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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
A heartbreaking and honest memoir about adoption, identity, race, and family. I enjoyed her honest exploration of her mixed feelings about reunion, and fell madly in love with the relationship she began to develop with her sister. Very emotional read.
Very insightful book. I loved the writing, and the short sections moved it along quickly. Not exactly a 5 star but more than a 4 star. I have only respect for the author's feelings and love that she was willing to share her story with us so eloquently.
This was a deep dive into one person's experience as an adoptee. The honesty and perspective she shared really illuminates the complexities of adoption and not knowing your origin story.
Nicole Chung brings up important and necessary questions in this memoir examining her closed, transracial adoption.
Chung is a Korean-American woman who was adopted by white parents as a premature, unwell infant and raised on the West Coast. In her memoir she examines her experience being raised in a mostly-white community as an Asian American, growing up as an adoptee with no knowledge of her birth parents or her origins, and her decision to seek out her birth family after she marries and begins to create a family of her own.
This memoir is important, especially as society begins to more deeply examine the repercussions of transracial adoption. Chung makes it clear that she is speaking of her own specific experiences as an adoptee, but also interweaves some other input from adoptee experiences.
I struggled to get through this memoir in its writing style. I wanted to read it and finish it because it is outside my own experience and anything I could ever truly understand. But it struck me as oftentimes repetitive, and so deeply introspective and personal that it was difficult to stay connected to the writing (almost like reading a journal). I would have loved to read this as a long essay, rather than a full memoir.
Chung is a Korean-American woman who was adopted by white parents as a premature, unwell infant and raised on the West Coast. In her memoir she examines her experience being raised in a mostly-white community as an Asian American, growing up as an adoptee with no knowledge of her birth parents or her origins, and her decision to seek out her birth family after she marries and begins to create a family of her own.
This memoir is important, especially as society begins to more deeply examine the repercussions of transracial adoption. Chung makes it clear that she is speaking of her own specific experiences as an adoptee, but also interweaves some other input from adoptee experiences.
I struggled to get through this memoir in its writing style. I wanted to read it and finish it because it is outside my own experience and anything I could ever truly understand. But it struck me as oftentimes repetitive, and so deeply introspective and personal that it was difficult to stay connected to the writing (almost like reading a journal). I would have loved to read this as a long essay, rather than a full memoir.
This was a moving, dazzling memoir. Nicole Chung openly shares her story of being a transracial adoptee—born to Korean immigrants and raised by a white family in an all-white town where she faced bullying as the only Asian kid around and even heard Asian stereotypes among her relatives. Her family never made any effort to introduce her to her Korean culture or address feelings she might have as an adoptee who could never hide that she wasn't born to the parents raising her. When Nicole is an adult and begins to think of creating her own family, she begins to explore looking for her birth parents and siblings. Her writing is beautiful, and I was in awe of the book's structure. It can be difficult to jump around in time when writing and put into words complicated feelings, but Nicole does a masterful job. I especially liked the chapters written about one of her relatives she later discovers. She weaves these into the book, explaining what this person was experiencing at the same time as Nicole. I imagine this can be a helpful, comforting book to other adoptees. And I think it should be read by all adopted parents—especially those adopting children of a different race—even if it might be difficult at times.
This memoir follows an adopted woman's quest for her biological family and her identity. The author doesn't reveal any earth-shattering secrets or any "OMG" moments. Instead, she tells her story honestly and earnestly.
I gave this book 4 stars because for over half of the book, I could’ve swore I was reading my own words. Her story is incredibly similar to my own adoption experience and I found myself riding the waves of emotion at the same time as her discovery points and crying and rooting for her, all while having some sense of shared understanding with the author. I will say her experience differs in that I do not feel an urge to find my biological family or “seek answers” but I really enjoyed reading about her motives and thought processes. Good, quick read
ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW by Nicole Yung is a poignant, honest story of the author’s efforts to find her roots and connection in a world that never felt quite right. Korean and adopted by a white family, her journey coincides with the birth of her first child and I was very moved by the story of her search for belonging.
Interesting perspective- writing had a lot of redundancies. Maybe 3.5 is more accurate.