An Honestly Beautiful Conversation
Search for the best adoption podcasts, and you'll find The Honestly Adoption Podcast at the top of many lists. When Jayne and I were invited to come talk about Adoptionly Yours greeting cards and launching a labor of love into the heart of a pandemic, we found out firsthand why this show is so highly regarded. Hosts Mike and Kristin Berry speak and listen in ways that invite honest conversation and open up hopeful, helpful insight for parents who want to do the best we can for our children. This husband and wife, who have fostered and are parents to eight children through adoption, walk their talk. Unafraid to unravel the complexities of the adoption or foster journey, exuding warmth and genuine enthusiasm, Mike and Kristin took us from the origins of a unique card line to the power of listening and being seen, and into the deepest beauty and difficulty of loss and love.
Listen in... Honestly Adoption Podcast: How To Brighten The World With The Love Of Adoption
Some highlights...
...you describe the adoption journey as one of wonder and waiting, and loss and togetherness, which absolutely I love that you guys acknowledge those complexities of adoption and foster care because often times there is a beauty with this journey, but sometimes the difficulties are kind of glossed over... ~ Mike
...an adoptive mom and a birth mom are there together in one of life’s most beautiful experiences; you don’t walk away from that without keeping each other in your heart. ~ Stacy
... one of our conversations was the first time she talked about herself as an adoptee... the beauty of that was now she had a conversation to have with the people who loved her. ~ Jayne
...it’s so important we listen to our children, the whole thing, the good stuff, the hard stuff, the sad stuff, and that we have a space to hold that with our children, that they know we are strong enough to handle any part of their story, that we’re strong enough as the adults to handle and lead the way in the uniqueness of our families, and I love that you are doing that through writing and through art. ~ Kristin
... Jayne sees the world as an artist does...in images...and I see the world as a writer... in language... and so we are naturally prone to listen and to hear and to try to give voice and beauty to whatever is being said, even if that beauty is something that’s difficult. ~ Stacy
...cards that are universal...sometimes single parents adopt, sometimes two dads, two moms... all sorts of different situations, so we create cards for those moments that already exist in the world... ~ Jayne
... our kids, our child’s biological parents, another adoptive family, a caseworker, someone in our support group could open a greeting card like this and say, ‘wow, somebody really thought of me, and this card reflects who I am’. ~ Kristin
... we have 100 cards... and it is only the very, very small beginning of what needs to be said, and what needs to be heard, and what needs to be shared. ~ Stacy
... this is life, this is the journey that we are on. Our family may look different than the family next door, but we’re a family, these are our children. ~ Mike