"I Am Here": A Conversation on Adoption, Heritage, and Cultural Identity 

How do we honor stories that some would prefer to erase? What does it take to raise children across racial lines in America? And how can art preserve what history tries to forget? 

In this episode of The Anna Jinja Show, we explore these profound questions with two guests whose personal and professional missions are deeply intertwined with heritage, justice, and belonging. 

The Anna Jinja Show brings together adoptees across generations for a powerful discussion on surviving—and thriving through—life's most difficult transitions

There's a moment in every young person's life when the world feels like it's consuming them whole. The pressure to fit in. The confusion about who you are. The rage at being different. For adoptees, these universal struggles carry an added weight.

Ell Pyle is a young adoptee, talented singer, and barista at Donkey Coffee. For this episode, members of the local band Basket Case prepared something special: they selected one of their own songs for Ell and recorded a message explaining why.

When an 11-Year-Old's Courage Inspires a Country Song  This episode will restore your faith in the next generation! 

Her story begins with heartbreak. When Saily was just 11, she experienced two consecutive days of racist bullying at her Des Moines school. A group of boys said things so hurtful that she broke down. Her mother, Rohey, received a call from the principal. Both mother and daughter were heartbroken. But what happened next is remarkable. 

You know those conversations that start in one place and end up somewhere completely unexpected—somewhere even more profound than you imagined? That's exactly what happened when the host, Anna Jinja, brought together Dan Smith (Cleveland Adoption Network's 2019 Volunteer of the Year) and Nashville singer-songwriter Milly Raccoon.

Picture this: You're driving to Cleveland to meet your girlfriend's new foster baby. You walk up the stairs, knock on the door, and when it opens, the two-month-old LEAPS from her arms into yours.  That's exactly what happened to Yvan Demosthenes 25 years ago. And it changed everything.  

What does Wi-Fi have to do with hope? 

Everything, as it turns out. 

Host Anna Jinja sits down with three incredible changemakers who are quite literally connecting foster youth to their futures. Laurie McKnight, Jeremy Jenkins, and Tim Henderson are bridging the gap between young people aging out of the foster system and life-changing careers in the broadband industry. 

Sometimes the most powerful episodes come from the most unexpected sources.  This week, we're thrilled to share a special episode guest-curated by 11-year-old musician Jack Healey. After his mother, Tara Huffman (Executive Director of Athens County CASA/GAL), appeared on our show, Jack volunteered to write a song and select guests for his own episode.  

Meet Jack's Guests: Gabe and Abby Miller Jack chose his 5th grade teacher, Gabe, and Gabe's wife, Abby—foster parents who have provided care for 15 children over three years. Their story challenges everything you might think you know about foster care.  

Sometimes the most beautiful stories begin with what looks like an accident. At 18, Rebecca Del Pozo applied for non-identifying information about her biological family - standard procedure for adoptees in Canada. What came back was supposed to be scrubbed of any identifying details. But someone forgot to remove one crucial piece: her biological mother's last name. That "mistake" led to a reunion that would heal two families and set Rebecca on a path to helping thousands of others discover their own worthiness.

FROM FOSTER CARE TO FATHER OF 10

Some songs are written to be heard. Others are written hoping they'll somehow travel through the airwaves to reach someone who may never know they exist.

Joe Toles wrote "Dreamin'" as the second kind - a lullaby from a boy in foster care to a mother he'd never met, hoping his voice might somehow find her across the distance and let her know he was thinking of her.

When Stories Become Data: How Two Researchers Are Uncovering the Transformative Power of Adoption Narratives

That's exactly what Dr. Melissa Rizzo and Dr. Joe Bianco are exploring in their new research project—a qualitative analysis of The Anna Jinja Show’s episodes focusing on adoption and foster care experiences.

Fostering Mentoring Program for Foster Youth & Bernhard Debatin

"Light and Shadow: Cooking Up Bright Futures for Foster Youth" It started with a simple question Tom Stevenson asked the host: "Do you remember a time when you made a dish for somebody, something really special that you were connected to? And then you shared that with someone else?" Anna Jinja told him about her love for baking: she brings chocolate chip cookies to those she asks for a favor, explaining that the secret ingredient is love—and who could possibly say no to a cookie baked with love?

Sharon Boyle & “Reunion Day” Poem

Sometimes the most profound stories are told in the simplest words. In this episode, Dr. Sharon Boyle shares not just her adoption journey, but the raw, beautiful poem she wrote one week after meeting her birth mother for the first time. 

"Reunion Day" begins: "I watched her like a silent movie and picture photograph, trying to memorize the way she spoke and the throaty way she laughs." Those words, written by a 25-year-old Sharon just days after a life-changing meeting, capture something universal about the human need for connection and recognition. 

Meet Dr. Sharon Boyle: Sharon is Ohio University's Associate Professor of Music Therapy and Director of Arts and Health - credentials that reflect a career built on understanding how creativity heals. But her professional expertise grew directly from personal experience: using writing and music as a teenager to process the loneliness and disconnection she felt as an adoptee. 

From Sleepless Nights to Healing: When Adoption Parenting Feels Impossible

"It's a very isolating life. You almost feel like you're not worthy, that you're the one doing everything wrong." - Liz Garcia

If you've ever found yourself lying awake at 3 AM wondering if you're failing as an adoptive parent, you're not alone. In our latest episode of The Anna Jinja Show, we dive deep into the raw reality of adoption - not just the beautiful moments, but the messy, complicated, heartbreaking parts that nobody talks about.

Full Circle, Full Moon: An Adoption Story 

How three remarkable women turned a foster-to-adopt journey into a song that celebrates the unexpected beauty of non-linear love  

In a world that often expects stories to follow straight lines, the latest episode of The Anna Jinja Show reminds us that the most beautiful narratives often move in circles – complete, perfect, and exactly as they should be.   

We are bouncing with excitement to share our latest episode featuring Lou Mei Gutsch - a master's student whose story is so uplifting, it should come with a happiness warning label! 

In this deeply moving episode, host Anna Jinja sits down with Anna Sheffield, a young adoptee from Iowa City, and her mother, Kristin Cotterell Sheffield, to explore the layers of identity, belonging, and love that define adoption.  

The conversation flows between mother and daughter perspectives—offering both honesty and tenderness—as they recount their family’s adoption journey, challenges of transracial adoption, and the resilience built through love, faith, and storytelling. Listeners will hear not just the story of adoption, but also universal reflections on attachment, identity, and what it means to be family.  

Finding Home in Two Worlds: Max's Journey from China to Minneapolis and Beyond: A Story of Courage, Identity, and Belonging  

What does it mean to belong when you're caught between two worlds? In this deeply moving episode of The Anna Jinja Show, host Anna Jinja sits down with Max, a Chinese-American adoptee whose story challenges everything we think we know about family, identity, and home.  

Adopted from Northern China at just 15 months old by a single mother in Detroit, Max grew up in Minneapolis navigating the complex terrain of being an international adoptee. But his journey took an even more courageous turn as he embraced his identity as a trans man, adding another layer to his already multifaceted experience of belonging.  

From Heartache to Hope
In our latest episode of The Anna Jinja Show, host Anna Jinja brings together three extraordinary voices for a conversation that will change how you think about adoption, family, and resilience.

Meet Lane Igoudin, the author whose memoir "A Family Maybe" chronicles his and partner Jonathan's journey through the Los Angeles County foster care system - the largest in the nation with 30,000 children. Lane's raw, honest account reveals the emotional rollercoaster of emergency placements, court battles, and the painful uncertainty that foster families endure.

Meet Rita Soronen, President and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation, who brings decades of expertise to explain why Lane's story matters and what needs to change in our child welfare system.

And meet Bruce Dalzell, the gifted musician who was so moved by Lane's story that he composed an original song titled "Future" - a haunting tribute to the universal experience of parenting and hope.

The moment that changes everything often looks ordinary. For Simon Benn, it was learning at age 40 that his childhood teddy bear came from his birth mother. "A volcano of anger erupted," he shared on The Anna Jinja Show. That moment launched him into a journey that would eventually help thousands of adoptees thrive. Now, Simon is asking for something that seems small but could create massive ripple effects: your 250 words.

What started as children visiting friends turned into something extraordinary. Linda Sistrunk and Lish Greiner never intended to become unofficial foster parents. But when children in their community needed safety, love, and stability, their home became a haven.