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20 THINGS ADOPTION PODCAST with Sherrie Eldridge
Many adoptive, foster, stepmoms, and grandmothers are suffering in silence. No one in the world of adoption is giving them the tools for recovery. No one is teaching them how to handle adoptee pushback and rejection. No one is wrapping arms around them and praying when all they can do is cry.
When moms realize the unknown depth of their child’s trauma, a common reaction is self-doubt. If she doesn’t know what happened, how can she find words to help her child process it? It’s terrifying, like climbing Everest without ropes.
She's so self-doubting that she almost always concludes that she doesn't have what it takes to parent her child. Truth be known, she looks over the cliffs of depression more times than she'd care to admit.
- I’m a loser mom.
- I can’t self-regulate, let alone teach my child to do the same.
- I can’t attach with my child...and I never will have it.
- I am inept as a mom.
- I can’t even decide whether to have a peanut butter sandwich.
- I’m a mess.
- I don’t have what it takes.
- I’m a lousy mom.
- I hate myself.
- I’ll never be able to meet my child’s need for mothering.
The good news is that the dream can be reshaped, and in that painful space, God does His most sacred work by meeting us in our brokenness, holding our hearts, and gently replanting hope.
Stay tuned for upcoming podcasts and updates about my upcoming book.
20 THINGS ADOPTION PODCAST with Sherrie Eldridge
The Hot Potato of Adoptee Anger
Bronwen interviews Sherrie on a rare topic--adoptee anger. They discuss the two kinds of anger and emphasize the fact that anger itself is good--its a God-given emotion that warns us if something is wrong, like the red light on a dashboard.
Anger can become toxic when anger is stuffed and turns into bitterness and hate.
The unintentional adversarial relationship that often occurs between adoptive moms and their children is common, but its a topic that hasn't be addressed by adoption professionals, speakers, and therapists.
Adoptees secretly attribute their lion-like anger to a personal defect, while wounded moms fear their children will never experience their love.
Sherrie shares a time a purging, where she did the hard work of recovery. Signs of healing emerged first in regard to Retha, her mom through adoption.
Listen to the inspiring story of how trash became treasure.
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