Blog Posts & Articles
I’ve been writing articles and blog posts here since 2007. See most recent or most popular posts below, or use this search box. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Ask me. I’m happy to help.
Recent Articles
Why & How to Be a Therapeutic Parent, with Adi Tilford
Adi Tilford is an adoptive parent and a Therapeutic Parent. She shares the whys and hows for you to become one, too.
Introducing Field Notes: an Adoptee Columnist!
Introducing a new column: Field Notes How can adoptive parents relay hard parts of their child’s story to them? Brad Ewell responds.
Dr Brad Reedy: What Adoptive Parents Need to Know about guilt, Shame, & Boundaries
Dr Brad Reedy on the heroic journeys all parents undertake, but especially adoptive parents. Insight on icky emotions and boundaries.
The Truth, the Whole Truth & Nothing But the Truth for Adoptees
What’s the fallout from a huge secret kept from you? Brad Ewell & Fred Nicora tell about discovering their adoption truth…finally.
Open Adoption Advice for Tricky Situations
Open Adoption is HARD (but worth it)
So many parents I’ve talked with are committed to openness in adoption because they understand how evolving from an Either/Or mindset to a BothAnd* heartset better serves everyone involved.
Regular old parenting can get tough, but add in emotionally-charged elements around adoption and things can get really hairy. No parenting guide can give all the answers, but once you know how to set your parenting GPS you’ll know how to find answers right for you in a particular situation.
* To emphasize the integrating of BothAnd, I deliberately do not use a hyphen.
Returning to the Well
Is This Weird?? My friend Crystal offered to have my children come play at her house for a few hours. Roger had been out of
To the Woman Who Longs to Be a Mom and Who Says “I Want a Closed Adoption”
I hear you when you say “I want a closed adoption.” I was there, too, and I had to unlearn a few things everyone “knows” about adoption.
Open Adoption Grid: Adding a Dimension to the Open Adoption Spectrum
Update 2021 Angela Tucker, Katie Biron, Kara Andersen and I have put together this 3-minute animated explainer video for the information below, which was first
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Social Media
Reader Favorites
A digest of readers’ (and my own!) favorite essays. Pull up a post and stay awhile.
Vignettes
Double Feature
Date Night Mishaps
The night my house broke up with me
A night with toddlers locked in my own personal panic room.
*thisclose*
My near-death experience, which went unnoticed by everyone else.
Judgy McJudgerson
A woman at a street festival bugs the crap out of me in a 3-part saga. Judgy much?
Love & Family
Mom badge
I earned it. Holy crap, did I earn it.
My one-and-only pregnancy photo
Paulie, me and Sunny D. Funny (in a take-back-the-infertility kind of way) because I was never really pregnant.
Family of origin of the species
This explains a lot.
Grant Us Peace
3 part harmony with my sisters