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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
While I felt that this book could’ve definitely been paired down a little bit, I think that the story remains important. Nicole is a transracial adoptee, born to a Korean-American family in Seattle, Washington and adopted by a white family living in Oregon. She writes about growing up in a colourblind family in a very ‘white’ area of Oregon, the process of finding her birth family despite her closed adoption, and the relationship that she quickly developed with one of her birth sisters, Cindy (who had been told that Nicole had died after being born). In this book, Nicole demonstrates that no matter the circumstances surrounding the birth family, adoption is always filled with a complex sense of loss.
As an adoptive momma, I am always on the lookout for media that illuminates the experiences of adoptees. Chung's memoir was touching, as she explores the effects her adoption and subsequent exploration of her birth family had on her life. She explains the beauty and heartbreak of adoption so clearly.
emotional
slow-paced
I am interested in adoption and the experience of transracial adoptees, so I was excited to read Chung's memoir. I appreciated her insights into the difficulties of being a transracial adoptee in a family and community where no one looked like her, and I enjoyed the story of her reconnection with her birth sister, but I felt the book dragged on and got repetitive.
This book was between three and four stars. The story is new because there is so little out there about the experience of BEING adopted (lots about adoptING and trying to have a child, etc.), so for that this is great exposure for people that don't personally know anyone that can talk about this. The writing is also very honest, straightforward, and kind. For a journey like the one Nicole undertook, that is quite remarkable because it would have been easy to fall into a cycle of blame or judgment.
My main issue was in how the book came together. It reads mostly like a narrative, where other memoirs sometimes read like a compilation of short stories (such as Born a Crime by Trevor Noah), but the narrative itself doesn't quite have enough drive. It's a quiet, contemplative journey that sort of floats along and is not very aggressive. It doesn't sound like this is the kind of person Nicole is, as she makes mention of her temper and impatience, and so it was curious to me that the story ended up being a bit passive.
Overall, though, I would recommend that everybody read this because of the insights that it makes about adoption itself, racial differences, and what it means to be in a family.
My main issue was in how the book came together. It reads mostly like a narrative, where other memoirs sometimes read like a compilation of short stories (such as Born a Crime by Trevor Noah), but the narrative itself doesn't quite have enough drive. It's a quiet, contemplative journey that sort of floats along and is not very aggressive. It doesn't sound like this is the kind of person Nicole is, as she makes mention of her temper and impatience, and so it was curious to me that the story ended up being a bit passive.
Overall, though, I would recommend that everybody read this because of the insights that it makes about adoption itself, racial differences, and what it means to be in a family.
Memoir-Author’s Korean girl adopted into a white family as baby. Story of her search and reunion w birth family..,
I have to rate this a five because there are whole chapters of this book that feels like a diary I never wrote.
As an interracial adoptee it was like an interview or long conversation with a future self or a path I might take someday.
I am grateful to read a sliver of Nicole’s story.
As an interracial adoptee it was like an interview or long conversation with a future self or a path I might take someday.
I am grateful to read a sliver of Nicole’s story.
Interesting story. A bit rambling and wish we knew more what others in the story thought. Was a bit too stream-of-consciousness.
I loved the way she ended it thought. I wish this journey with her daughters had been a larger focus. Really beautiful. The last part of the acknowledgements had me tearing up too... amazing story, pretty well told.
I loved the way she ended it thought. I wish this journey with her daughters had been a larger focus. Really beautiful. The last part of the acknowledgements had me tearing up too... amazing story, pretty well told.
A gorgeous, poignant exploration of family and identity.
Incredibly delicate and detailed memoir. And so well edited and crafted with an arc that takes you on her specific journey. I felt deeply melancholy after reading this, and so grateful for this reflective story. Fantastic book
This book is a story about the writer's quest to learn about her birth parents. Given up by her birth parents and adopted by white parents, Nicole Chung has always wondered about her birth family. For the sake of her children and a peace of mind, Chung undertakes the journey of discovering the history of her Korean birth family.