“Ethiopian Adoptees Unapologetically Unfiltered” is a podcast facilitated by Lidet O’Connor, an Ethiopian adoptee seeking to share the stories of a wide range of fellow adoptees.

Recently she interviewed two adoptees who are very special to me: Aselefech Evans and Kassaye Berhanu-MacDonald, my co-editors of the first anthology by Ethiopian adoptees, Lions Roaring Far From Home.

Kassaye is a dear friend, and Aselefech is one of my beloved daughters. One is in Canada, one in the U.S. Both are strong, smart, talented, wonderful people.

Both also are powerful writers and speakers on the subject of adoption. Their two-part interview discusses the anthology, as well as their perspectives on adoption, past, present, and future. They don’t hold back, and that is among the reasons I love them so. In keeping with the ethos of the podcast, they are unapologetically unfiltered..

There are some 15,000 Ethiopian adoptees in the U.S., and many thousands more in Canada, Australia, and Western Europe. I am proud of the Lions Roaring anthology for sharing some 32 voices of Ethiopian adoptees, in all the depth and breadth of their experiences. Lidet’s podcast shares adoptee voices in another genre, and the rest of us are better for it. May we continue to listen and learn.