The Empowered Adoptee Podcast

In this deeply personal and moving episode, we sit down with Gianna Peterson, who vulnerably shares her story as a Korean American adoptee. Born in Busan, South Korea, Gianna was adopted at six months old and raised in a white adoptive family in New Jersey. She grew up with an older brother (her parents' biological son) and a younger sister adopted from China. Gianna’s adoption story took on a new twist when she became a mother herself. The birth of her son prompted a deep dive into her own i...

Welcome back to another vulnerable episode where we get really personal and dive into two concepts that have shaped our lives as Korean adoptees: Han and Jeong. You know those feelings you have that are too big for words? That's what Han and Jeong are for us. We'll be talking about how Han is the deep, unresolved grief and anger we feel—both individually from our own adoption narratives, and collectively from a history of oppression. And then there's Jeong, the profound and healing love we fe...

The Mother Wound: A Deep Dive into Loss, Love & Healing In this powerful and tender episode, we explore the mother wound, a wound that lives in the body, heart, and spirit of many adoptees. From the primal loss of our first mother to the complex dynamics with adoptive mothers, this episode opens a space for truth-telling, grief, compassion, and healing. Whether your relationship with your mother was loving, strained, nonexistent, or unknown—this conversation offers language, insight, and ...

In this episode, Laurie and Claire delve into the nuanced topic of microaggressions within the adoption community. This discussion was inspired by a KAAN (Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network) Conference workshop that Laurie and Claire attended. We want to help bring microaggressions into the light so that we can talk about them, normalize our feelings around them, and give us tools to navigate through them. Key Discussion Points: What is a Microaggression? A comment or...

This week, join Laurie and Claire for a special mini-episode as they share their pre-KAAN conference jitters and excitement! Heading to a large conference, even one filled with supportive community, can bring on a mix of emotions. Laurie and Claire open up about their feelings and, in true Empowered Adoptee fashion, offer some quick and easy tools to help you navigate any nervousness or anxiety you might be feeling about attending KAAN or any other emotional events. Connect with Us at KAAN! W...

In this vulnerable episode, Laurie and Claire dive deep into the complex topic of self-sabotage, particularly among adoptees. We explore the subconscious strategies that lead us to undermine our own relationships and goals, often driven by fear and core wounds. Join us as we uncover the common triggers, patterns of behavior, and the beliefs that perpetuate self-sabotaging actions. More importantly, we discuss practical steps to change these behavior patterns and foster healthier, more fulfill...

In this heartfelt episode of The Empowered Adoptee Podcast, we honor Mental Health Awareness Month by sharing personal stories from our own journeys with mental health as adoptees. We speak honestly about the challenges we’ve faced—grief, anxiety, depression, isolation—and the tools, practices, and moments of connection that helped us keep going. We explore: The unique mental health challenges adoptees often experienceThe hidden layers of grief, identity loss, and survival that can surface ov...