Adoption, Secrecy, and the Baby Scoop Era | Patricia Knight Meyer
Patricia Knight Meyer grew up knowing she was adopted — but not that her adoptive parents never received her birth certificate, never saw adoption papers, and never legally adopted her at all.
In this episode, Patricia — a writer, adoptee-rights advocate, and board member of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents — shares her story of growing up in a "black market adoption" during the Baby Scoop Era, discovering as an adult that no adoption had ever been filed, and later reuniting with both of her birth parents. We talk about adoption trauma, identity, the grief no one names, and what she wishes every adoptive parent knew.
Patricia is the author of the new memoir *Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption*.
CONNECT WITH PATRICIA KNIGHT MEYER:
🌐 Website: https://myadoptedlife.com
Father & Daughter reunion video: https://myadoptedlife.com/meeting-my-birth-father-our-reunion-video/
ABOUT PATRICIA KNIGHT MEYER:
Patricia Knight Meyer is a writer, speaker, and adoptee-rights advocate whose own adoption is a window into the "Baby Scoop Era" — the decades of informal, unregulated adoption placements common from the 1940s through the early 1970s. She sits on the board of the National Association of Adoptees and Parents and has spent years helping other adoptees navigate identity, reunion, and grief. Her debut memoir is *Wonderland: Memoir of a Black-Market Adoption*.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Introduction: ten toes and a van with no papers signed
02:14 – Finding out at 12 she never had a birth certificate
03:54 – What that moment felt like
05:39 – How the adoption actually happened
12:07 – Where the adoption took place (Houston/Galveston, TX)
13:15 – What was the "Baby Scoop Era"?
17:20 – Why the Baby Scoop Era ended
19:06 – The hardest part of growing up adopted
22:09 – Carrying unnamed fear as a child
24:08 – Heritage camps and helping young adoptees today
28:41 – "Weren't we good enough?" — when adoptive parents feel hurt
35:44 – Finding community and starting to heal
42:04 – Where to start: books, groups, and resources
45:46 – Searching for and meeting her birth mother
59:22 – Meeting her birth father for the first time
1:11:02 – The insight her birth father gave her
1:13:02 – Why knowing your origin story matters
1:14:39 – The grief nobody acknowledges
1:15:14 – Advice for young adoptees
1:18:52 – Advice for adoptive parents
1:22:07 – Becoming a mother herself at 18
1:28:24 – Patricia's new memoir and book launch event
1:30:12 – Closing thoughts
🎧 PODCAST LINKS:
Website: https://www.WhosOnMyMind.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhosOnMyMindPodcast
Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/WhosOnMyMindPodcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whos-on-my-mind/id1783427441
SOCIAL LINKS:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhosOnMyMind/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whosonmymindpodcast/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whos_on_my_mind_podcast
X: https://x.com/Whos_On_My_Mind
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WhosOnMyMindPodcast
#Adoption #AdopteeStory #BirthParents #FamilyReunion #AdoptionTrauma #Podcast
