Karasalla was born in Hawaiʻi, mixed Samoan and Black, and entered the foster care system before her first birthday. She was later adopted by a white, conservative family in Oregon, where she grew up navigating questions of race, identity, and belonging—often without the language or mirrors to fully understand her experience.
In this episode of Color Shift, Karasalla reflects on what it meant to grow up racially different within her adoptive family and community, and the ways love, effort, and limitation can coexist. She shares about her adoptive mother’s willingness to learn—especially the significance of seeking out how to care for her hair—and how those acts of intention mattered deeply.
Karasalla also speaks candidly about being in reunion with her biological mother and siblings, offering an honest perspective on reunion as not a finish line, but the beginning of another journey—one filled with connection, grief, curiosity, and growth.
This episode explores the ongoing nature of identity, the complexity of family, and what it means to continue becoming, long after adoption papers are signed.
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Merch: Color Shift 1.0 by Nathan Choi – Adoptive Threads
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If you are a transracial adoptee and want to share your story email me at: transracialadoptionstories@gmail.com
