Episode
The Girl I Am: Identity, Adoption, and Who Tells the Story with Shannon Gibney
- Podcast
- Fostering Change
- Published
- Jun 9, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 975
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://youtu.be/k8YuD5iw_uE
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Summary
Who gets to tell the story of adoption? For generations, adoption narratives have often been shaped by agencies, systems, and families. But increasingly, adoptees themselves are taking ownership of those stories and offering perspectives that are more complex, nuanced, and deeply personal. This week on Fostering Change, Rob Scheer is joined by acclaimed author, educator, and activist Shannon Gibney, whose award-winning memoir, The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be, explores transracial adoption, identity, race, belonging, and the lifelong process of understanding where we come from. As an adoptee, Shannon brings lived experience to a conversation that challenges assumptions and invites listeners to think more deeply about identity, voice, and perspective. Together, Rob and Shannon explore how adoption stories evolve over time, why adoptee voices matter, and what it means to reclaim ownership of one's own narrative. This is not a conversation about simple answers. It's a conversation about listening, understanding, and making space for experiences that have too often been left out of the discussion. Conversation Highlights How adoption narratives are evolving to include more adoptee-centered perspectives The unique complexities of transracial adoption and identity formation Why race, culture, and belonging remain important parts of the adoption conversation How Shannon uses "speculative memoir" to explore memory, identity, and possibility What it means for adoptees to reclaim and tell their own stories Why listening to lived experience strengthens conversations about adoption and foster care About Shannon Gibney Shannon Gibney is an award-winning writer, educator, and activist whose work explores race, identity, family, and adoption. She is the author of several acclaim…