In this episode, Ryan talks to Dr. Jess Walton, a Melbourne-based senior researcher, an author, a new mother, and a dear friend of ours. Jess shares openly and generously about her research, her new book (Korean Adoptees and Transnational Adoption: Embodiment and Emotion, Routledge 2019) and her experience of becoming a parent for the first time. We also discuss Jess's research on 'acting white,' adoptee emotional labor, racism, the important and often overlooked role of foster mothers, attachment, pre-verbal loss, and finally, the immeasurable joys of having a child.
To learn more about Jess's research, check out: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/jessica-walton