Sullivan Summer is an independent scholar, critic, essayist, poet, podcaster, and adoptee rights advocate. Her work across genres has been published in popular, literary, and academic outlets, and her pop culture hot takes and author interviews can be heard on the Adoption Pop!, Adoptees Off Script, and New Books Network podcasts. Her chapbook, Performance Anxiety, was published in 2025 by Black Sunflowers Poetry Press, and she is a 2025 "Best of the Net" anthology nominee. When not reading, writing, and podcasting about reading and writing, you can find her leading history-based reading groups at Brooklyn’s Center for Fiction, and engaging with visitors to The New York

Historical, the City’s oldest museum, where she is a Docent. You can find Sullivan at her website, on Instagram, and on Substack.

Adoptees for Family Preservation

https://onadoption.net

Music by Corey Quinn

Lora K. Joy/Lora Alegria is a returning guest.

Lora is a domestic, same race adoptee who is fully estranged from her adoptive family and reunited with both maternal and paternal biological family. In 2022, she legally changed her name back to her birth name and Lora’s biological mom reclaimed her through an adult adoption. Lora has self-published 3 illustrated books and a blog at www.myadopteetruth.com. She also co-led the publishing of the adoptee anthology The Flourish Experience.

Lora is the Secretary of Adoptees for Family Preservation (AFFP), a nonprofit organization committed to raising awareness of adoption industry practices. Lora co-leads a peer support group on estrangement through Adoption Knowledge Affiliates. And she is a Producer for the Adoptees On podcast.

Resources: https://www.adoptionknowledge.org/peer-support-groups.html

Music by Corey Quinn

Dr. Zoe Shaw is a licensed psychotherapist, author, speaker, podcast host, relationships coach and fitness lover. She is passionate about helping women who struggle in difficult relationships, especially that sometimes difficult relationship with themselves, overcome complex shame and co-dependency.

After 15 years in traditional psychotherapy practice, Dr. Zoe jumped off the couch and now helps women using a different modality with a mix of virtual therapy, coaching services and programs, through a lens of psychology, faith and a dash of feminism.

Dr. Zoe is the author of the Ask Dr. Zoe Column in the Grit and Grace Project women’s magazine and the books, A Year Of Self Care and Stronger In The Difficult Places released by Penguin Randomhouse Waterbrook. She has been featured in the OWN documentary series UNLOCKED, abd published in Oprahmag.com, Recovery Today magazine, Forbes and Today.com. She writes about helping women overcome shame and co-dependency. You can find her in the media on Instagram: @Drzoeshaw and in most social places at the handle DrZoeShaw.

https://drzoeshaw.com

Music by Corey Quinn