Please jioin me and guest Dani Joy as we begin a conversation about deconstruction, about asking ourselves the hard questions and why doing so is so important. This is the first in a series of conversations with Dani and others about the intersection of adoption and religious trauma.

Dani Joy is a mother of loss to adoption who has been on a deconstruction journey from narratives about race, adoption and religion. You can hear more about Danis experience on an earlier episode of the podcast.

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/IbncUWObGKb

There are a number of resources available for people who are working to examine the beliefs they hold about the issues mentioned in the podcast. I encourage people to explore media being created by people of color, by adult adoptees and transracial and intercountry adopted people, by parents of loss to adoption, by former foster youth, and by former evangelicals and others who are challenging dominant historical and present day narratives.

I also encourage people to create support systems as you move forward. Questioning can be scary, but is ultimately rewarding. Humans like to exist in binary systems of thought, and to categorize people and experiences. Doing so evolved as a survival strategy in a different time. Existing in those spaces can be valuable if used in the right context. Utilizing those structures in other contexts can lead to a stifling of creativity and to disconnection with ourselves and with others.

Why Communication Matters | Psychology Today Being Antiracist | National Museum of African American History and Culture (si.edu) When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion - Kindle edition by Anderson, Laura E.. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. Transracial adoptees struggle to talk to their White parents about race - Washington Post Exvangelical (exvangelicalpodcast.com) the above resources are inadequate but a place to begin? Please visit The Adoption Files fb page and add links to resources that have helped you or others to navigate deconstruction.

Thank you for listening!