Podcasts

After a long and fulfilling career in corporate HR, Anna Maria DiDio decided to follow her heart and embrace her passion project. Following years of infertility, DiDio and her husband decided to pursue international adoption. Their lovely little girl joined their family from Mexico, but in the process Anna Maria learned that her joy was her daughter’s trauma. For her Second Act, Anna Maria has turned to writing, publishing a memoir about the international adoption process, as well as a series of children's books dedicated to opening communication about the tricky emotions, transitions and coping needed in adoptive or foster families.

This week we’re talking about adoption and the experience of going through an international adoption process. And the challenges that come with adopting before and after that child arrives in your home. Anna Maria shares her experiences of adopting an older child from Mexico.

Anna Maria DiDio, MSW is a writer, women’s advocate and adoption life coach who has devoted her time and talents to organizations focusing on women, girls and families. She is also the mother of two wonderful women.

Anna Maria DiDio shares the joys and challenges of adopting a child from a different culture.
She shares tips to help prepare parents who choose to adopt.

My guest this episode is Anna Maria DiDio. Anna Maria decided to write children's books from the point of view of the child. Expressing the pain of separation and loss is an important part of what adopted children need to do. However, many times, it's not something that adoptive parents are able to hear. With her L.I.F.E.* series of children's books, Anna Maria focuses on what children of all blended family types are thinking and feeling as they acclimate to their new families.

In 3 parts...

Part 2 (E196) 7/28/2022 https://www.buzzsprout.com/1186238/10983507
Part 3 (E197) 8/2/2022. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1186238/10983526

Combined: https://rumble.com/v1e81a1-fearless-parenting-interview-of-anna-marie-didio.html

Adoption is a mix of many joyous feelings and loving emotions, but there can also be sadness and maybe even anger.

Join us to hear from #childrensbookauthor Anna Maria DiDio, on her unique book, Many People to Love, told from the point of view of the adopted child.

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Sometimes families are created in different ways. And today our guest is going to be sharing with us all about her family's story of adoption.

Anna Maria DiDio, is an adoptive mother and was inspired to write her memoir, Love at the Border, An
Adoption Adventure after her own family journey to Mexico.

Now her L.I.F.E.* Adventures children’s books feature stories about adoption, foster care, stepchildren, and all blended families from the point of view of the child. Anna Maria hopes that her books encourage open and honest exploration about what children are thinking and feeling within their own unique family. Anna Maria holds a BA in Psychology and an MSW in Family Specialization.

In this weeks episode I had the pleasure of talking to Anna Maria DiDio

Anna Maria DiDio, MSW is an adoptive mother and was inspired to write her memoir, Love at the Border, An Adoption Adventure after her own family journey to Mexico.

Now her L.I.F.E.* ( *Love Inspires Families Everywhere ) Adventures children’s books feature stories about adoption, foster care, stepchildren, and all blended families from the point of view of the child.

Anna Maria hopes that her books encourage open and honest exploration of what children are thinking and feeling within their own unique families.

Anna Maria DiDio is an international adoption mom whose best intentions and plans couldn't have prepared her fully for the challenges of a cross-border adoption.

When we think of international adoptions, we often picture a waif of a child who is unloved and under-nourished with haunting and haunted eyes. That's not necessarily the case as today's guest found out when she and her husband adopted a young child from Mexico.

In this episode Anna Maria is candid about the challenges faced by her, her husband, their biological daughter and their adopted daughter as they worked to create a family and find their path forward as a family. Anna Maria's chronicles were adapted into a book Love at the Border, An Adoption Adventure that will reassure other adopting families that their struggles are not unusual, and that they will come out the other end. Anna Maria also writes children's books which feature stories about adoption, foster care, stepchildren, and all blended families from the point of view of the child.

As grandparents we Boomers can play as important a role in the lives of adopted children as we do in the lives of our biological grands.

When my husband and I began our adoption journey over twenty years ago, we had no idea of what was in store for us. The myth of adoption had us hooked and after the pain and isolation of infertility, we were willing to give it a try. The journey took us to an orphanage in Mexico where we met an adorable and precocious six-year-old girl. Once in the U.S., her pain at being separated from everything she knew and loved prompted my writing and I began to journal our experience. Many years later, I finished my memoir, Love at the Border, An Adoption Adventure. Now, reflecting on how unprepared we were for the emotional tumult of adoption, I decided to write children's books from the point of view of the child. Expressing the pain of separation and loss is an important part of what adopted children need to do. However, many times, it's not something that adoptive parents are able to hear. With my L.I.F.E.* series of children's books, I want to focus on what children of all blended family types are thinking and feeling as they acclimate to their new families.

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