Let's Talk: A Foster Adopt Minnesota Podcast

Books are powerful tools for fostering understanding, empathy, and inclusion. As a neurotypical mother of autistic children, Kelly Hooker shares her ultimate reading guide for children and adults on their autism learning journey!  Whether you are looking to explain autism to a child, seeking stories by autistic authors, or searching for practical resources as a caregiver, this episode will help you create a world where every brain is valued. Find the “All About Autism” reading guide here. (30 mins) November 4, 2026 This podcast is eligible for a Certificate of Completion if you complete a Post Podcast Test The post Autism: A Beautifully Diverse Experience appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

Dr. Kelly McGonigal, health psychologist, author, and lecturer at Stanford,  joined us to talk about her new book out this month, Joy is a Risk Worth Taking. She shared about her journey into studying joy, why joy is important for humans, and some of her favorite strategies to notice and cultivate joy in our everyday lives. (67 mins) October 21, 2026 This podcast is eligible for a Certificate of Completion if you complete a Post Podcast Test The post Joy is A Risk Worth Taking appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

October is National Book Month and we’re celebrating with Hachette Speakers Bureau! How do we find some of the presenters and authors our listeners love hearing from? Today, we’re getting a behind-the-scenes look with Jayme Boucher, Director at the Hachette Speakers Bureau, part of Hachette Book Group. We’re excited to talk with Jayme about how her team discovers authors, matches them with the right audiences, and helps bring new ideas, stories, learning, and connection to communities. Here’s the link to Raising Readers: https://joinraisingreaders.com/landing-page/raising-readers-home/ 24 min The post From the Page to the Global Stage appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

As a new school year is underway, Natalie Larson, MA, LPCC-S, RPT-S shares what it means to build trust, connection, and emotional safety in relationships with children and youth. This conversation offers thoughtful insights for foster, adoptive, and kinship families as they support healing, belonging, and stronger bonds over time. 27 min This episode is eligible for a Certificate of Completion. The post The Art of Attachment appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

We go shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Adam McCormick to explore what relational repair can look like for boys and young men in foster care who have learned that vulnerability may not be safe. Trauma-informed care requires more than better techniques. It begins with understanding what may be beneath behavior: the stories youth carry, the survival strategies they have developed, the ways trauma and masculinity can intersect, and the emotional disconnection that can follow. 40 min This episode is eligible for a Certificate of Completion. The post Trauma, Masculinity, and Foster Care appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

How to tell the difference between healthy motivation and a goal that may be consuming too much of who we are.

The transition from summer break to school in the fall can be challenging for any child. It can be even more difficult for children who have a hard time with change given trauma and attachment issues and their placement in foster care or being adopted. In this episode, we are joined by Emily Johnson, who has years of experience supporting kids in going back to school. Emily is a foster caregiver, adoptive parent, and birth parent. Emily helps us understand what children are going through and offers practical guidance on ways to support them through the transition from their summer routines to the often more structured, demanding and earlier mornings of going back to school. 30 min This episode is eligible for a Certificate of Completion. The post Back-To-School Support for Foster and Adoptive Children appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

Please listen to Part 1, You Don’t Always Have the Words, before listening to this episode. In Part 1, Madilyne and her birth mother Aimee describe from their unique perspectives their experiences of Madilyne and her siblings being removed from Aimee‘s care and living with their grandparents, then a foster family, and eventually an adoptive family. In this episode, Aimee and Madilyne share what it was like not seeing each other for several years. They also share about the process of rebuilding their relationship, including the joys, heartaches, setbacks, and growth they have experienced individually and in their relationship. Content note: This episode includes mention of suicide. Please listen with care. 55 min Release date July 29, 2026 This episode is eligible for a Certificate of Completion. The post Reunification is a Process, Not an Event: Part 2 with Aimee and Madilyne appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

In this episode, we are joined by Madilyne and her birth mother Aimee. Because of Aimee‘s untreated mental health concerns that led to addiction, Madilyne and her brother and sister were removed from Aimee‘s care and placed with their grandparents. Later, they were placed into foster care with a non-relative and then adopted by members of their church. Madilyne and Aimee share their unique perspectives through these transitions. In Part 2, Reunification is a Process, Not an Event, Aimee and Madilyne share the joys and heartache of rebuilding their relationship over the last several years. Content note: This episode includes mention of suicide and sexual abuse. Please listen with care. 48 min This episode is eligible for a Certificate of Completion The post You Don’t Always Have the Words: Part 1 with Aimee and Madilyn appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.

The Immigrant Experiences Reading & Resource Guide was created by Kelly Hooker, an avid book reviewer @kellyhook.readsbooks, alongside Rawand Amedi, mental health therapist and refugee from Kurdistan. Hear how they created this guide to foster understanding, build empathy, and open meaningful conversations across ages. Kelly and Rawand carefully selected stories for both children and adults that invite readers to see the world through lived experiences of migration, identity, belonging, and resilience. They remind us that stories have the power to connect us, even across different backgrounds.  Kelly and Rawand wanted to share some resources:  what-to-say-to-kids-about-ice and the Immigrant Experiences Reading Guide. 25 min This episode is eligible for a Certificate of Completion The post Stories Have the Power to Connect Us appeared first on Foster Adopt Minnesota.