The Michael Chronicles

by Dee Thompson

What’s it like to leave a remote part of Northern Asia and a traumatic past, to try and become an American boy -- with only one hand? My son Michael knows that journey because he lived it.

I thought I was adopting a pitiful waif. He was nothing of the sort. In visits to the orphanage in Kazakhstan, he showed me intelligence, wit, and sweetness. After more than a month, and a grueling journey back to the states, he was fully embraced by his older sister and grandmother. Despite being the only boy in a house full of females, my son quickly proved to be an incredibly stubborn, strong-willed little warrior. His quick wit and sharp intelligence delighted us. Almost daily, we found ourselves laughing at his antics. I blogged about our lives, and those blogs create vivid snapshots of those days.

Michael’s adoption and transition to being part of an American family was a bumpy ride at times, but also one filled with wonder, laughter, tears, and moments of grace.

This is our story, warts and all.

429 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2025

About the author

I earned a BA in Drama and an MA in Creative Writing and I have worked as a freelance writer, a journalist, and a paralegal. My essays have been included in the award-winning books Call Me Okaasan [2009] and The Divinity of Dogs [2013]. I have written a number of novels and they are all on Amazon: Ghosts in the Garden City [2019], Leaf Season [2019], Heart of My Own Heart [2020], Return to Marietta [2022], Dancing in the Wreckage [2023] and The Wedding Conspiracy [2023]. Additionally, I’ve published a cookbook, What’s for Dinner, Mom? and I compiled and edited a posthumous memoir of my mother’s writings, Singing to the Cows [2021]. In December 2023 I published a memoir called Talking Back, Stories from the Big Hair and Pantyhose Years, and it’s available on Amazon. It includes a lot of stories about my first 15 years as a paralegal. I also wrote a guide for new paralegals, Paralegal 411: Tips, Tricks and Timesavers for the Litigation Paralegal. I’ve published numerous articles online and in print, and I’ve been writing a personal blog, The Crab Chronicles, since 2005.