In this episode of The Adoption Roadmap Podcast, Rebecca Gruenspan—adoptive parent, consultant, and founder of RG Adoption Consulting—sits down with Jennifer Skiles, an adoptee, author, and survivor whose story is one of extraordinary courage and grace.
Adopted at three years old, Jennifer’s early life was marked by both love and deep pain. After enduring years of abuse in her adoptive home, she found the strength to reclaim her story—reuniting with her birth mother, uncovering long-held family secrets, and eventually seeking out the biological father who never knew she existed.
Jennifer’s story reminds us that while we are not defined by our past, we can be refined by it. Her resilience offers hope to anyone navigating pain, identity, and healing after adoption.
🔗 Important Links
• RG Adoption Consulting → https://rgadoptionconsulting.com
• Book a 30-Minute Consult → https://rgadoptionconsulting.com/contact
Jennifer Skiles
• Vault of Treasures: A Journey of Adoption, Family, Faith, and Forgiveness by Jennifer Skiles
• Solace Gift Boxes → AdoptSolace.com
Chapters
00:00 — Sponsor: Solace Gift Boxes for birth mothers
01:00 — Meet Jennifer Skiles: adoptee, author, survivor
02:30 — Early childhood memories and being adopted at age three
03:45 — The moment everything changed: discovering abuse at age 12
05:30 — Secrets and silence inside her adoptive family
07:00 — Learning she was adopted—and keeping it a secret herself
09:45 — The start of six years of abuse and isolation
12:45 — Why she stayed quiet and how fear shaped her choices
15:30 — Losing her adoptive father and the complex feelings that followed
17:00 — Choosing faith and forgiveness instead of anger
19:15 — How compassion became her path to healing
20:30 — Reuniting with her birth mother after decades apart
24:00 — The shock of discovering she was born in Germany
26:00 — Finding her biological mom through an AOL search and a letter
27:30 — Their emotional reunion after years apart
29:15 — Learning the truth about her birth parents’ relationship
31:00 — Losing her birth mother unexpectedly after 12 years
