Kate shared her story after a period of soul searching and faith to gather the courage. I was so pleased to hear from her again after nearly 4 years . she was ready to share .

It takes a tremendous amount of courage to share our story of loss as a birth/first/natural mother .

The trauma is real and our body keeps the score even if we don’t .

Kate allowed her love for her son to overshadow any disappointment .

Kate occupies two spaces in the adoption constellation as an adoptee and a birth mom.

Listen to her share her story and the path towards Grace and Healing that she is on and encourages others to join her.

We talked with Tara, a good friend and birth/first mother who shares her story of facing the dilemma of her teenage pregnancy and deciding her path .

Tara shared about her fear of telling her parents and her denial after the first pregnancy test. Tara found a friend and confidante who was there for her to give her encouragement and support .

In the 1990s, Mother-Baby homes were prevalent, and Tara found her voice to make her own decision.

Over the years, Tara described how she communicated with her son through their open adoption.

Tara and I shared about the imagined fear of the ‘ evil birth/first mother ‘ that “ Society ” feared would snatch their child from the adoptive families.

These emotions of leaving a ‘ piece of our heart ‘ with our children is “Real “,

Tara talked about disenfranchised fear and the ambiguous loss which many people ‘ outside’ of the adoption constellation simply don’t understand .

Tara is on her “ Path to Healing “

We celebrated BMRT 5th Anniversary at the 2026 National Council for Adoption Conference in Washington, Dc.

After 5 emotional, powerful impactful years talking to Birth/First/Natural Mothers sharing their stories has been a Healing Place of Grace. Some women have told ‘ their secret after 20, 30, 40, 50 years. Thank you for trusting me with your story .

We had the opportunity to meet fellow advocates for unsealing OBC , Rebecca in the Fight and Win in Virginia this year after many years. YES, Virginia is now pen effective July 1, 2026, for adult adoptees to receive their original birth certificate ( OBC) .

We talked about “ THEY” spoke for moms not wanting to have OBC because of the shame and forgetting about their child. We think of our children every day in one way or another just like parents who raised their children.

Rebecca talked about her journey as an adoptee and a birth/first/natural mother. She shares her unique perspective of navigating life and is now serving the adoption community as a social worker.

We talked about our experience at the NCFA and hearing comments that were somewhat disturbing at the same time knowing that our voices needed to be hard in these rooms

I spoke openly in a full ballroom that “ GOTCHA “ day celebration for adoptive family is “ LOSTYOU Day grief for first/birth/natural families .

There was an audible ‘GASP in the room . Maybe someone realized this truth for the first time . Let’s hope it did. .

Rebecca shared powerful words of “it is not the responsibility of birth/first/natural mother to heal the trauma of an adoptive family .

Adoption must ALWAYS be about the child..

The REAL Talk of this episode

“Everyone has to Do their Work to Heal “