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jennifer_mangieri 's review for:
All You Can Ever Know
by Nicole Chung
A beautifully written memoir that reminds me of that saying: Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about, so be kind. To be pregnant for the first time and then a first time parent, while simultaneously finding your birth family - learning things you might not have been prepared for - and wondering whether the sister you always wanted, will want you - wow. It's very brave of Nicole Chung to be this open, this vulnerable, this giving with her thoughts, feelings and reactions about her life experience.
This is a memoir about finding. It's Chung's story about how she, a baby from a Korean birth family, was adopted by a white family and raised in southern Oregon - a geographic area that is hugely white. It's the story of her childhood, how and why she set about finding her birth family, and the outcome of her search. It's about her search for her racial heritage, what it meant to her, and why it was important to her.
What can this mean for each one of us, as a reader? It's about finding your family - whoever and wherever they are - and about finding empathy and forgiveness. It's about finding yourself. It's about finding empathy and forgiveness for yourself, and finding it among others who are trying to give it to you. It's about looking at your past, and your future. Chung's reflections about motherhood, and her daughter; her reflections about her sister and what it has been like to find that bond - are so open and incredibly moving.
I've been a fan of Nicole Chung's writing and editing skills for a while, and this memoir is all I hoped it would be. Being giving with your writing is a very challenging skill, and being giving when writing some hard stories about your own life, even more so. I stand in awe and respect.
This is a memoir about finding. It's Chung's story about how she, a baby from a Korean birth family, was adopted by a white family and raised in southern Oregon - a geographic area that is hugely white. It's the story of her childhood, how and why she set about finding her birth family, and the outcome of her search. It's about her search for her racial heritage, what it meant to her, and why it was important to her.
What can this mean for each one of us, as a reader? It's about finding your family - whoever and wherever they are - and about finding empathy and forgiveness. It's about finding yourself. It's about finding empathy and forgiveness for yourself, and finding it among others who are trying to give it to you. It's about looking at your past, and your future. Chung's reflections about motherhood, and her daughter; her reflections about her sister and what it has been like to find that bond - are so open and incredibly moving.
I've been a fan of Nicole Chung's writing and editing skills for a while, and this memoir is all I hoped it would be. Being giving with your writing is a very challenging skill, and being giving when writing some hard stories about your own life, even more so. I stand in awe and respect.