Best Damon L Davis Podcasts (2025)

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101 – This Is About Everybody 50:12

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4d ago50:12

50:12

In Debby’s home adoption was an open topic because she was fostered by her grandparents and adopted by their daughter. Unfortunately, she wasn’t welcome as an adoptee by her adopted father and she and her family faced abuse by her stepfather. In reunion Debby found out her birth parents tried to stay together and she has full blood siblings. But he…

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106 – Beautiful Truth 45:38

11d ago45:38

45:38

For Shelby, growing up as a Korean adoptee left her feeling “othered” as she didn’t quite fit into her community. The Korean school her parents tried to raise her in wouldn’t accept her either. She was forced to live in between her culture and what Americans would or would not let her be. On a heritage trip to South Korea she experienced the heavy …

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261 - Born Without A Race 1:05:02

18d ago1:05:02

1:05:02

Sean from, Fishers, Indiana, grew up the only person of color in his entire rural town. Yet his ethnicity was hidden from him by his adoptive mother. In Reunion, Sean finally met his birth mother, but realized he needed to establish a special boundary with her to protect his adopted children. Lacking mirroring all his life, Sean finally heard one …

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260 - Il Mio Posto a Tavola (My Place at the Table) 1:01:15

1M ago1:01:15

1:01:15

Santo, from Redding, PA, grew up knowing he was adopted, and that his family could have also adopted his siblings from Italy. As an adult, when a friend's wedding took him to Spain, he arrived early to make the long drive across Europe to northern Italy to be face to face with his birth mother. Santo and his team made a documentary about his life …

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259 - The Innocent People Project 1:03:22

1M ago1:03:22

1:03:22

Jeff, from southern California, grew up with the knowledge of and separation anxiety about his adoption. In reunion, he found his birth mother who mirrored his looks, but who has pushed the boundaries of their relationship, and a birth father who is simply not his type of guy. Jeff is the inspirational photographer behind the adoptee focused inno…

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258 - Twice the Family 54:48

2M ago54:48

54:48

Julie from Chicago, Illinois is rare in the world of adoption because she wasn't adopted alone. She and her identical twin sister were placed together, secure in their sense of family. The twins never sought adoption reunion until health concerns emerged for Julie in adulthood. Julie describes the initial rejection of her first mother, the misiden…

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257 - Unjustified Rejection 1:17:36

2M ago1:17:36

1:17:36

Melissa, who called me from Harrison, Arkansas, says she always felt chosen and grateful for her adoption. But after decades of peace with her origin story, something shifted. A small-town newspaper article, a newborn daughter, and an aging parent all conspired to push her toward a search. When the time was finally right—when a DNA match opened the…

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256 - I'm Not The Finished Package 47:20

2M ago47:20

47:20

Ryan, from Edinburgh, Scotland, grew up ashamed of his Moroccan heritage and faced bullying due to his background and religion. At 18, a letter from his mother revealed his adoption, shaking his world and leading him to hide the truth for 13 years. Ryan struggled with depression, substance abuse, and a pervasive sense of otherness. Eventually Ryan …

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255 - This Is Me, But Why Is It Me? 47:47

2M ago47:47

47:47

Katie was adopted from China as a baby and raised in a predominantly white suburb south of Boston. Her adoptive family gave her a life full of opportunity—but as she grew older, the distance between who she was and the world around her only deepened. In this episode, Katie shares how her search for identity has expanded beyond finding her birth par…

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254 - I Do Not Want My DNA In Their System 42:55

2M ago42:55

42:55

George grew up in Soviet Georgia knowing he was different—both visibly and emotionally—in a society where adoption and his sexuality were dangerous secrets. He spent his early life navigating fear, hiding truths, and surviving systems designed to silence him. When a search angel from Russia responded to a single Facebook post, everything changed. G…

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253 - The Veteran Community Helped Me Save Myself 46:14

3M ago46:14

46:14

Forrest's life began in chaos, abuse, and danger at home and in the foster care system. Forest says he joined the military to make an honorable exit from this life and shares the moment he found his calling as a tattoo artist to his brothers in Iraq. But when Fort decided to get his passport, the process revealed that he had been adopted by a devi…

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252 - Stoicism and Radical Acceptance 49:18

3M ago49:18

49:18

Raised in the mountains of the midwest, Misty endured neglect and abuse when she was a child. She took matters into her own hands to separate from her family, survived a period in foster care, then was adopted by her extended family. Misty, was forced to learn what life should be like in a properly functioning family while unlearning what she had …

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251 - Adult-Adoptees.com, Dr. Amy Geller 51:30

3M ago51:30

51:30

Dr. Amy Geller, from Wykoff New Jersey, had had an idyllic adopted life as the youngest child and the only girl in her family. But an accidental discovery put her in front of her adoptive parents facing an uncomfortable situation and feelings she chose to bury. As a young adult, Amy was found by her birth mother, found herself angered by the intru…

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119 – Refined By Fire 59:15

3M ago59:15

59:15

Tezita (te zi TA) called me from Sacramento, CA, but she tells a harrowing story that originates in Ethiopia. Tezita’s adopted family had many other international adoptees, but she was singled out for solitary confinement. She was sent back to her homeland where she thrived mentally in a boarding school away from her adopters. When she returned she…

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113 – I Was Loved Everyday By People I Didn’t Know 48:18

4M ago48:18

48:18

Carrie called me from Lynchburg, Virginia. In her journey you’ll hear her talk about the moment she realized she was found, and how she was in contact with her birth parents at the same time one the same day. Carrie talks about two amazing reunions: one where she got to see her birth mother in competition, the other where she got to meet her matern…

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103 – Fixing The Fates 52:54

4M ago52:54

52:54

Diane called me from St. Petersburg, Florida, but her’s is a story that originated in Germany. Diane tells the story of her parents wanting to form a family with her, but her grandmother frequently talking about her adoption such that no one could ever move on. On a trip back to Germany, Diane stood in the orphanage where her story originated, but …

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108 – On The Outside Is Where I’ve Always Been 33:09

4M ago33:09

33:09

Pam, from Emeryville, CA, told me her desire to search started when she was a kid, but it was Oregon’s laws that changed everything for her search. When she met her birthmother she encountered a woman who couldn’t relay the details of her past, leaving Pam with only her paternal side of the story. He says that what is alleged against him is not tru…

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085 – A Bad Truth Is Better Than A Good Lie 1:16:57

5M ago1:16:57

1:16:57

After the adoptive father she loved so much died, Alison learned her birth father, Tim, was looking for her and she took it as a good sign of things to come. Sadly she found herself disappointed in him, and later in her birth mother, Jean, whom he contacted without telling her. Alison had no idea her birthmother struggled with mental illness, so th…

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126 – Welcome Home 44:26

5M ago44:26

44:26

Andrew lives in Murphy, Oregon, near Grant’s Pass but his is an east coast story. Andrew grew up kinda feeling like an odd man out in his family, not fitting his parents ideas of who he would be. In an amazing coincidence, his pen pal relationship with an elementary school class was key to unlocking his adoption reunion search. The open road took h…

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110 – We’ve Wanted This Our Whole Lives 50:15

5M ago50:15

50:15

Jessica is a rare native, born and raised, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She shares how she found her biological relatives through DNA testing despite her best attempts to get information from the Mormon church, an entity focused on global genealogy. Jessica discovered she looks like her birth families and has similar traits to them. But Jessica also learn…

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095 – I Tested Her To See If She’d Give Up 46:07

5M ago46:07

46:07

Laura called me via Skype, would you believe, from Falkirk Scotland. Laura told the story of her childhood knowledge that she might have siblings out in the world, and her quest to meet them. When she met her biological mother things started slowly as Laura tested the woman to make sure she wasn’t going to leave again — and she didn’t — then she di…

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109 – You Can’t Change The Past 39:48

6M ago39:48

39:48

Dan has barely told anyone the his whole story until this episode. He shared that he was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) as an infant. Then his son's rare medical condition and his wife’s ability to share her heredity while he could not was a catalyst for his search. Dan is thankful for the warm welcome he’s received in his paternal fami…

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083 – An Unbelievable Emotional Roller Coaster For Me 41:16

6M ago41:16

41:16

Before becoming an adoptee advocate Rich was searching for his own identity. As a child, his older adopted sister vengefully told him their mom wasn’t his real mother. It made him wonder who the other woman could be. When he was in college, his adoptive parents gave him an envelope of non-identifying information. Many years later they handed him an…

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099 – We Were Both Missing Something In Our Lives 56:12

6M ago56:12

56:12

Joseph is a really outdoorsy guy who lives in Edmonds, Washington, about 30 minutes north of Seattle. He likes mountain biking, trail running, camping and skiing. Joseph grew up in a family of several children, some biological, and one other adoptee you might already know. He told me that he never could have pinpointed what it was, but he always se…