Julie is adopted. She is also a twin. Because their adoption was closed, she and her sister lack both a health history and their adoption papers—which becomes an issue for Julie when, at forty-eight years old, she finds herself facing several serious health issues. To launch the probe into her closed adoption, Julie first needs the support of her sister. The twins talk things over, and make a … pact: Julie will approach their adoptive parents for the adoption paperwork and investigate search options, and the sisters will split the costs involved in locating their birth relatives. But their adoptive parents aren’t happy that their daughters want to locate their birth parents—and that is only the first of many obstacles Julie will come up against as she digs into her background. Julie’s search for her birth relatives spans eight years and involves a search agency, a PI, a confidential intermediary, a judge, an adoption agency, a social worker, and a genealogist. By journey’s end, what began as a simple desire for a family medical history has evolved into a complicated quest—one that unearths secrets, lies, and family members that are literally right next door.
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When I read memoirs, I look for ones that will cocoon me and truly move my heart and soul. This was one such memoir and I’m happy to have had the chance to read this one. Especially as someone who has a biological sister somewhere out there.
I followed Julie through her search for her birth parents. I turned page after page, feeling myself becoming a part of Julie’s journey as if it was my own. I felt myself wondering about my mom and her decision to put my sister up for adoption. The journey was hope filled, humor filled, surprising and emotional.
I am glad to have had the chance to read this one. I liked the writing style of Julie McGue. She chiseled her story in a beautiful way and really captured me. This is a 4 star worthy read and I highly recommend this one.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Author/Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
This memoir is quite different in that it reads like a mystery and let me say how much I miss seeing chapter titles in books! The author, Julie Ryan McGue, is an adoptee who always knew but never felt the need to seek her birth parents until later in life when she’s dealt with medical issues. She and her identical twin, Jenny, began the process. We follow along their emotional journey and can’t help but feel a part of her extended family. Thank you to Books Forward, the author, and She Write Press for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.
Compelling search for birth parents reads like a mystery.
The story of searching for one’s birth mother and father must have thousands of variations, each one a heart tug. Julie McGue has skillfully written her page-turning story in a way that makes us care about her search, even if we have not been touched by adoption. In her case, health issues made finding her medical background a necessity and raised the stakes of finding her parents. Being a twin gave McGue the support to carry out the search for both of them, but even that part of the path was full of surprises. Her search reads like a mystery—following the clues, with dead ends and jubilant successes, and tension running throughout the book based on the need for that medical history.
Adoptees will feel validated as McGue expresses a range of emotions in relation to her birth mother, her birth father, and the frustrating situation in which she and other adoptees found themselves due to old regulations around private adoptions. She also clearly portrays the feelings of her birth mother, even when she does not understand them. As someone with no experience in adoption, I gained tremendous insight into the pain of private adoption for both adoptees and birth mothers, pain that must be acknowledged and sometimes lived with in order to move forward, all of which McGue models so well.
I have to admit . . . I wasn’t expecting a memoir about a search for birth parents to capture me with so much suspense and emotional engagement. It moved me to tears. AND it’s a page-turner, clear to its most surprising (and delightful) conclusion. In fluid, well-written prose, author McGue recounts with candor, angst, and humor her search for the parents who relinquished her and her twin at birth. In a book that trails through many years and participants, readers in a less-skilled author’s hands would get lost. McGue, however, did an excellent job connecting me with her sizable cast. I not only kept them all straight, but I knew them by name and cared about them, which attests to how much the author treasures the people in her life and story. I really enjoyed this book.
Twice a Daughter is a well-written and fascinating memoir about Julie McGue’s search for her birth parents. She and her twin, Jenny, were adopted through a closed adoption in the 1950s, a time when social mores were very different. Julie’s initial incentive to search for her birth parents was to find out her family health history. As she embarked on the long and difficult process, she became interested in meeting and learning more about her biological family. Finding her biological families takes an enormous amount of persistence and patience. Twice a Daughter details the emotional and logistical issues involved for the birth and adoptive families. The reader learns empathy for people in this situation. Although interesting for anyone, this book would be particularly helpful for family members and professionals involved in adoption. @booksforwardpr #BooksForwardFriends
An amazing memoir.
I actually first heard about this book from another Netgalley member. She posted in a memoirs group that she was reading an ARC, and it sounded like my sort of book. I grabbed it from Netgalley, started it, and found it impossible to put down. It was a really interesting and unpredictable read.
This is a combination of medical, and adoption memoir. It starts out where the author has had some tests, and it seemed not all was well. She’d had other medical issues in the past few years, too. She thinks it’s time she pursued her family history; to get some answers; to see if these conditions were passed on through the genes. In tracing her birth mother and father, and their medical history, could she help her own children from developing these illnesses?
Julie, and twin sister Jenny had tried to find information about their biological parents 18 years ago, and had drawn a blank at that time. When they’re nearing their 50s, it’s time to try again. Family history, intrigue, possible family secrets emerging…..I love this type of book. This is often an emotional and involving read; there will be many twists and turns on their journey. It involves many years of searching and piecing clues together, yet the pace never let up; there were no filler flowery phrases, it was all vital, and a breathtaking journey.
A really excellent book, so interesting, and you just don’t know what’s going to happen next; which way things will go.
An amazing memoir.