For the 238th episode of Private Parts Unknown, host Courtney Kocak welcomes adoptive mother and writer Marjie Alonso. In this interview, Marjie unpacks what ethical adoption actually looks like—and why the familiar “better life” narrative so often obscures power imbalances, secrecy, and profound loss. Drawing from her experience adopting two sons from Paraguay and later taking them back to meet their birth mothers, she explains the concept of the primal wound, how adoption can impact adoptees (and everyone involved) across a lifetime, and why infertility or loss is not, on its own, a reason to adopt. We dig into the hidden economics of adoption, the business of family-making, and how a system built around demand can slide into coercion and trafficking. Marjie also speaks candidly about reckoning with her own choices, what she wishes she had understood earlier, and why flipping the script—from “adults who want children” to “children who need families”—is essential to imagining a more ethical future for adoption. For more from today's guest, Marjie Alonso: Subscribe to Marjie's piecesofstring. Follow Marjie on bsky.app/profile/marjie.bsky.social Get your copy of Girl Gone Wild from ????????????? or ?????????????Amazon?????????????. Psst, Courtney has an 0nIyFan$, which is a horny way to support the show: ?????????????????????????????? Private Parts Unknown is a proud member of the Pleasure Podcast network. Their lineup includes Soaking Wet, a blend of vitamins and probiotics that support vaginal health; Load Boost, which promotes male fertility and enhances semen volume and taste; and Drive Boost, formulated to increase libido and sexual desire for all genders. Fleshlight is the #1 selling male sex toy in the world. Looking for your next pocket pal? is the leader in reliable and affordable lab-based STD testing. Explore yourself and say yes to self-pleasure with Lovehoney. ?????????????????????????????? If you love this episode, please leave us a 5-star rating and sexy review! Psst... sign up for the Private Parts Unknown newsletter for bonus content related to our episodes! ??????????????????????????????privatepartsunknown. Let’s be friends on social media! Follow the show on ??????????????????????????????@privatepartsunknown?????????????????????????????? and ??????????????????????????????@privatepartsun??????????????????????????????. Connect with host Courtney Kocak ??????????????????????????????@courtneykocak?????????????????????????????? on and.