Chris Valdheims is a domestic adoptee born in the late 1970s and adopted in the early 1980s after spending years of his early childhood in foster care. Growing up, he knew very little about his birth family other than his mother and father had met while she worked as a librarian at MIT. He also knew his father was Black, and his mother had immigrated to the United States from Latvia. He spent years searching for answers about his family of origin, and in 2009, he stumbled upon a complex story that involved his grandfather, a then-unknown geometric artist named Zanis Waldheims.
Following the trail from there, he began to unravel the mystery of his family history and, in the process, learn more about himself and where he had come from. His journey took him to Canada, Germany, Latvia, and Lithuania for answers, and he shares the story in a recently completed memoir for which he is currently seeking the right publishing partner. Along the way, he discovered that his father may have been one of the astronauts killed in the 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle disaster.
He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons and is the founder of a well-known law firm, Counsel for Creators.
Chris Valdheims on Instagram.
To skip ahead to the interview go to timestamp: 18:29
Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood, by Gretchen Sisson
S12F Helping Adoptees
Gregory Luce and Adoptees Rights Law
Joe Soll & other adoptee resources
Fireside Adoptees Facebook Group
Reckoning with the Primal Wound Documentary
If you want to support our show, visit our Patreon Page.
Thank you to our Patreons! Join at the $10 level and be part of our monthly Zoom adoptee community.
Our Patrons: Laura Christensen, Barbara Frank, Ramona Evans, Linda Pevac, Blonde Records, Daphne Keys, Denise Hewitt, Michelle Styles, Emily Sinagra, Linda David, John Frey, Eric David, Beth Figuls, Ron Schneider, Tony Corsentino, Kristi Reed, Kristen Steinhilber, Jane Bofenkamp, Kelley Brickfield, Sandra de Quesada, The Harpy, Kristan Higgin, Lisa Thompson, Michelle Goodwine, Jesper Laursen, Julie Malone, Rivi Shocket , Robert Perrino, Colleen McCall, Janet MacDonald, Robin Wells, Lynn Grubb, Mikki Jackson-Brown, Sharon Katzmann, Carol Levitt, Elizabeth McDonald, Diane Moore, Ann Mikeska, Darra Robins, A.M. Homes, Kelly Layton, Lynn Marie, Lynn Wood, Jeff Wadstrom, Karla, Ellen Ashcraft, Gayle Whitlock, Dave, Kim Mullis, Simone Jung,
Liesl de Wet and Kelly Jennings.
To support the show - Patreon.