December was our "vacation" month and all we did was party. The ornament exchange luncheon was a hit as always.
In January we read a very interesting and thought provoking book, Lucky Girl by Mei-Ling Hopgood. The book is about the author's experiences as an adoptee suddenly confronted by the reality of her biological family's reemergence into her life. A new member recently joined our book club and she is both an adoptee and an adoptive mother. It was exciting and very insightful to hear her perspectives on the issue of birth parents. "R" we are really happy you joined our club.
In February, we read two books trying to look at two different points of view: the adult adoptees and birth mothers from Korea.
- I Wish for You a Beautiful Life: Letters from the Korean Birth Mothers of Ae Ran Won to Their Children by Sara Dorow, is a collection of letters written by birth mothers to their children while they are at Ae Ran Won a support center in Korea for birth mothers. I found it interesting to read the reviews of this book (check the link) as it varies considerably depending on the readers situation (adoptees, birth mother's and adoptive parents). And as our group discussed it, we also had mixed feelings about the letters
- After the Morning Calm: Reflections of Korean Adoptees by Nancy Fox, is a collection of essays written by Korean adoptees living in the United States or Europe.
"These voices tell their individual stories in prose and verse, offering personal insights into the issues of being trans-racial adoptees, of going through the pains of adoption and coming to terms with one’s identity, being accepted and succeeding in the larger community and giving back, and finally finding his or her own place in the world." Korean Quarterly.
Overall, we had a wonderful start for 2010 and there is a lot more to come!
The calendar for 2010 has been updated and we have received many book suggestions for future readings.
Great job Madi!!!!!
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