Hannah was born in Kansas City to a white birth mother and Black birth father, and adopted into a white family in Pennsylvania. Raised in a community where no one looked like her, Hannah’s early years were marked by isolation, a lack of racial mirrors, and a longing to understand where she came from. In this episode, she shares what it was like to grow up feeling disconnected from her Black identity, how her search for belonging led her through music, literature, and eventually into the embrace of her racial community.

We talk about the moment everything shifted—an unexpected meeting with her birth mother during a visit to Kansas City—and how that encounter cracked open deeper questions around origin, identity, and healing. Now an educator, mother, and advocate, Hannah supports transracial adoptees and adoptive parents through her coaching work, online course, and writing.

This conversation explores the complexity of being raised in a world that doesn’t reflect you, the layered grief that comes with reunion, and the power of reclaiming your story on your own terms.

Hannah's website: https://www.hannahjmatthews.com/ — where folks can find my course as well as products and services for adoptees and caregivers

Podcast with my adopted Brother https://rss.com/podcasts/fakesiblingspodcast/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahjacksonmatthews?igsh=MWNtY2JkMzZ2enZhNA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Workbook https://www.amazon.com/Standing-Gap-Unapologetic-Reflective-Transracial/dp/B0CVVD11DP

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TicTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@colorshifttransra?_t=ZP-8wOIvdcK7ah&_r=1

Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive Threads

If you are interested in supporting this podcast please go to the listener support page: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2502012/support

If you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: transracialadoptionstories@gmail.com