What does it truly mean to say YES to love?
On this deeply moving episode of The Anna Jinja Show, host Anna Jinja sits down with two extraordinary men — Bob Pohl, adoptive father and husband to author Susan Strong, and Patrick, the birth father of their daughter Caitlin. Together they pull back the curtain on what open adoption really looks like from the inside — and it is nothing short of transformative.
Bob describes how saying yes to open adoption didn't just change his family — it changed him as a person. It taught him to look left when he'd always looked right. To ask questions he didn't know he was missing. To live a more vulnerable, more intentional life.
And Patrick? He was 17 when this journey began. Today, he and Caitlin have a beautiful, close relationship — while openly crediting Bob as her dad. His story will stop you in your tracks.
This episode is a powerful reminder that love is not a finite resource. It's generative. It grows.
This conversation was made possible because of Susan Strong's memoir One Yes at a Time: How Open Adoption Transformed Our Family, and a previous interview with Susan: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2185315/episodes/16127994-susan-strong-goth-dad
About The Anna Jinja Show: A weekly podcast exploring adoption stories, foster care, identity, and creative expression to help every listener find a place of belonging
Connect with Anna & The Show
• Website: annajinja.com
• Email: hello@annajinja.com
• Phone / Text: 515-808-1742
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Credits • Host: Anna Jinja Mather • Audio Engineer: Colin Cameron • Music Director: Nick Kizirnis • Adoption SME: Dr. Melissa Rizzo • Social Media Manager: Linnea Hietala
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