Blog Posts & Essays

Monica Hall: The Power of Generational Gifts and Curses

Join Corissa and Monica Hall, an entrepreneur, speaker, life coach, and the author of a new memoir called, "Practically Still a Virgin,” that chronicles her life growing up adopted and abused, being raped as a teen and giving up her daughter for adoption, struggling with addiction, and finally, discovering her truth within.

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High Vibrations with Monica Hall: Adoptee, Birth Mother, Trauma Survivor, and Author of Practically Still a Virgin

In this, sometimes hilarious and very entertaining interview I discuss my journey from leaving corporate America to starting my own soap company and finding my indigenous roots. Along the way, I’ve had some memorable experiences, like selling peppermint soap to a gay community, which was a big success. I also open up about my personal life, including my relationships and the challenges I faced during my childhood.

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Monica Hall, adoptee, birth mother and author of Practically Still a Virgin: Breaking Glass Castles and my way to personal growth.

Excerpt of transcript from this podcast episode:

Monica Hall: I live in Sacramento. I was adopted out of Canada from a foster home with about 10 other babies. I was raised in Anchorage, Alaska, because that's where my parents had been living. That's where a lot of the trauma happened and caused me to write a memoir. We moved to California when I was 16. I'm still in California. It’s been a long journey being an adoptee and relinquishing a child for adoption.

The thing that adoptees most often ask me is, “Being an adoptee, how could you give up your own baby?”

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Monica Hall, the author of Practically Still a Virgin: This interview is about adoption, relinquishment and restoration.

I was the guest on the podcast, Claiming Your Voice with Janeice Garrard , a fellow adoptee. Over the months we’ve had a number zooms, connecting one adoptee to another. In this interview I reveal some of the things I write about in my memoir, Practically Still a Virgin. I believe this conversation… (although as usual I do most of the talking), will resonate with anyone impacted by adoption and others who have experienced family dysfunction, and difficulties in general. Adoption is part of my story but not all of my story…. Listen and you will see that it’s absolutely possible to heal no matter what the circumstances.

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Self-Realization For Monica Hall, Adoptee & Birth Mother Through Memoir Writing

Monica Hall, an adoptee and birth mother who has recently published her memoir titled Practically Still a Virgin: an Adoption Memoir. Monica shares her journey of healing and self-discovery through writing her memoir, which delves into the complexities of adoption, trauma, and family relationships.

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A Sad Day: Happy Birthday From Your Birth Mother

Forty-five years ago today, I gave birth to the first person in the whole wide world who I knew to be a flesh-and-blood part of me. (I was adopted, so this was a huge deal.) Like today, it was a Sunday. The labor was long, and I was exhausted but elated…

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Reunion With The Daughter I Relinquished For Adoption At Fifteen

When I met a former English professor in Seattle last summer, she said to me, “Why are you writing your memoir? What has caused you to take this journey?” I didn’t have an immediate answer. Initially, I’d started writing to share my story of being…

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Shameful Secrets Of A Birth Mother

A few months ago, I was going through a box of keepsakes from 1973—the year I gave my baby up for adoption. Inside were the treasures I carted first from Alaska to California and then through eleven additional moves over the last 44 years…

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