In this episode of The Empowered Adoptee Podcast, we’re joined by Zack Fraser, a Korean American adoptee and board member of the Association of Korean Adoptees San Francisco (AKASF), for a thoughtful conversation on identity, belonging, and coming home to yourself.

Zack shares about his 10 years living in Korea, where he worked in private education and architecture while navigating the complexities of being both a foreigner and someone deeply connected to the culture.

Now back in California, a new father, and stepping into community leadership, Zack reflects on how his experiences have shaped his sense of identity and purpose and his desire to support other adoptees.

In this episode, we explore:

• Living in Korea as a Korean adoptee
• Navigating identity across cultures
• Redefining belonging
• Finding purpose through community

A grounded and honest conversation about what it means to reclaim parts of yourself and move toward wholeness.

To connect and learn more about local events, visit the Association of Korean Adoptees San Francisco (AKASF) website.

https://www.akasf.org/

To connect with Zack:

zgfraser@gmail.com

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

Support the show

laurie@theempoweredadoptee.com

claire@theempoweredadoptee.com

In this powerful and deeply moving episode of The Empowered Adoptee Podcast, we sit down with Sasha Frugone, a transpersonal empowerment coach, motivational speaker, and published author who helps people shift trauma-driven patterns so they feel safer in their bodies, clearer in their choices, and more connected in their relationships.

Born in Seoul, Korea, and adopted into a German-American Pentecostal family in Kansas in 1957, Sasha shares her story with raw honesty and remarkable wisdom. She walks us through what it was like to arrive in the U.S. at age three carrying the weight of early loss, only to be raised inside a family system steeped in rigid religious beliefs, racism, and abuse. Sasha opens up about the erasure of her Korean identity, the shame she wore "like a coat I couldn't take off," her teenage suicide attempt, her time in the state mental hospital, and the moment she realized her death was not even in her own power.

But this is also a story of profound transformation. Sasha describes the therapists, books, and unexpected teachers who guided her into inner child work, present-moment consciousness, somatic awareness, and visualization — the three pillars that became the foundation of her healing and her coaching practice today. She shares how she learned to see her younger self not as broken, but as brilliant — a child who creatively and courageously found ways to survive.

Content Warning: This episode contains candid discussion of childhood sexual abuse, suicide and a suicide attempt, religious trauma, racism, and physical abuse. Please listen with care and protect your nervous system — pause, skip, or come back to this episode when you feel resourced and supported. If you are struggling, you are not alone. In the U.S., you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, and RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). Your wellbeing comes first. 💜

In this episode, we explore:

• Why traditional talk therapy didn't work for Sasha, and what finally did
• The lifelong impact of being adopted as "a solution" rather than welcomed as a family member
• The loss of Korean identity and the painful journey of trying to be white
• Inner child work and the power of separating the adult self from the wounded child
• Present-moment consciousness as a daily practice
• Visualization as a tool for healing the body and changing what feels possible
• The reframing tool that still makes us laugh ("maybe they just have to fart")
• Why our coping mechanisms are tools — not flaws — and how to choose which ones to keep
• Grandmother Mago and the call to the children of the stars to come and heal
• A tender and crucial message for survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Sasha leaves us with a reminder that healing is not linear, that we don't need to relive our trauma to release it, and that the parts of us that learned to survive deserve admiration, not shame.

If anything in this conversation resonates with you, we encourage you to reach out to Sasha — and to keep coming back to your own healing, one present moment at a time.

Resources mentioned:

Somatic Breathwork Daily Practice:

https://www.somaticbreathwork.com/thank-you-free-daily-practice-page

Get in touch with Sasha Frugone:

coachingbysasha@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/sasha.frugone

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

Support the show

laurie@theempoweredadoptee.com

claire@theempoweredadoptee.com

Laurie and Claire dive deep into the anatomy of a trigger, reframing it from a moment of suffering into a sacred invitation for self-reflection and healing. They get personal about the challenges of navigating white adoptive families who gaslight lived experiences and the deep biological disconnect of growing up without genetic mirroring. Plus, don't miss a "mind-blowing" discussion on how hormones like estrogen impact our tendency to people-please and why perimenopause might actually be an adoptee’s secret weapon for reclaiming autonomy.

Whether you are trying to hold onto your center during a triggering phone call with your family or looking for tools to heal a "festering" emotional wound, this episode offers a roadmap for becoming your own inner healer.

Key Takeaways

• Triggers as Invitations: Learn to see a trigger not as an attack, but as a mirror reflecting a "blind spot" or a "festering wound" that is finally ready for your own attention, curiosity, and compassion.
• The Power of Boundaries: Discover why setting a boundary isn't about shutting people out; it’s about protecting your inner peace so you can show up as your authentic self on your own terms.
• The "People-Pleasing Hormone" Reframe: A fascinating look at how declining estrogen in perimenopause and menopause can lead to a newfound sense of autonomy and the strength to stop "giving fucks" about external approval.
• The Biological Disconnect: Addressing the specific grief of transracial adoptees navigating significant bodily changes—from puberty to menopause—without the guidance or mirroring of biological kin.
• Jeong & Community Healing: The power of communal love and the emotional glue or "jeong" found in shared experiences, like the kitchen duty at Plum Village or the Empowered Adoptee retreats.

If this episode resonates, we invite you to listen with curiosity and compassion and maybe ask yourself:

Where in my life am I running from my triggers? Are they stealing my peace?

We want to invite you to lean in. Treat that trigger like a sacred guest—a mirror showing you exactly where you are ready to heal.

Your story matters. If you’d like to connect or share your adoptee journey, we’d be honored to hear from you.

Email us at: hello@theempoweredadoptee.com

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

Support the show

laurie@theempoweredadoptee.com

claire@theempoweredadoptee.com