Solus Sounds

What a season finale! I am still reeling from the whole thing and feel I need to just quickly go over it all to process what I’ve just seen at Sìleas and Seumas’ renewal of vows. All seemed to be going to plan and like any good showstopper – the whole ensemble were present, every one of them looking stunning and glam. Then out of the blue Sìleas fixed Seumas with a long, hard stare, and didn’t mince her words…”Seumas MacSuain, tha mi ag iarraidh sgaradh pòsaidh”….i.e  Sileas wants a divorce.

Episode 3 has just come to a close with a super charged scene at the end ….The electricity comes back on and Seumas sees Rory in a new light ….literally… and finally remembers who left him for dead on the mill floor.

Well I am just literally putting away my smelling salts and coming back to earth after that end of episode bomb shell. Episode 2 of ‘An Clò Mòr’ has just come to a glorious end and I loved every minute of it. Handsome Irish stranger Rory has finally told Sìleas who he really is, Sìleas is gobsmacked and then suddenly, as if on cue, the whole village is plunged into darkness

The credits are still rolling on episode 1 and we’re already right back into the heady world of ‘An Clò Mòr’….I make no apologies for the fact that I’m utterly obsessed with fashion, so this episode with the ossibility of landing an American deal, the glam squad arriving from New York and yes we’ve got to mention it folks…Sìleas’ blue dress and camel mohair coat…gave me serious wardrobe envy. What’s not to like! A banger of a season 2 opener ….

How To Use Your Voice Workshop: In July 2022, we had the amazing opportunity to present at the Catalyst Foundation’s Vietnam Culture Camp that hosts families across the US who have adopted from Vietnam. Our workshop for adoptees aged 10-17 focused on the way in which you can empower yourself by using your voice to speak about your story. At Whatever Next?, we believe that using your voice is the key to changing dominating narratives in adoption. We asked campers and counsellors, who are all adoptees, to do a short voice recording with us about anything that they had on their minds. We hope you enjoy this episode that celebrates the community that has been built around the Catalyst Foundation and the friendships and memories that it has brought with it. Read more about the Catalyst Foundation at catalystfoundation.org

In this episode we take a deep dive into Hannah’s dissertation about online adoptee spaces, specifically Facebook Groups. Jo and Addie ask her questions about why she chose that topic, what she learned along the way, and how her own experience as an adoptee impacted her academic writing.

In this episode, Addie, Hannah, and Jo mull over their most notable takeaways from creating this project; what they have learned, what they're still learning, and what changes they've seen within themselves this year.

***Disclaimer***Please be advised that the guest's audio was recording from Vietnam with her internet connection very poor. That in turn has led to the quality of her audio to be quite patchy.Addie and Jo interview Caroline Nguyen Ticcaro who is the founder of the Catalyst Foundation. Caroline was a Vietnam refugee and became an adoptive mother to twin daughters who are now beautiful young women. Together, they discuss Caroline’s experience of creating the Vietnam Culture Camp which is an an annual family conference for those who adopted children from Vietnam. Since Addie’s younger sister was adopted from Vietnam, her family attended Caroline’s camp for many years in her childhood. Caroline discusses her experience of becoming a mother but also a Vietnamese mother since she herself was raised in a predominantly white community in Minnesota. Caroline touches on her thoughts about race in transracial adoption, the significance of mental health awareness among adoptive families, and where she sees Vietnam Culture Camp going in the future. For more information about Caroline and the Catalyst Foundation go to www.catalystfoundation.org or you can find her on Facebook and Instagram @catalystvietnam

In this episode we speak with Hanna Lee. A Korean adoptee; author of The One's Who Misbehave, Media Manager of The Universal Asian, and an Asian American Activist. In this episode, Hanna talks about her experience of writing her book, how she draws boundaries with engaging in the online adoptee community, and navigating parenthood as an adoptee.