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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Beautiful, gripping, and with a voice of empathy. Perhaps the first memoir I've read by an adoptee - hoping to read more.
A gracious but honest look at the life of an adoptee. I would like to reread a physical copy, as the reader of the audio version developed sinus congestion at some point during the recording that I found deeply distracting, and that (unfairly) tinted my perception of the book itself.
There's a lot of ink spilled in the lit-o-sphere over the courage it takes to tell your personal story, so much that it's a kind of cliche. Too bad! I'm going to say it: This story is brave. ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW is a courageous, beautiful book that deserves all the accolades it's going to get.
If you've encountered Nicole Chung's writing before, then you know what to expect. If you haven't read one of her essays before, you're in for a treat: Clear, elegant, prose. Beautiful but efficient. No words wasted; each and every one important (further testament to Chung's skill as an editor, too).
Writing about your family is very, very hard, especially when you know they're going to read what you've written. It's also hard to choose which parts of a complex, nuanced experience to shape into narrative without getting bogged down, and Nicole nails it. The places she dwells (her childhood and her pregnancy & birth story, especially) are rich.
I learned a lot, too. There's no "typical" adoption story, but ALL WE CAN EVER KNOW illuminated aspects of the process that had never occurred to me before. I feel so much better prepared to listen to the stories of folks who were and how to not make harmful assumptions. For that, I'm grateful. This is a book I'm going to think about for a long time, and I can't wait to catch Nicole on tour to hear her discuss it.
If you've encountered Nicole Chung's writing before, then you know what to expect. If you haven't read one of her essays before, you're in for a treat: Clear, elegant, prose. Beautiful but efficient. No words wasted; each and every one important (further testament to Chung's skill as an editor, too).
Writing about your family is very, very hard, especially when you know they're going to read what you've written. It's also hard to choose which parts of a complex, nuanced experience to shape into narrative without getting bogged down, and Nicole nails it. The places she dwells (her childhood and her pregnancy & birth story, especially) are rich.
I learned a lot, too. There's no "typical" adoption story, but ALL WE CAN EVER KNOW illuminated aspects of the process that had never occurred to me before. I feel so much better prepared to listen to the stories of folks who were and how to not make harmful assumptions. For that, I'm grateful. This is a book I'm going to think about for a long time, and I can't wait to catch Nicole on tour to hear her discuss it.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
This book does not deserve the high praise it gets. Elevator pitch-wise the story of someone who was adopted, wrestled with ethic identity (but not enough to learn Korean until adulthood and only then at the behest of a child) and subsequent birth family finding, sounds great on paper. Yet it doesnt read well on paper. If a fellow student had given me this manuscript and whispered, What do you think? I'd had have to start finding ways to constructively let them down and not ever pursue a career as a writer. How could she make such a gripping topic so substandard and dull? Before each major plot piece, she subjected us to a drawn out inner monlogue. Had this been in any way literary it would have been fine. But it wasn't. It is almost terrible writing. The fact that the acknowledgements thanked an editor also shocked me. It does not read like a manuscript that was ever read by an editor.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
n this heartfelt memoir, #NicoleChung shares her experience of being adopted, the racial prejudice she felt constantly being "different" growing up( as she was adopted by white parents) . She also talks about her quest to find information about the family who gave her up as it coincided with her own pregnancy, and learns so much more about herself and her own identity in the process.
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#AllYouCanEverKnow gave me much insight to this world of adoption; from the the eyes of the person being adopted, the parents of the adopted and the birth parents and family, and the impact they all have on each other.
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I do feel though that this story could have been shorter as I felt a little bit of rambling but I learned so much from this memoir.
3.5/5
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#AllYouCanEverKnow gave me much insight to this world of adoption; from the the eyes of the person being adopted, the parents of the adopted and the birth parents and family, and the impact they all have on each other.
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I do feel though that this story could have been shorter as I felt a little bit of rambling but I learned so much from this memoir.
3.5/5
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
a gentle book that handles a very complicated subject with grace and complete honesty. i think a lot of people — and not only adoptees, but also those who are mixed-race, members of diaspora groups, etc. — will really appreciate chung’s openness and the dialogue she begins and continues with ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW