Between Cultures: One Transcultural Adoptive Family's Story

Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

12/17/25

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54m

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What is it like to be the only biological child in a large transracial adoptive family? Our guest, Elaine Duncan, shares her story of how transcultural adoption impacted her identity and resilience. She is a writer, speaker, and strategist whose work bridges storytelling, healing, and social change. She has a passion for improving outcomes for underserved young people and is currently working on a memoir of her life journey.

In this episode, we discuss:

What did your home look like growing up, and what was it like for you to be the only biological child in a transracial/transcultural adoptive family?
Families who adopt across race or culture often wonder how to bring all of those differences together under one roof.
How did your family handle conversations about race, culture, and identity? Were these things openly acknowledged, celebrated, or avoided?
How did your parents support (or struggle to support) you in building your own sense of identity — not just as their child, but as an individual?
Did you ever feel overlooked or lost in the mix? How could parents avoid that happening for their kids?
What were some of the biggest challenges you carried from growing up in this transracial/transcultural adoptive family?
- How have those challenges shaped your adult life, relationships, or even your current work?
What are the gifts or strengths you gained from growing up in such a diverse family?
Are there ways your unique upbringing has given you perspective, resilience, or empathy that you now value?

Additional Resources:

Intergenerational Trauma (podcast)
The Impact of Fostering & Adoption on Kids Already in the Family (free on-demand course)
Raising a Transracial or Multicultural Child (resource page)

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.
Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

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Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Previous Episode

Expert Advice for Handling Sexual Abuse by a Sibling - Weekend Wisdom

December 13, 2025

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Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

Question: I have a friend whose 12-year-old adopted son (adopted at age 6) has been sexually abusing his younger siblings. She self-reported to CPS and law enforcement, but they have not done a formal removal yet, and their solutions involved bringing the child back home or kinship (not an option).

The offending child is currently in a temporary behavioral hospital, and a Refusal to Assume Parental Responsibility was opened on my friend because she will not pick him up, especially not until he receives specialized treatment for sexual aggression. The other children deserve a safe home to heal. Has anyone been through this before? If, after treatment, she still does not feel like it's in the children's best interest for him to return home, what are her options?

Resources:

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