1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 300 600 Join co-hosts, adoption coaches, and triad members Kim Noeth, a birth mom, Sally Ankerfelt, an adoptive parent, and Sharon Butler-Obazee, an adoptee as they continue to revisit some special guests over the last year. In each episode, your hosts are committed to looking at the adoption system from the perspective of the triad: from the adoptee, who is the center of the triad, from the birth parent, and from the adoptive parent. This episode is especially poignant with heartfelt, vulnerable sharing from hosts and their guests. It is not always easy to deal with the grief and loss that adoption brings ... so why is it important that we try? This episode focuses on an important adoption attunement element: Acknowledge the grief and loss of all adoption constellation members. Learn more about your ADOPTION MATTERS' hosts and their ICF-approved course, the Adoption Attuned Coaching Certification Program, at www.giftfamilyservices.com. Let's meet our featured special guests for this episode: Sharon Stein McNamara, Ed. D., L.P. has been been practicing as a psychologist since 1991 when she graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and did her internship in cognitive behavioral psychology at McLean Hospital, affiliated with the Harvard Medical School. In addition to this, she is was adopted as an infant and have been studying the effects of adoption on families for over 20 years. Learn more about Sharon McNamara and her work here: www.sharonsteinmcnamara.com Marcie Keithley: Marcie is an author, advocate for genetic rights, speaker, master storyteller and co-founder of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP). She retired as Vice President of Retail Bank Management and Merrill Lynch after serving the financial industry for over 32 years. She and her birth daughter, Jessica, were reunited on Father's Day in 2008. Marcie has written, The Shoebox Effect and Transforming Pain Into Fortitude and Purpose and currently is working on her next memoir, Beautifully Broken, Diary of an NPE, A DNA Surprise. Marcie is also the 2025 recipient of the Growing Intentional Families Together Shaping the Future Award. Learn more about Marcie and her work here: https://naapunited.org/about Linda R. Sexton: A pathfinder as one of three woman in her engineering class, she then became a pathfinder in the world of open adoption. She is a retired fortune 100 company executive and world business traveler, and after her 37-year career in the energy industry, has now turned to her greater passion of educating on the largely unknown subject of open adoption. Her book, The Branches We Cherish, An Open Adoption Memoir, has garnered the RPLA Unpublished Nonfiction Education GOLD Winner, RPLA Unpublished Book of the Year Second Runner-Up, and the Writers' League of Texas Top 5 General Nonfiction Finalist. Linda is a true champion of honesty and transparency for adoptees. Learn more about Linda R. Sexton here: https://www.lindarsexton.com/the-branches-we-cherish Elizabeth Barbour: Elizabeth is an adopted person living in reunion with her birth family and 11(!) siblings as well as an adoptive mom. She’s the author of the best selling and award winning, &quot;Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life's Milestone Transitions&quot; and &quot;Smart Self-Care for Busy Women&quot; and co-author of &quot;Faces of Grief: Stories of Putting the Pieces Back Together.&quot; She’s presently writing her next book about building thriving relationships in adoption reunion, something she knows a little something about! Learn more about Elizabeth Barbour and her work here: https://elizabethbarbour.com/ ADOPTION MATTERS: Real People, Real Life, Real Talk http://sites.libsyn.com/510928 <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/41357080/height/300/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="300" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/item/41357080