Surviving Sibling Loss, Transracial Adoption, and A Brother's Safe Space: Karen / Kevin

The Broken Pack™: Stories of Adult Sibling Loss

Surviving: Sibling Loss, Transracial Adoption, and Losing Safety
In this powerful episode of The Broken Pack: Stories of Adult Sibling Loss, a podcast, host Dr. Angela Dean delves into the profound impact of sibling loss with guest speaker Karen Thomas. Karen shares her unique experiences as a transracial adoptee who lost her brother, Kevin, to an overdose.
For Karen Thomas, surviving sibling loss is complicated by multiple circumstances. She shares what it was like to be transracially adopted and how that connection with her brother, adopted from another family into their shared family, has helped and also deepened her grief of him as well as how connecting to him and her ancestors has helped her.

Content Warning: Information presented in this episode may be upsetting to some people. It contains talk of drug use, addiction, and overdose. If you believe you are witnessing an overdose, call 911 or your country’s emergency number immediately even if you are administering Narcan. If you are in the US and would like support for yourself or someone else with substance use, suicidal thoughts, or other topics discussed in this episode, please call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or Text your 5-digit ZIP Code to 435748 (HELP4U) or call a warmline. For more immediate crisis call 911, 988, or go to the nearest emergency room.
In the USA an updated directory of warmlines by state can be found at https://warmline.org/warmdir.html
A warmline directory for trained peer supports in over 20 countries can be found at https://www.supportiv.com/tools/international-resources-crisis-and-warmlines (some of these may be hotlines)
Support the Show.

If you would like more information or to share your own adult sibling loss story, please contact me, Dr. Angela Dean, at [e-mail] or go to our website, thebrokenpack.com.
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Thank you!
Angela M. Dean, PsyD, FT
Credits:
The Broken Pack™ Podcast is produced by 27 Elephants Media
"If Tomorrow Starts Without Me" © ℗ 2023, 2024
Written by Joe Mylward and Brian Dean
Performed by Fuji Sounds (feat. MYLWD.)
Licensed for use by The Broken Pack™
Now available on all streaming platforms including Apple Music & Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3vx3kk46

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1. Intro (00:00:12)

2. Who is Karen? (00:01:07)

3. Who was Karen’s brother? (00:02:21)

4. Growing up together: Safety, Security & Surviving (00:04:35)

5. Losing Kevin (00:12:59)

6. Anniversaries, Grieving, and Ancestral Connection (00:15:55)

7. Family gatherings without Kevin (00:17:24)

8. Learning Kevin Died (00:19:21)

9. Understanding Kevin’s pain (00:20:38)

10. An Understanding Therapist (00:22:30)

11. Realizing Others were supportive (00:25:43)

12. How Karen is doing now (5 years later) (00:26:58)

13. Kevin Protecting her today (00:28:06)

14. Learning from her grief (00:33:35)

15. Favorite memories (00:34:26)

16. Other loss (00:36:48)