28 - Stories That Stick

Some stories stay with us long after we hear them. In this episode of Perfectly Placed, I’m sharing memorable moments from past conversations with adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents.From identity and birth family relationships to failed matches and the realities of adoption, these stories remind us that there is no single way to experience adoption. When we listen to different perspectives, we learn to understand one another a little better.These are the stories that stick with us, and I hope a few stay with you, too.Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!

Not every adoption story is butterflies and rainbows. Adoption can be complicated, and every adoptee experiences their story differently.But Meghan Breaux has a unique perspective: even in the complicated parts of adoption, there can be so much joy if we’re willing to look for it.In this episode of Perfectly Placed, Meghan shares what it was like to grow up knowing she was adopted and to have a relationship with her birth mother throughout her childhood. She talks about the moment she cried for her birth mom and how her adoptive mother responded with the kind of love that made room for both relationships.As Meghan grew older, she found her birth father and connected with her biological siblings. Then, when she became a mom herself, she began to understand her own adoption story in an even deeper way.Meghan’s story is not meant to say that every adoption experience is easy. Instead, it offers a hopeful reminder that joy and complexity can exist at the same time, and that there are opportunities to feel love from even more people through adoption.I hope Meghan’s perspective leaves you with a little more hope and a deeper understanding of the many ways an adoption story can unfold.Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!

Traci and her husband thought they were hoping to adopt an infant, but when they received an unexpected call about a four-year-old boy named Armand, everything changed. Within a week, Armand was home with them, and what began as an unexpected adoption became the family they could not imagine living without.Traci shares what it was like to welcome an older child into their family, why she realized she had not missed out on the firsts, and how Armand’s story challenged what they thought their family would look like. She also talks honestly about adopting across racial differences, helping Armand navigate questions of identity and belonging, and creating an adopted teen group so he could connect with others who understood his experience.We also talk about the assumptions people make when they see a family that looks different from what they expect, and why asking questions is so much better than creating a narrative without knowing the story.This is a beautiful conversation about staying open to the family you never expected, seeing adoption from a child’s perspective, and discovering that sometimes the story that was meant for you is so much better than you could have imagined.Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!

Known to many across Acadiana as "Fast" from the morning radio, Hans Nelson has a story that extends far beyond the microphone. In this heartfelt conversation, Hans reflects on growing up as an adoptee, becoming an adoptive father, and discovering how adoption has quietly shaped generations of his family.Together, we talk about identity, fatherhood, grief, faith, belonging, and what it means to truly be family. Along the way, Hans shares stories that are funny, moving, and deeply honest - from childhood memories and raising his children to unexpected discoveries that changed the way he understood his own life.Whether adoption is part of your story or not, this episode is a powerful reminder that family is built through love, commitment, and the people who choose to show up for one another. It's a conversation about legacy, healing, and the unexpected ways our stories are woven together.Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!

After years of infertility, Chad and Staci Bellefleur found themselves surrendering the future they had always imagined and embracing a new path to parenthood through adoption.In this heartfelt conversation, they share their journey from infertility to adoption from both a mother's and a father's perspective. Together they reflect on grief, waiting, faith, failed matches, becoming parents, and raising their son with honesty about his adoption story. Their different perspectives reveal how couples often process the same journey in very different ways while leaning on one another through it all.This is a story of perseverance, unconditional love, and the beautiful truth behind the words, "For this child we have prayed."Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!

Katelyn Hillman always knew she wanted to be a mom. After years of infertility, two pregnancy losses, and an unsuccessful IVF journey, she and her husband began exploring adoption. What they couldn't have imagined was how many unexpected turns their story would take before they became a family.In this episode, Katelyn shares what it was like to wait, to hope, and to wrestle with disappointment while trusting that God was still at work. She talks about the phone call that led them to their daughter, the boys who entered their lives through foster care, and how the family they have today looks different than anything they originally planned.It's an honest conversation about infertility, adoption, foster care, and the beauty of letting go of your own timeline. No matter where you are in your own story, Katelyn's journey is a reminder that sometimes the path you never would have chosen becomes the one you're most grateful for.Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!

Andrew Godley was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1980 and adopted at birth. Two years later, he moved to Louisiana, where he was raised by a loving family and built a successful life as a husband, father, entrepreneur, and owner of Parish Brewing.Although adoption was never a secret and Andrew describes his childhood as wonderful, becoming a parent sparked a desire to learn more about where he came from and who his children were descended from. What followed was a decades-long search through DNA records, family trees, and unexpected dead ends that ultimately led him to his biological family in South Africa.In this episode, Andrew shares his journey of identity, belonging, gratitude, and discovery. He reflects on growing up adopted, reconnecting with biological relatives, and the surprising peace he found after meeting people who looked, thought, and lived so much like him.This conversation is a powerful reminder that family is not an either-or proposition. Nature AND nurture can both shape who we become...even when they're separated by an ocean.Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!

His parents believed letting him go was an act of love.At just two and a half years old, Dana was sent alone from Japan to America, leaving behind everything he knew and beginning a journey that would shape generations. In this moving conversation, author Loren Stephens shares the true story that inspired her novel, including the hidden family secrets, heartbreaking sacrifices, and unexpected discoveries that emerged as she researched her husband's adoption story.We also explore the meaning behind the book's title, All Sorrows Can Be Borne, which comes from the belief that even life's deepest pain becomes lighter when someone is willing to listen. That idea resonates deeply with the mission of Perfectly Placed: creating space for honest adoption stories to be told, heard, and understood. Because when we share our stories, we not only honor our own journeys—we help others carry theirs.This episode is a powerful reminder that adoption stories are rarely simple, but they are always rooted in love, loss, resilience, and the search for belonging.Purchase All Sorrows Can Be Borne here.Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!

In this episode, Marcy Bursac, adoptive mom, author, and founder of The Forgotten Adoption Option, shares her family’s foster care adoption journey and the experiences that led her to create resources supporting adoptive families across the country.This conversation explores common misconceptions about foster care adoption, the importance of honest adoption education, and how schools, churches, businesses, and communities can better support adoptees and adoptive families.A thoughtful and encouraging conversation about advocacy, visibility, and the power of saying yes.ResourcesFoster Care Adoption Awareness Reading ProgramBuy Marcy's BooksListen to her Podcast

In today’s episode, we hear Monica’s story, a birth mother who became pregnant at 15 and faced a decision that would shape the rest of her life.With limited support and few options, she placed her son for adoption through a fully closed process. Monica shares what that experience was like decades ago, including the isolation, the stigma, and the weight of carrying that decision forward.For years, she lived with unanswered questions about her son and his life. More than 40 years later, those questions were answered when they were finally reunited.Her story is a powerful reminder that adoption doesn’t end at placement. It continues across a lifetime, shaping both loss and healing in unexpected ways.Share your story on Perfectly Placed!Read our blog and learn more about Placed!