A Princess Found: An American Family, an African Chiefdom, and the Daughter Who Connected Them All

by Tracy Trivas, Tracy Trivas

Sarah Culberson was adopted one year after her birth by a loving, white, West Virginian couple and was raised in the United States with little knowledge of her ancestry. Though raised in a loving family, Sarah wanted to know more about the birth parents that had given her up. In 2004, she hired a private investigator to track down her biological father. When she began her search, she never imagined what she would discover or where that information would lead she was related to African royalty, a ruling Mende family in Sierra Leone and that she is considered a mahaloi, the child of a Paramount Chief, with the status like a princess. What followed was an unforgettably emotional journey of discovery of herself, a father she never knew, and the spirit of a war-torn nation. A Princess Found is a powerful, intimate revelation of her quest across the world to learn of the chiefdom she could one day call her own.

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2010

Reviews

[Cathy Couch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an inspiring true account of a young biracial woman, adopted as a baby in West Virginia. As a young adult, she sought information about her birth parents.
She discovered she was the daughter of a man from Sierra Leone.

The story chronicles her father’s life journey, and hers, and their eventual meeting.

[Laura Nungester · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a raw and real and honest story of being adopted, growing up biracial, the search for biological parents, and the goodness that comes from all the events of Sarah’s life. As I read this I felt I was reading a real life fairy tale. Not that it was about riches and jewels but about how a princess hold responsibility for her people. How family is about and rooted in love. Sarah shows the world how we are supposed to live together. Her two families epitomize what family means. I’m truly in love with this book. I’m not usually a fan of nonfiction but this is written so eloquently and grippingly, much how Sarah lived her life, that you are drawn to her story. Her truth. Her family. One of my most favorite books I have read.

[Julie Akeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. The 'lost Princess' and I are the same age so during her high school days the writer also lined up her events with the events of Africa which was a shock to hear cause this was of course news I didn't know. It is a wonderful true story of a biracial girl finding her birhtparents and finding out she is of a royal line. I can really identify with her emotional journey though I am not biracial but just white, but it's her need to be loved and accepted and fear of being rejected that I understood all too well. A lovely book and glad to have read it.

[Misha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: Learning some Sierra Leonian history and culture, a very believable authorial voice that was honest about her own strengths and shortcomings, adoption, a generally happy book with nice people in it, and a good sense of pacing and time spent on each story. Also, it felt like an appropriate level of personal details to share.

Cons: Sometimes emails and speeches were put directly into the book as very long quotes. I found myself skimming these. Also, characters popped in and out of the book without much introduction.

It still fell a bit flat for me. I certainly never felt the need to stay up late reading it. My issue was that I didn't really click with the author and her passions and personality. I have the feeling that she and I are very, very different people and I found it hard to understand some of her motivations and reactions to things. So while it was certainly a book I'm glad I read, that has more to do with wanting to learn more about Sierra Leone than liking this book in particular.

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read as a CommUNITY Read.

I don't know why this is called Volume2 - it is the same book, just a new edition with a new cover.

Not many reviews on here - maybe because it is an older book with first edition in 2010.

I was eager to read this because I thought it was mostly going to be about the search for her father, but it turns out the adoptive parents knew the biological parents names all along so there was very little suspense.

I just never connected with Sarah although I learned a great deal about Sierra Leone.

I have not decided about attending the author event because I'm not sure Sarah is the main author. I suspect that co-author Tracy Trivas did most of the work. I found most of the writing flat and dialogue didn't strike me as authentic. Also very repetitive in some areas.

[Jillian Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being West Virginian and feeling a deep appreciation for all things Appalachian, I heard about this book from a friend who asked me if I knew of the West Virginia princess. Intrigued, I immediately checked this out from the library, and it did not disappoint. What a beautiful story. I learned so much about Sierra Leone that I felt transported there, able to intimately meet the people. Sarah’s coming of age is told and written beautifully, while also learning about Joseph during the war-torn Bumpe. Just wow.

[Kristen Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book. Wish it had continued a little further, though, because I would’ve loved to know more about her parents trip. I felt like it was a little heavy on the first part of her life and a little lean on the ending.

[Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

I truly enjoyed reading Sarah's story. It seems things in her life worked out exactly as they should have. Learning of the customs was interesting.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most delightful book I have read in a long time!

[David Raese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading a book when you know some of the characters personally is different. So is someone’s views on a town and state that you grew up in and still live. An American of African heritage who was raised since she was one by a white family and seeks to discover her birth parents was just a very interesting read. A young women finds herself and uses her immense talents to help a town and country rebuild after 10 years of civil war. Just a wonderful story.