Who better to launch with than the woman who helped me track down my father?
Adoptee rights advocate and search angel extraordinaire Annette O' Connell and I talk family searches, secondary rejection and the ecstasy of experiencing genetic mirroring.
Somehow I called her by her maiden name of Daly. Apologies!
Music by the inimitable Cassis Birgit Staudt.
Annette Daly-O’Connell (she/her) is a domestic adopted person born in NYC during the Baby Scoop Era.
Having been born Pre-Roe; she feels it is vital that the US not go back to a forced birth society.
She has been active in adoptee rights since 2014.
Annette is the spokesperson for the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition and is on the boards of Adoptees United, Inc. and Bastard Nation.
She works part-time for The Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York on the Communications Team and volunteers as a search angel
NYAdopteeRights.org • AdopteesUnited.org • AFFCNY.org • Bastards.org
This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Nothing stated on it, either by its hosts or any guests, is to be construed as psychological, medical or legal advice.
To make a one-time donation or become an ongoing patron:
https://www.patreon.com/secret_son
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1659085017
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/secret_son
Mike Personal Site: www.miketrupiano.com
Produced by: Trout Sound GbR Trupiano & Staudt copyright 2024
All rights reserved
Mike's motivation for creating Secret Son
Introducing Annette & discussion of how they know each other
They discuss Annette being Mike's search angel & her finding his dad's side of the family
Annette talks about the joys of being a search angel
Mike talks about his newly discovered paternal side of the family and how his half-siblings are telling him he needs to remain a secret
Annette talks about owning your own story and not assenting to the secrecy
Mike explains how his irritation with the mandated secrecy motivated him to start Secret Son
They discuss the taboo of talking openly about the challenges of being adopted and how Annette became more comfortable openly discussing it
Annette talks about her childhood, wanting to know her original name and making a big discovery in the attic
Her adoption agency tells Annette that her records were destroyed in a fire in the 80s
Thirteen years later, needing medical info for a medical procedure, her adoption agency tells Annette that her records were destroyed in a fire in the 90s
Annette discovers the online adoptee world
Annette journeys to the NY Public Library to scour the records looking for her birth info
Annette discusses finding info about her mother and extended family
They discuss patriarchy and misogyny and how adoption fits into that
Annette talks about how discovering her original name helped solidiy her identity
Mike shares how seeing physical similarities with his half-brother helps him with self-acceptance and identity
Annette on the important of genetic mirroring to the formation of identity
Annette on how adoptees, by being thrust into the alienating situation of a family of non-blood relatives, are forced to be shape shifters and actors
Annette on how our identities continue to consolidate the more we learn about our familiy history
