My Unknown Truth - The Australian Adoption Podcast: Recent Episodes
Nadia Levett
Sharing stories and experiences of Australians who have been through the adoption system. The stories are sometimes complex and tackle difficult issues which span over 50 plus years. From children that have been in an under resourced system to Australia's traumatic history of forced adoptions and the stolen generations. But through this darkness comes light - there are also stories of hope, courage resilience and love. My Unknown Truth is hosted by Nadia Levett who was born and raised in Australia and is a child of adoption. It is her wish that by sharing a range of experiences will lead to increased awareness and understanding around adoption in Australia, facilitate informed discussion and encourage more people to open their hearts, minds and homes to children in need.
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Welcome back to Part 2 of my conversation with Nadia Nauss. If you listened to the first half, you’ll know how beautifully Nadia speaks about the body, safety, and the slow work of coming home to yourself.
In this second part, we go even deeper. We explore the younger parts inside us, the ones who learned to adapt, perform, or disappear to stay connected. We talk about boundaries, intimacy, emotional release, and what it means to build relationships that feel safe enough for authenticity.
For adoptees and people with foster‑care backgrounds, these themes land in such a tender place. So many of us carry early patterns that still shape how we show up in our adult relationships, our bodies, and our sense of self.
Nadia brings a softness to all of this, a way of speaking about healing that feels spacious, grounded, and deeply human.
So let’s drop back in, and pick up where we left off.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
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Welcome back to the Australian Adoption Podcast with Nadia Levett. I’m really glad you’re listening to this episode today.
I met today’s guest, Nadia Nauss, on a retreat last year.
We didn’t actually get to talk much about her work at the time - which is partly why I’ve been so curious to bring her onto the podcast. Because even without knowing the details, I had this sense that what she does sits right in the centre of so many conversations we have here: trauma, the body, safety, connection, and the long, slow work of coming home to yourself.
Nadia is an adoptee and a trauma‑informed coach and embodiment practitioner. She works with the nervous system, somatic awareness, relational safety — all the things that feel deeply relevant for adoptees or foster‑care experiences, those who carry early attachment wounds, preverbal trauma and for carers and adoptive parents wanting to know that this type of work exists as a healing option for their loved ones growing into adulthood.
So today’s interview is a Q&A style and is spread over 2 episodes ranging from wanting to understand more about her approach, and how it might support people who’ve spent a lifetime navigating disconnection, hyper‑vigilance, or feeling slightly out of sync with themselves.
So I’m really looking forward to tune into this conversation, just bearing in mind that there was a fan on during this interview so there will be a blowing noise every few seconds that we couldn’t filter out.
So sorry about that!
Alright So lets go. :)
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Welcome back to Part Two of my conversation with Ali.
In this half of her story, we move into the years where everything became bigger — love, marriage, motherhood, heartbreak, and the deep spiritual work that eventually changed the course of her life.
Ali met the love of her life at eighteen. They married young, built a family, and raised three beautiful daughters together. But beneath the surface, both of them were carrying wounds from their own childhoods — wounds that shaped their relationship in ways neither of them fully understood at the time. Between financial stress, unhealed trauma, and the chaos of raising three kids, life became heavy. And when betrayal entered the marriage, the ripple effects touched every part of their family. Her daughters felt it too — each of them navigating the fallout in their own way.
This part of Ali’s story is about the moment she stopped looking outward for answers and began going inward. It’s about abandonment wounds rising to the surface, spiritual awakening, synchronicities, and the quiet courage it takes to rebuild your life from the inside out.
It’s also where her adoption story opens up again — reunions with her birth mother and father, complicated relationships, new siblings, and the emotional truth of what it means to belong to more than one family.
Let’s step back into Ali’s journey.
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Today, I’m sitting down with someone whose story is layered, confronting, courageous, and deeply human.
Alison was adopted in 1965, just two weeks old, into a family that would grow to include three more adopted children. From the outside, it looked like a home built on love and opportunity. But inside those walls, Ali lived through things no child should ever have to carry — fear, silence, confusion, and trauma that shaped every part of her early life.
In this first part of our conversation, Ali takes us back to her beginnings: the moment she realised her family looked different to others, the questions that started forming in her mind as a little girl, and the home life that was anything but safe. She speaks about her mum’s warmth, her dad’s volatility, and the heartbreaking experiences she endured at the hands of someone who should have protected her.
We also explore the ripple effects of adoption on her siblings — the mental health struggles, the lack of medical history, the behaviours no one understood at the time — and how all of them were left to navigate trauma without the support they desperately needed.
This first half of Ali’s story is about survival. It’s about a little girl trying to make sense of a world that didn’t make sense. And it’s about the beginnings of patterns that would follow her into adulthood — patterns she wouldn’t fully understand until much later.
Part One ends at a turning point: the breakdown of her marriage, and the moment she walked into a counsellor’s office thinking she was there to talk about her relationship… only to realise she was finally ready to unpack her entire childhood.
This is Ali’s story — raw, brave, and told with extraordinary honesty.
Let’s begin.
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In this second part of my conversation with Jo, we begin with the moment she met her birth father; a man who had known about her existence but didn’t surface until an argument broke out between them twelve years later. Jo shares the complexity of that reunion, the emotions it stirred, and how it shaped her understanding of belonging.
We also talk about the struggles she faced after the birth of her first child, what led her to seek support from Jigsaw Queensland, and how that experience became a turning point. From there, Jo reflects on her professional journey, her role in advocacy, education, and the adoption space today, and why she continues to amplify adoptee voices through her work.
Jo’s story reminds us that adoption is never a single moment, it’s a lifelong journey of reunion, identity, and healing. Her honesty about the challenges of meeting her birth father, navigating motherhood, and finding support through Jigsaw Queensland shows the resilience it takes to carry and transform that “bag of sad.”
Now, as President of Jigsaw Queensland and host of the Adopt Perspective podcast, Jo is using her lived experience to create change, connection, and understanding for others.
Jo, thank you for trusting me with your story and for the work you continue to do in this space.
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Hey everyone, welcome to The Australian Adoption Podcast: My Unknown Truth.
In this two-part episode, I’m chatting with Jo - an adoptee, advocate, and the voice behind the Adopt Perspective podcast. Jo was born in 1971, right in the middle of Australia’s closed adoption era, and her story is one of deep reflection, resilience, and truth-telling.
In Part 1, we talk about Jo’s early years - being chosen from a hospital nursery, growing up on a grain farm, and navigating a complex relationship with her adoptive family. She opens up about the emotional impact of being “un-mothered,” the silence around her origins, and how grief showed up in her body long before she had words for it.
Jo’s honesty is powerful, and her story speaks to so many of us who’ve felt that ache of not quite belonging.
Let’s dive in.
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Hey Listeners!
In this episode, I sit down with Dana Hargus - licensed professional counsellor, founder of Restore of Ada, and passionate advocate for trauma-informed healing.
Dana shares how her journey as a mother to an adopted son led her into the world of biofeedback, attachment theory, and frequency-based care. With over 25 years of experience, she’s built a healing model that blends science, compassion, and practical tools for families navigating trauma, adoption, and regulation. From PEMF devices, tapping to TBRI and online support, Dana’s Restore Method offers a pathway to calm; one frequency at a time.
If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it. Until next time, take care and keep creating space for healing.
To learn more about Dana’s programs, including Restore of Ada and her online platform Restore+, visit https://restoreofada.com/about-restore
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Welcome to The Australian Adoption Podcast, where we explore the stories that shape us; stories of identity, resilience, and the courage it takes to search your truth.
Today’s guest is someone many of you will recognise, not just from the hugely popular Toni and Ryan Podcast, but from a more personal journey that’s touched hearts across Australia and beyond.
Ryan Jon is a storyteller, a broadcaster, a podcaster, a husband and father and an adoptee. In 2017, he shared a heartfelt video on Mother’s Day: a message to the birth mother he’d never met, filled with gratitude, hope, and love. In November 2024, that search came to an end; not in the way Ryan expected, but in a way that brought heartbreak, grief but also a sense of healing.
In this episode, Ryan reflects on the moment he found out that his birth mother, Julie, had passed, and the unexpected reunion with her family that followed. He also talks about discovering his birth father through a DNA test, connecting instantly through humour, quick wit and similar career paths and interests with him and his half brothers, and how becoming a dad to Mabel has shifted things he thought he knew about love, sacrifice, and appreciating the present moment.
This was a conversation about curiosity, connection, and the quiet power of finding peace in a journey of identity that had an unexpected finality to it.
This was a warm, honest, and full of heart conversation. Here’s my chat with Ryan Jon.
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Today, we’re sitting down with Michelle- a mum, a midwife, a nurse, and someone who has walked the winding path of adoption and healing.
Adopted at six weeks old, Michelle grew up in southern Sydney with her brothers and a whole lot of freedom, never really thinking adoption was a big part of her story. But like many of us, life has a way of inviting us deeper.
In her forties, Michelle started to ask new questions, about identity, belonging, and the layers we carry without realising. Her story takes us through heartache, discovery, nature, breathwork, and a whole lot of inner work. She’s now raising her four kids in a home she built herself on a mountain near Wollongong; living a life filled with joy, reflection, and purpose.
Michelle’s story is one that stays with you, a gentle reminder that sometimes, what we think is no big deal turns out to be a doorway to deeper truth. Through all the shifts and reckonings, she’s found her way back to joy, to self-love, and to a quieter kind of knowing.
We’re so grateful she brought her voice, her warmth, and her honesty to this conversation.
Lets Dive In!
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Hi Listeners,
In this episode I sit down with Jim Moginie. We had an amazing conversation over zoom from his home in Ireland and I was fortunate to meet him for the launch of his new book earlier this year.
For 50 years, Jim was a driving force behind one of Australia’s most iconic bands Midnight Oil.
He grew up in Sydney’s northern suburbs and attended high school in the city, where he befriended drummer Rob Hirst. Together with another friend, Andrew James, they formed the band FARM before recruiting singer Peter Garrett and Martin Rotsey and changing their name to Midnight Oil. Jim is best known as a songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist for the band, and has explored other creative adventures during his career such as playing traditional Irish music and collaborating with prominent artists such as silverchair, sarah blasko, the warumpi band, the living end, kasey chambers, neil finn and the Australian chamber orchestra.
In addition to his musical talents, Jim recently released his book titled- The Silver River; a memoir of family, lost made and found. We learn that Jim found out he was adopted when he was 11. His mum broke the news very matter of factly as the family returned by sea from a holiday in Tasmania. Endless questions quickly began to race through Jim’s mind.
Why did people give me away? Was there something wrong with me? Did they give me away without a fight? Wasn’t I good enough for them? I probably deserved to be abandoned. He states “I felt like a fake, a mistake. My aunt wasn’t really my aunt, my cousins weren’t my cousins. My brother wasn’t my brother and my parents weren’t my parents. No questions were asked by me or explanations offered by my parents then, or for many of the years that followed. All I knew was that I had to get onboard with the new paradigm.”
By the time Jim hit high school he had discovered his love for the Beatles and a passion for music which he clung to. Teaching himself how to play and record music and aquiring many musical instruments helped him make sense of the world. Music became his refuge and a language he wanted to express himself with.
When Midnight oil was juggling chart success, political activism and global tours, the initial wave of stardom and limelight felt different for Jim, difficult even and unexpected and whilst at times he struggled to find meaning behind it all, he realised something fundamental was missing.
At the height of his career Jim began his quest to find his birth family that led him in many different directions, to the quiet suburbs of Canberra and across the rivers and rolling hills of rural Ireland, he talks about his career and being in the band, interweaving his journey of adoption and finding his roots. Jim craved information about his family background and began to fill in the gaps of his identity, sourcing medical records and electoral rolls. He confronted his infant trauma while in therapy and learned how this shaped his behaviour in adult life. Finally he writes about finding his birth family and sharing deeply emotional reunions with long lost relatives.
You don’t want to miss this episode.
Here is Jim’s story.
Jims Memoir contains vivid recollections of childhood, behind the scenes stories of band life and fascinating insights into the creative process that produced some of this country’s most beloved songs, The Silver River is at once a lyrical coming of age story, a heart-warming family chronicle and a must read for anyone interested in the history of Australian music.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Hey guys,
Today I’m speaking with Denna.
Denna is an intercountry adopted person, born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in 1979. She grew up in Mclaren Vale, South Australia, and an organisation, formerly known as ASIAC organised her adoption from Yayasan Ibu Sayap. At 4 months of age, Denna took her first international plane trip, and since then has travelled extensively around the globe in both career and personal life.
Denna views her adoption experience as being a positive one, she has dabbled in searching for her birth mother and learning more about her origins over the years. But In hindsight, Denna wishes she started this search earlier. She realised she had been avoiding her feelings. Her curiosity and desire grew when she had 3 children but the experience of mothering also brought unpleasant feelings that was laying dormant. from never feeling enough to rejection and abandonment issues. feelings that are similar to other inter country adoptees she has encountered. Over the years she has faced struggles with her marriage and her relationships.
She is yet to find more about her biological family but remains positive, and looks upon her journey as a lifelong quest.
Denna is a former travel consultant, business development manager, and online business mentor, Denna has "adopted" her life mantras into her business endeavours which are “Make a Difference. Collaborate, Travel. Inspire and Grow."
Her latest emerging passion project: a podcast called My Adoptive Heart is for the inter country adoptee community. She wants to help build a supportive community for others so hearts can heal and to help guide her through her own self discovery.
If you would like to connect with Denna her You can contact at: www.denna.com.au/my-links
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Welcome to today's podcast.
My guest is Alyson, an Australian adoptee from the Baby Scoop Era of the 1970s. Alyson holds a Bachelor's degree in Naturopathy and is certified in a wide array of modalities through her business, “Your Authentic Self.” Her expertise includes Homeopathy, Sanum Therapy, Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, Nutrigenomics, Applied Kinesiology, Touch for Health, Brain Gym, the Biology of Trauma, Somatic Healing and Creatrix transformology.
Alyson's journey of healing is deeply personal. She considered herself a lucky adoptee until she turned 50 as life began to unravel. This period of self-discovery and self-healing led her to completely transform her approach. At one point, a lack of self-worth and self-value caused her to leave her beloved profession and become a Domino’s franchisee. However, she eventually found her way back to her true passions.
Now, Alyson focuses on healing the heart before healing the body, using the Creatrix Method designed specifically for the female brain to release generational trauma.
She describes herself as a "woo-woo pathology-loving Naturopath," and shares her experiences as an adoptee through epigenetic predispositions. Alyson uses her experiences and knowledge to support healing ranging from self-esteem issues to complex inflammatory health conditions. She is dedicated to uncovering root causes of our ailments and designs individualized healing plans as a specialised adoptee health consultant.
Alyson's unique journey has enriched her approach to health and healing. Our conversation shows the powerful intersection of personal and professional transformation.
Here we go!
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Today I will be speaking to an international adoptee from Chicago, Julie who is also a author–memoirist, essayist, and columnist– who writes about finding out who you are, where you come from, and making sense of it.
At 48, julie was sent for a breast biopsy. This incident highlighted what closed adoption prevented her from knowing: her birth circumstances, family medical history, and genealogy. The subsequent search for her “personal story” that consumed five years. She chronicles this journey in her debut, award-winning memoir Twice a Daughter: A Search for Family, Identity, and Belonging
We talk on Her newly released book Belonging Matters: Conversations on Adoption, Family & Kinship serves as a companion piece to Twice a Daughter. It is meant to support the adoption community and to create a conversation with those not touched by adoption.
Besides being a writer, she is a mother, grandmother, and an identical twin. Life has provided her many roles to play and experiences to share. For as long as she can remember, Julie has been filling up journals and binders with stories and reminiscences.
Her wish is that you stay here, linger, and find a section from this podcast that resonates. Upon leaving, she hopes you take with you a fresh new idea, perspective, or topic to share with others.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Today’s guest, Lisa was born in England in 1970 and was adopted at six weeks of age into a family who had already adopted a son.
Lisa’s family moved to Australia when she was two years old and the family grew to include a biological daughter.
Lisa’s story of reunion spans decades, two continents and is a testament to her determination, resilience and courage.
And having the belief and hope that a NO would not always stay a no.
Here is Lisa's story.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Jo is a late discovery adoptee who discovered at the age of 46 that everything that she had known to be true about her identity and family was no longer, it was like a sudden and tragic death. The information that blew her world apart was a diary kept by her recently deceased maternal grandmother “Nanny” that spanned the years 1960-1965. Jo immediately filed for her paperwork with DoCS to obtain her original birth certificate and find her birth mother.
The story that unfolded was nothing like the hopes she had of hearing about a forbidden teenage love affair. Today Jo touches on her journey and how kinesiology and Neuro Emotional Technique (NET) gave insight around her conception which at the time of hearing did not make sense, but everything fell into place when knowing of her adoption.
Here is her story.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
When Brendan was eight years old, his parents told him he was adopted. In his late twenties, he found out the identity of his birth mother – but she wanted nothing to do with him.
For thirty years there was only limited communication with his birth mother, and he knew nothing about his birth father. It wasn’t until 2018, a DNA test led him to the truth:
'After decades of searching, Brendan discovered that his birth parents were a Catholic priest and a nun.
His ‘Memoir which was released in August 2023 titled “Tell No One' explores the questions, anxieties and reflections arising from this hidden past..
Brendan is the son of a missionary priest. His father had studied in a Trappist monastery in Ireland, had a career as a house builder, was a Bondi Lifesaver, a trophy-winning ballroom dancer, was a landscape painter, met Mother Teresa and toured the world.
Take a listen to this interview I did with Brendan in November last year. .
Brendans memoir is an astounding story full of scandal, deception and coercion which had been uncovered over decades, it was a truth that must be told.
If you would like to know more about Brendan and access his book head to brendanwatkins.com.au
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Jo is an adopted person, born in Adelaide in 1969. She lives with her family in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. Creativity has been a constant in her life and she worked in advertising, marketing and design for many years, but is now quietly forging a new path as a yoga teacher after feeling its transformative effects in her own life. I first met Jo at a yoga training retreat in Bali earlier this year.
Jo was forcibly removed from her mother immediately after her birth at Queen Victoria Hospital in SA whose adoption agency enforced a policy based on the ‘clean break theory’ where no contact or attachment was permitted between mother and child. Jo says that for many adoptees the affect of this inhumane practice is a profound loss of self and a lifetime of trauma. Today she is an advocate for truth telling around forced adoptions and for redress schemes.
There were about 150,000 adoptions in Australia from the 1950s to the early 1980s when unmarried women were routinely shamed and coerced into surrendering their babies. Ten years on from the historic apology made by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard to those affected by the forced adoptions era, survivors like Jo are still pushing for support. “Little has been done to help us overcome the significant challenges we face.” In addition to redress schemes she also believes there should be appropriate memorials in locations where forced adoptions occurred to commemorate and acknowledge the injustices. “No good will come of sweeping this under the carpet,” she says.
Here is Jo's story.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Today I am interviewing a gentleman by the name of Rowan Dent in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Rowan is a father of one who has been impacted by adoption and has seen first hand, the joy and love adoption has played in his life.
Rowan attributes his successes in business and sport to the fundamental values that were given to him by his adopted mother and uncle.
This is a story of love, sacrifice, and loyalty that has impacted the current generation and will likely impact generations to come.
Here is Rowan's story.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Hi everyone,
Today I will be speaking with Toni Moon.
Toni Moon is a bird nerd, word nerd and adopted person breaking out of the fog.
She is a journalist who writes about her own adoption journey amongst other things.
Her personal writing reflects a desire for self determination as she uncovers her own past and builds the road ahead for her and her family’s future.
Here is her story.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Hi everyone, today I am talking with Layne Beachley. Layne is regarded as one of the world’s most successful athletes. She spent 19 years on the surfing pro tour. Won 7 world titles and is the only surfer in history, to win 6 consecutive world titles. 5 however were won in a state of fear. The other 2 that bookends her career were in a state of love.
How did she get there?
Well first of all, Layne’s mother died when she was 6 years old, this would have been devastating, to say the least, then her dad informed her about her adoption when she was 8. This news may have come too late and Layne explains why.
As painful and heartbreaking this chapter was in her life, Layne was able to turn it around and become inspired, using what she knew about herself and her environment. With a determined a fierce attitude, Layne was able to use her love of surfing and support from family to set a goal to become world champion, the reason: to prove to the world that she is deserving of love.
A team member asked her after she had won her 6th world title: Do you think your enough now? Layne hadn’t realised until that point, that the only person who thought she wasn’t enough, had been ingrained within.
Chasing big waves and world titles resulted in many serious injuries such as severe disk herniaton in her neck and a crushed lumbar spine, fractured ribs, 10 stiches in her face and torn ligaments in both her knees, to name a few.
She also suffered 2 bouts of chronic fatigue, lost her stepmother to breast cancer when she was 30, and lost her biological mother to ovarian cancer when she was 45.
All of these challenges and set backs have proven not to hold her down, but used as a transformational tool for growth, lifting others up in her presence, for initiatives and projects she is passionate about, living her life with an attitude of gratitude, to prioritise her health and well-being and commit to doing something she loves, such as surfing and working on her Awake Academy called Own Your Truth, every single day.
Im not going to lie, I felt quite nervous and a bit out of my depth in this interview as Layne is an incredible australian icon and I was extremely grateful to Layne for being so open, raw and honest with me to hopefully inspire and encourage others to “honestly know yourself to develop greater self belief and own your truth”.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Hey everyone, today I sit down and talk with another podcaster Jonah.
Jonah was Born in Cairns and immediately placed in foster care, Jonah grew up with his adoptive family in Brisbane and Growing up in a Caucasian Australian family, Jonah felt disconnected from his Papua New Guinea heritage and culture.
In 2020, at the age of 22, Jonah embarked on a journey to reunite with his birth family, to reconnect with his heritage and unearth his self-identity. He launched an award-winning podcast, Led By A Heartstring, to invite the world to follow his journey and delve into the world of adoption.
For Jonah, his adoption has played a huge part in shaping who he is. “Being adopted, you don’t really lack that part of self-identity because you find it wherever you are, and whoever you’re exposed to and whoever you live with” he says.
Jonah is still searching for his biological family, it’s taking longer than he first thought, but this hasn’t stopped him from speaking out on adoption and collecting bits and pieces of information everyday to help his own journey of self-identity.
In this interview I also share parts of my story of adoption as well as talking about podcasting, pathways of self-discovery and healing.
I wish jonah all the best of luck in finding his birth family in Papua New Guinea which gets him one step closer, one layer added in forming his identity.
We shared this conversation on Yugambeh region, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, i pay my respects to their elders past and present, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This special chat with Jonah was simply beautiful I can’t wait for you all to listen to this episode.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Tammy Richie is an extraordinary woman who has overcome numerous obstacles in her life. Her journey began with a challenging start, as she was abandoned as a baby, losing everything she knew, including an identical twin. This early experience of grief built up her strength and resilience, which she has carried with her throughout her life.
Tammy learned to be resourceful and curious from a young age, and these qualities has served her well as she has become the influential leader she is today. As an international motivational speaker and senior team leader for Tony Robbins she has become an expert at overcoming obstacles, trusting the process, and channeling her energy towards desired outcomes. Her ability to navigate challenges has shaped her into a trailblazer, fearlessly pushing boundaries and leaving legacies.
One of Tammy's greatest strengths is her authenticity, relatability, and her heartfelt approach to life. She loves sharing the lessons she learns on her journey in an effort to help others avoid unnecessary suffering. By being genuine and compassionate, Tammy can inspire and stir the souls of others, showing them what is possible in their own lives.
Tammy's unique blend of intuition, guidance, fearlessness, and creativity allows her to create visions and then surrender and trust in the process. She opens herself up to synchronicities and attracts what she needs to take massive action and bring her visions to life. Her journey is remarkable, and she shares inspiring stories of transformation, reminding others to make their lives count.
In summary, Tammy Richie has triumphed over massive adversity and uses her experiences to empower and uplift others. She shows others what is possible through her authenticity and heartfelt approach. Tammy's remarkable journey and inspiring stories of transformation leave a lasting impact on all those who encounter her.
Remember, "Live the life you desire & deserve & if I can.. Yucan2!”
Find out more about Tammy at www.firstaidyucan2.com
www.yucan2.com.au www.zenarah.com www.theavtarcollective.com www.Avtarcoin.com
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https:// www.facebook.com/FirstAidYUCAN2/
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Hey everyone,
Today I am speaking with Monique from the Sunshine Coast. I had a perfect opportunity on my travel around Australia and in January this year I visited her in her home. We comfortably sat on the floor of her upstairs office surround by a large sand tray full of sand, water and figurines. Not long after getting set up did I then notice the two story bookshelf with about 1000 figurines all neatly on display. I was intrigued; but more about this later.
Monique is an adopted person, born in Australia in 1972 at the height of the ‘Forced Adoption Era’. Relinquished at birth and adopted at 6 weeks, she grew up in a family with two older adopted siblings. As a result of this complex experience, along with the rollercoaster of four ‘search and reunion’ journey’s, early pregnancy and parenting, and now estranged from multiple family members, early on Monique was driven to study psychology and psychotherapy. She has spent her career studying and teaching others about the significance of relational attachment, the impacts of pre-verbal trauma and the dynamics of families where relational attachment disruption has occurred.
After two decades in clinical practice, Monique founded 'The School of Integrative Somatic Psychotherapy' in 2020 where she offers post-graduate training and clinical supervision for professional Counsellors and Psychotherapists.
Monique is also passionate about providing appropriate therapeutic support for adult adoptees by promoting an understanding of the specialised nature of post-adoption counselling. In 2024, Monique intends to create and deliver online resources to support adult adoptees throughout their journey of self-discovery.
‘Adoptees Connect’, is a free monthly meeting for adult adoptees, is hosted and facilitated by Monique and her partner (also adopted), on the Sunshine Coast, Qld.
For more information about Monique’s work, you can check out her website here: www.moniquepangari.com
For more information on Adoptees Connect, you can email Monique at adopteesconnectsc@gmail.com
You don’t want to miss this interview - tune in and listen to her story.
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
In this episode I speak with Karin. Karin is a mother to two boys adopted from the Philippines and President of the Adoptive, Kinship and Fostering Families Association of the ACT known as AKKFFA. Karin believes it is important to find your community of people when it comes to adoption, fostering and kinship care.
Karin was previously a Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly, and uses her experience to work towards a better system for all families involved.
She is passionately learning the impacts of early life trauma and the effects on neurobiology and she shares that information with families through AKFFA and the adoption, fostering, kinship space.
Karin recently held a Trust Based Relational Intervention workshop known as TBRI at AKFFA and talks through various tools used to bring healing and well-being to children who come from hard places. TBRI is an attachment based trauma informed intervention designed by the Karyn Purvis Institute of child development focussing on 3 principles - Connecting, Correcting and Empowering.
I loved chatting with Karin on this one so let’s get into it!
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The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Hey everyone, I am excited to be sharing with you all today an interview I did recently with another fellow adoptee. This is my first international interview from our neighbouring country New Zealand. I will be speaking with Jan, Jan is a 69 Yr old wife, mother and step mother. So she has 6 children and 11 grandchildren and lives in a quiet seaside village. Her adoption experience with her adoptive family has been very positive however she has always been curious about her birth family. She had always thought that she was part of a big family and it wasn’t until she searched for her birth family did Jan find out she was the eldest of 10. Her journey of meeting and getting to know all the family has taken years but she has found the experience very rewarding and is not over for Jan as she has yet to reconnect with one of her brothers.
Tune in to listen to this incredible story.
In this episode I chat with Elizabeth. Liz is a mother to children through both adoption and foster care. Her background is in social work and training where Liz has trained and assessed foster carers in preparation for children joining their families through ACT child and Youth protection services.
She has also taught and assessed students when studying to become youth, mental health and drug alcohol workers.
A former Vice President of the Canberra based Adoptive Families Association and contributed to establishing an annual teen camp for young adoptees, where she has facilitated support groups for parents of adopted teenagers. Liz is currently working in the adoption, out of home care, therapeutic parenting space.
Lets get into it.
In this episode I speak with Sandra.
Sandra is a baby boomer, born in 1949, grew up with her parents and brother and surrounded by her fathers English family in a small town. Sandra left school at age 15, became a shorthand typist and fell in love. Soon after the relationship blossomed, Sandra fell pregnant at 15 which was disapproved of by her family.
Sandra and Kevin went on to face enormous challenges and struggles, being a young unmarried pregnant teen in a conservative family environment in the 1960’s.
During her pregnancy and into the first few months of her son, Tony’s life, Kevin remained a steadfast and supportive partner. Sandra and Kevin became newlyweds after the birth to ensure their commitment to each other, however the odds of remaining together were stacked against them.
A few months into their marriage, Sandra and Kevin seperarted, Sandra moved back in with her parents, and when that didn’t work, she made the toughest decision any mother had to face.
Tony was adopted at 16 months.
This episode focusses on the supportive men for their partners during these pregnancies. Sandra would like to tell the story of her sons’ birthfather in support of birth Dads.
Margaret holds a Bachelor of Arts ( Welfare Studies) and a Certificate of Somatic Psychotherapy. Margaret has worked in community justice, social welfare ,human rights advocacy, disability and health services, as a Tribunal Member on NSW and Qld disability Tribunals. During the past 10 years, Margaret continues to work as a Counsellor, Advanced Practitioner for Post Adoption Resource Centre in NSW, Australia.
Margaret learned for the first time of her adoption at age 40. This was a traumatic life event, leading Margaret to immerse herself in successful searches and reunion with biological family. Margaret is passionate and committed to working with all parties impacted by adoption , encouraging clients to develop and grow away from the “false self” created by adoption and to understand and educate themselves on the impact of adoption trauma.
Margaret enjoys time in nature, swimming, body surfing, reading, meditation, music, arts , time with family and friends, good food and good Prosecco. Here is her story.
Today I will be talking with Kate. A Gestalt and Family Constellations Psychotherapist, Shamanic Bodyworker, Yoga Teacher, Sacred Ceremony Facilitator and has an online learning academy called, The Black Cockatoo School.
Gestalt is a non-pathologizing and humanistic modality that pays regard to a person in their wider field. It utilises the body in the present moment to process any unfinished traumas, emotions and narratives that may be hindering one's life. Her work is about bridging the gaps between research and real life, healing and present moment practice.
Lets Get Into It!
Today in episode 11, I will be interviewing Marcus for a Q&A session about his role as team leader for a permanency support program in NSW.
Marcus has been working in the social welfare sector for over 12 years and is currently working with the most vulnerable children in out of home care (Oohc).
Lets get into it!
Today I speak with Sarah, the Founder of care bags and Chair of the Care Bags - because children in care matter committee. Sarah is a mum of two and been a social worker for over 15 years.
Throughout her career, She has seen first-hand the impact of children entering foster care and has always wanted to do something tangible to make this challenging time a little bit easier.
Thank you for tuning in to this special episode with Sarah and the care bags mission to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children in care and at risk within Western Australia.
In this episode I sit down with Felicity Graham, a 19-year old advocate for children and carers in the foster care system in South Australia. She is an author of the book titled 'Not Held Down' that she wrote at 15, sharing her perspective and experiences of growing up in state care. Felicity sheds some light on what the foster care system is really like from a child’s perspective, an experience that is often left unspoken or ignored, and hopes to give a voice to all those foster children out there who feel silenced and misunderstood.
Please note that in this episode self-harm and suicidality and their contributing factors are discussed and may have a triggering effect. If you experience emotional distress as a result of listening, please reach out to someone you trust and/or call Lifeline on 13 11 14 at any time. If life is in danger please call 000.
If you would like to reach out to Felicity to access her book or support her further you can find her on Instagram called fostering change Australia or you can order her book online - Not Held Down by Felicity Graham.
Today I'm speaking with Dara Read, a lawyer and writer. Dara has worked as a lawyer for children and adults in NSW and the Northern Territory. She has also worked as a policy advisor to the NSW Government, including as a Senior Ministerial Advisor to the Attorney General of NSW and Minister for Family and Community Services.
Dara's written a children's picture book, "We love you Hundreds and Thousands", which is a window into the life of Jasmine, who loves birthday parties, and the special bond between a child and their foster or adoptive parents. Like Jasmine, Dara is adopted and is here today to share her story and her thoughts on why stories about adoption in books, on podcasts and in our communities is important.
Dara is currently working at the Department of Communities and Justice on close the gap outcomes for Aboriginal adults and young people in the justice system.
Today you will listen to Miguels journey as an adoptive father. Born in South America he then travelled to Australia where he and his wife settled and were ready to start a family. He talks about the comprehensive process of the adoption application, first meetings and visits, the transition period and key indicators in building attachment and developing a bond. He also shares how he had to relearn positive parenting strategies that weren’t necessarily based on his own personal experiences.
Kat wrote her adoption story in 2020 and shares it with us in this episode. Born in August, 1971, her story begins from age 2 and a half in 1973. Kat incredibly accesses some of her earliest memories, recalling a series of significant events, experiences and emotions that extend into her teenage years and adult life. The world she grew up in was a safe and loving environment however throughout her life she always felt a part of her was fragmented and unknown, and her struggle with identity led her on a prolonged search to find her biological mother and father. Kat’s powerful and detailed recollection of her life explores her biology, health, ancestry and the complex pathway that led her to uncovering some deep emotional truths.
In todays episode I speak with Andrea who is a foster care mother to four children. She talks openly and honestly about her experiences in the foster care program over 10 years. We look closely at her story with their eldest boy that she and husband Paul have cared for since 16 months old. It is a rollercoaster of challenges and emotions and the space is still "inconclusive" in finalising his adoption.
In todays episode we speak to Matt Young, who, with his partner Peter, adopted 2 young boys. We speak about the hurdles they faced along the way to being the first male same-sex couple in NSW to adopt their non-biological children, and to have that reflected on their children's birth certificates.
In today's episode I speak with Alex who discovers as an adult that her mother, Julie, was adopted. It is a story of their positive experiences spanning 3 generations.
Liz shares her story of adopting a third child into the family after having two sons naturally.
To start the series, i am putting myself in the interview seat to talk about my experience with adoption. I am interviewed by Gabriella Mascelli Mcgrail.