A Voice and Beyond
#223 Adoption, Love & Identity with Julie Melanson
What if you spent more than half a century knowing you were loved, but still wondering where you came from? For Julie Melanson, being adopted was never a secret. She grew up surrounded by family and love, yet questions about her biological identity remained part of her story. Then, at 51, Julie made the decision that would change her life: she went searching for her birth mother. And she found her. In this deeply moving episode of A Voice and Beyond , Julie shares the extraordinary story behind her memoir, Not Yours to Keep —a story of adoption, identity, belonging, motherhood, grief, courage, and the complicated emotions that can accompany discovering where we come from. Julie takes us inside the moment she finally connected with her birth mother and heard the words that changed everything: her mother had been looking for her too. What followed was an opportunity Julie could once only have imagined—the chance to know her biological mother, connect with birth siblings, discover extraordinary similarities within her biological family, and begin filling in pieces of her own identity. But this isn't simply a story about finding a birth mother. In this conversation we explore: The emotional risks involved in searching for biological family What it feels like to recognise yourself in people you've only just met Nature, nurture and the formation of identity The complicated emotions surrounding adoption Julie's experience of loving—and losing—two mothers Grief, resilience and the enduring nature of family bonds What Julie would like other adoptees to know Why understanding our past can sometimes transform our relationship with the present This episode will resonate far beyond the adoption community. Because underneath Julie's remarkable story lies a question almost every human being asks at some point: Who am I and how much of who I am has come from where I came from? Find Julie Here: juliemelansonauthor.com/ linkedin.com/in/julie-melanson-3b27124/ facebook.com/juliemelan/ instagram.com/julie_melanson_author/ Book: Not Yours to Keep: A Story about Adoption and the Strength and Resilience of Two Women - https://juliemelansonauthor.com/#container10 Find Marisa online: Website: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmarisaleenaismith/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmarisaleenaismith/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marisa.lee.12 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@avoiceandbeyond3519/videos Resources: MLN Coaching Program: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/mentoring/ Schedule a Free Clarity Call: https://calendly.com/info-56015/discovery Gratitude Journal: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/in-gratitude-my-daily-self-journal/ Download your eBook: Thriving in a Creative Industry: https://drmarisaleenaismith.com/product/ebook-thriving-in-a-creative-industry-dr-marisa-lee-naismith/ Like this episode? Please leave a review here - even one sentence helps! ...
