Ethiopian Adoptees | Unapologetically Unfiltered13 Juli

Rediet: You Can't Have a Kid for Gratitude (Part 3 of 3)

In our final segment with Rediet, we explore the deep psychological impact of transracial adoption, specifically how the titles of "Mom" and "Dad" are earned through emotional connection rather than legal transactions or financial responsibility. Rediet challenges the pervasive "savior narrative," reminding us that she was a well cared for child in Ethiopia before being thrust into an environment that often devalued her Blackness and used materialism as a weapon to demand gratitude. This culture of silence led to significant emotional neglect, highlighted by the heartbreaking fact that Rediet had to translate her birth mother's ID herself as an adult because her adoptive family never bothered to do so.

We also deconstruct the "bad kid" label Rediet carried for years, reframing her past behavior as a natural response to being traumatized and gaslit within an unsupportive system that failed to acknowledge her original identity. Today, Rediet has found strength and healing through the community of Black women and has reclaimed her autonomy, and has now successfully reconnected with her birth family. As she prepares to return to the "warmth" of her original culture, she leaves our listeners with a powerful message of validation: adoptees are not "crazy," and our complex, often painful feelings about our adoption journey are entirely valid. We are not alone.

Thank you Rediet for sharing your story and your truth. We are honored.

xoxo - Lidet

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Avsnitt(22)

Rediet: Feeling Like a Disruption (Part 2 of 3)

In this second part of the interview, Rediet shares the jarring reality of being brought into a white American home that already felt "completed." She describes her arrival not as a smooth integration...

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Rediet: Good Girls Don’t Get Their Heads Shaved (Part 1 of 3)

In this episode (Part 1 of 3), I sit down with Rediet, a fellow Ethiopian adoptee, and we go back to the beginning of her story in Addis Ababa, where she was raised by loving, strong women and remembe...

11 Juni 37min

Billy Birhan Desalegn: The Interpreter of Broken Promises (Part 2)

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7 Maj 49min

Billy Birhan Desalegn: The Interpreter of Broken Promises (Part 1)

I had the honor of sitting down with my dear friend Billy, also known as Billy Birhan Desalegn, in this deeply moving interview. Billy is a professional tour guide from Addis Ababa who unexpectedly be...

15 Apr 51min

Umm Adoptees, Are We Okay?

Hey guyssss, this episode is me getting brutally honest with myself and with us as a community. It’s truthfully more of a crashout that I refuse to make palatable, because this is the reality of our l...

13 Okt 202535min

YOU'RE NOT CRAZY - The Odds Were Not In Your Favor

Hey everyone! In this solo episode, I get real about something that’s been weighing heavy on my heart: the lie we’ve been told that adoption is always good, always safe, always “better.” The title say...

16 Juni 202544min

Cosimo Naldi: Amor Vincit Omnia ("Love conquers all”) (Part II)

[SAME SUMMARY FROM PART I] In this first episode of 2025, I had the honor of virtually sitting down with Cosimo Naldi, an Ethiopian adoptee raised and living in Italy. This conversation was raw, emoti...

16 Feb 202546min