“ The Story Still Being Written: Adoption, Addiction, and Purpose” with Donna Pope

In this deeply personal episode of the Get Unhooked Podcast, Jason Coombs sits down with Donna Pope, Executive Director of Heart to Heart Adoptions and an adoption advocate with more than 25 years of experience.

Together, they explore the rarely discussed intersection of adoption, addiction, and purpose through both professional insight and lived experience. Jason shares his perspective as a birth father in long-term recovery, opens up about his son Nathan, and reflects on the meaning that can grow from a story still being written.

This conversation is honest, emotional, and full of hope for birth parents, adoptive families, and anyone navigating recovery.

In this episode:

• [01:00] Jason introduces Donna Pope and shares why adoption is central to both his life story and recovery story
• [03:00] The Venn diagram of purpose, adoption, and addiction
• [07:45] Donna’s origin story and the beginning of Heart to Heart Adoptions
• [09:01] Monica’s story: addiction, placement, jail, faith, and extraordinary recovery
• [15:42] Josh’s pivotal question: why was he placed for adoption, but not his older brother?
• [21:35] How common addiction is in adoption stories
• [25:27] Nature, environment, and whether substance use disorder gets passed on
• [30:58] Why attachment is at the heart of both adoption and healing
• [33:10] The painful decision to send a 17-year-old to residential treatment
• [37:23] The response from Donna’s brother that changed everything
• [38:01] Where to follow Donna’s work and what’s coming with Adoptions.com

Key themes from this episode:

• The rarely heard voice of the birth father
• Why voluntary placement can be an act of courage, not abandonment
• How recovery can reshape families across generations
• The questions adoptees carry and why honest conversations matter
• Why attachment and consistent presence matter so much in both adoption and recovery
• Hope for families walking through addiction, adoption, or both

Jason also reflects on what it has meant to remain present in Nathan’s life, and how adoption became part of the deeper story God used in his own recovery journey.

Connect with Donna Pope:

• Heart to Heart Adoptions: hearttoheartadoption.com
• Voices of Adoption Podcast
• Choosing Adoption
• Adoption Utah
• Eternal Family Adoptions
• Adoptions.com

Jason’s book Unhooked is available on Audible and Amazon.

Learn more about Brick House Recovery at www.brickhouserecovery.com.

Join Jason Coombs LIVE each week for tips and tricks and LIVE Q&A’s. Go to https://www.liveunhooked.com/live-unhooked. 

For information about treatment services visit https://www.brickhouserecovery.com/

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To learn more about the women’s retreat, Heart of a Woman:
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