Abby Jacobson is a professional Adoptee Counselor, bringing over 20 years of experience from her previous career as a psychotherapist and substance abuse counselor. As a result of Abby’s familiarity with being a foster child, an adoptee, and a clinician, she is able to offer support, mentoring, and coaching to individuals who have experienced the process of adoption, both adults and youth alike. Coming from a family with 4 generations of adoptions, this is an issue she is very familiar with and which originally led her into the field of counseling.
In this interview, we talk to Abby about her kinship adoption story, how generations of adoption created gaps in her family history, her deep connection to her grandmother, giving her two sons the stability she didn't have in early childhood, her cancer diagnosis and recovery, the healing power of animals, and reconnecting with her biological brother after 15 years.
Content warning: Family separation, cancer.