A Beautiful Mess: Adopting in the US with Melissa & Kenny Lindsey

01/30/24 • 38 min

This week, we chat with the delightful Melissa and Kenny about the experience of adopting their daughter. Adoption in the US has evolved in the past few decades, and the Lindseys challenge common misconceptions about adoptive families, birth families, and adoptees. Also, they’re probably some of the sweetest people you’ll ever hear!

Join us as we talk:

Private adoption vs. foster care
Why “open” adoption is more common these days
Adopting during a global pandemic (spoiler alert: it’s more stressful)
The grief of a “disrupted” adoption
Why dads don’t create the same networks as moms - seriously, WHY?

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@ourfamiliesourselves

Send us a text

Join us as we talk:

Private adoption vs. foster care
Why “open” adoption is more common these days
Adopting during a global pandemic (spoiler alert: it’s more stressful)
The grief of a “disrupted” adoption
Why dads don’t create the same networks as moms - seriously, WHY?

For more surprising and authentic conversations about family-forming, subscribe to Our Families, Ourselves:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify Podcasts | Google Podcasts

Join the conversation and follow us on Instagram:

@ourfamiliesourselves

Previous Episode

Solo Parenting, By Choice or By Consequence with Molly Hawkey

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For our very first ep, we sit down with the woman who inspired us to get on the mic: Molly Hawkey - actress, comedian, and host extraordinaire of Spermcast.
Molly shares her journey to “solo parenting,” from interviewing comedian friends on why their sperm fits the bill, traveling cross-country pregnant during a global pandemic, to her own podcast audience helping her through very tough times. We promised a rollercoaster, and here it is ... hold on tight!

Join us as we chat about:

The freedom and challenges of solo parenting
The joy (and sometimes annoyances) of grandparents
Sperm, sperm, sperm! Known-donor, anonymous donor, genetic mutations
IUI, IVF ... all the acronyms
“Diblings” i.e. donor siblings - yes, it’s a thing.

*Trigger Warning* This episode contains themes of miscarriage and TFMR (termination for medical reasons).

Links:

Listen to Spermcast.

Support Molly's Patreon.

Follow Molly (and her adorable baby) on her IG.

For more surprising and authentic conversations about family-forming, subscribe to Our Families, Ourselves:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify Podcasts | Google Podcasts

Join the conversation and follow us on Instagram:@ourfamiliesourselves

Next Episode

From Kroger to the Courthouse: Foster to Adopt with Bill Murphey

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From the freezing depths of Ann-Sophie’s Tuff Shed, we bring you the warmth and delight of Atlanta-based actor Bill Murphey. A chance encounter at a neighborhood Kroger led him down the path to single parenthood, and it’s unlike any story we’ve heard!

Join us as we talk:

Foster-to-adopt in the US
Single parenthood and finding support from your community
Why not to book expensive vacations with teenagers
Supporting a boy’s freedom of expression (whether wearing skirts or dyeing hair!)
Balancing boundaries and unconditional love in parenting

For more surprising and authentic conversations about family-forming, subscribe to Our Families, Ourselves:

Apple Podcasts | Spotify Podcasts | Google Podcasts

Join the conversation and follow us on Instagram:

@ourfamiliesourselves