme, funded by Adoption England, which supports adoptive parents as their children move into adolescence. It focuses on what adoption can feel like during the teenage years, drawing directly on the voices and experiences of adopted young people involved in Adopteens.Adopteens is a peer support space for adopted teenagers, where they can meet others with shared experiences, talk openly, and build connections outside of adult-led environments.Join Annalisa Toccara-Jones as she speaks with Sadie and Nat from Adopteens about how they understand adoption as they grow older, and how it shows up across friendships, school and identity. They reflect on what it means to connect with other adopted teens, and why peer spaces can offer a sense of recognition that is often harder to find elsewhere.Their conversation explores how adoption is talked about at home and in education settings, including what feels supportive and where adult assumptions can miss the mark. It also considers the role of social media in shaping how adoption is seen and understood, alongside questions of control, consent and representation for young people.This episode offers grounded, practical insight for parents looking to better understand their teenager’s experience of adoption, and how to support open, respectful conversations as their child grows.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

Films and documentaries can be powerful tools in helping children and young people understand their adoption story and explore questions of identity, belonging and origin. This episode focuses on how visual storytelling can support meaningful conversations about adoption, particularly as children grow and begin to make sense of their experiences in more complex ways.Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with Louise Ndibwirende about how adoption is represented on screen, and what kinds of stories tend to resonate at different ages. Drawing on her work across film and storytelling, Louise reflects on how documentaries and films can open up space for reflection, recognition and discussion within families.They explore how to approach media that may romanticise or misrepresent adoption, and how parents can support children in making sense of what they see. The conversation also considers the impact of on-screen narratives on identity and belonging, and how families can use shared viewing as a starting point for open, ongoing dialogue.This episode offers thoughtful, practical insight for parents looking to use film and documentary as a way to support honest, age-appropriate conversations about adoption.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

This episode is part of our Season 6 series, Helping Your Child Understand Their Journey, where we explore practical ways to support conversations about adoption, identity and belonging.Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with Sarah Naish, CEO of the Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma (COECT), about how children’s understanding of adoption shifts as they grow.Drawing on her experience as a former social worker, adoptive parent and leader in therapeutic parenting, Sarah explores how children’s questions and emotional responses change across different life stages. From early childhood through the teenage years, she shares how parents can adapt conversations to reflect a child’s development, curiosity and sense of identity.They discuss everyday emotional struggles at different ages, how to respond when a child doesn’t want to talk about adoption, and what signs might suggest a child needs additional support. The conversation also looks at the role of peer relationships, building confidence and self-acceptance, and approaching school-related situations such as bullying or family-based activities.Sarah also offers guidance on supporting teenagers who begin to question their identity more deeply, and how parents can stay steady and responsive as these conversations become more complex.This episode provides practical, experience-based insight for parents who want to keep conversations open, responsive and grounded as their child grows.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

This episode is part of our Season 6 series, Helping Your Child Understand Their Journey, where we explore practical ways to support conversations about adoption, identity and belonging.Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with Toni about one of the questions adoptive parents often wrestle with: when do we start talking about adoption, and what do we actually say?Toni shares practical insight on how to make these conversations part of everyday family life rather than a single, high-pressure “big talk”. She discusses how children’s curiosity can ebb and flow, how to respond to tricky questions about birth families, and what to do if your child doesn’t seem interested in their story at all.They also explore the language that helps children feel secure, the common pitfalls parents can fall into, and how to prepare yourself emotionally so you can stay steady when difficult feelings arise.This episode offers thoughtful, practical guidance for parents who want to build honest, ongoing conversations that help their child understand their adoption story with confidence.Adoption Shared is a podcast brought to you by We Are Family. We believe every adoptive family deserves community. If you’d like to support our work, a donation helps us continue providing services and peer support across the UK. Find out more at wearefamilyadoption.org.uk/donate. Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

This episode is part of our Season 6 series, Helping Your Child Understand Their Journey, focusing on practical conversations about adoption, identity and belonging.Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with Skye Curtis-Guilhen, a dual-heritage adopter to two children and project lead at Yorkshire Adoption Agency, where she focuses on community engagement and supporting adopters from global majority backgrounds. Skye also delivers training, including life story work, and works as a social researcher and inclusive practice consultant specialising in equity-based trauma-informed practice.Eddie and Skye explore how birth families sit within a child’s sense of self, whether there is contact or not. They discuss how children’s questions can shift over time, what to say when curiosity grows, and how to respond when information is limited or difficult to explain. Skye shares ways parents can support children through loyalty conflicts, grief or confusion, and how to acknowledge heritage and history through meaningful conversations.They also talk about managing your own emotions so you can stay open when these discussions arise.This episode offers practical guidance for parents who want to support their child’s questions about where they come from while strengthening belonging at home.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.

Join host Eddie Elliott as he speaks with Fiona, an adoptee, adoptive parent, and mentor, about navigating education from both perspectives. With over 20 years of experience supporting women through challenging life circumstances, Fiona is dedicated to helping adoptees overcome emotional barriers and reach their full potential. As the founder of This is Me – I’m Adopted, she provides guidance to adoptees worldwide and has shared her personal journey in two books.In this episode, Fiona discusses how her own adoption experience shaped the way she prepared her child for school, the challenges she has faced as an adoptive parent, and the strategies she has found most effective in supporting emotional well-being in education. She shares insights from her mentorship work, offering practical advice for parents and schools on creating inclusive environments and advocating for the needs of adopted children.Contact We Are Family & the Adoption Shared Team: Tweet us @WAFadoption #AdoptionShared Tweet Eddie @Eddielliott Email us [email protected] Join us www.wearefamilyadoption.org.ukWe prioritise the privacy of guests and their children. All identifying information has been changed or removed. We provide guidance to all guests about how and whether details of their adoption journey and their children’s stories are shared.