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Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favorite Book Taught Me about Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All
A charming and heartwarming true story for anyone who has ever longed for a place to belong. "Anne of Green Gables," My Daughter, and Me is a witty romp through the classic novel; a visit to the magical shores of Prince Edward Island; and a poignant personal tale of love, faith, and loss.
And it all started with a simple question: "What's an orphan?" The words from her adopted daughter, Phoebe, during a bedtime reading of Anne of Green Gables stopped Lorilee Craker in her tracks. How could Lorilee, who grew up not knowing her own birth parents, answer Phoebe's question when she had wrestled all her life with feeling orphaned--and learned too well that not every story has a happy ending?
So Lorilee set off on a quest to find answers in the pages of the very book that started it all, determined to discover--and teach her daughter--what home, family, and belonging really mean. If you loved the poignancy of Orphan Train and the humor of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, you will be captivated by "Anne of Green Gables," My Daughter, and Me. It's a beautiful memoir that deftly braids three lost girls' stories together, speaks straight to the heart of the orphan in us all, and shows us the way home at last.
And it all started with a simple question: "What's an orphan?" The words from her adopted daughter, Phoebe, during a bedtime reading of Anne of Green Gables stopped Lorilee Craker in her tracks. How could Lorilee, who grew up not knowing her own birth parents, answer Phoebe's question when she had wrestled all her life with feeling orphaned--and learned too well that not every story has a happy ending?
So Lorilee set off on a quest to find answers in the pages of the very book that started it all, determined to discover--and teach her daughter--what home, family, and belonging really mean. If you loved the poignancy of Orphan Train and the humor of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, you will be captivated by "Anne of Green Gables," My Daughter, and Me. It's a beautiful memoir that deftly braids three lost girls' stories together, speaks straight to the heart of the orphan in us all, and shows us the way home at last.
256 pages, ebook
First published August 1, 2015
31 people are currently reading
1524 people want to read
About the author
Lorilee Craker
27 books41 followersLorilee Craker is a writer in Michigan, United States. She grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She has three children. She advocates participation in community-supported agriculture and shopping at farmers' markets. She is an entertainment writer for MLive. Craker co-authored Lynne Spears' memoir Through the Storm. Craker and Spears appeared together at the 20th annual MOPS International convention in Grapevine, Texas in 2008. Craker co-authored My Journey to Heaven: What I Saw and How It Changed My Life with Marv Besteman, who died before the book was published. In a 2011 Time article, Zac Bissonnette writes that Craker "might be the most versatile journalist in America".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
May 25, 2020
Yes indeed, I was (and with an enticing book title of Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All) quite pleasantly excited about reading and also very much looking forward and expecting to personally and majorly enjoy Lorilee Craker's memoirs (about her life as an adopted daughter, about her own adoption of an infant from South Korea and how both of these scenarios are according to her somehow also and equally connected to L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables novels, because Lucy Maud Montgomery herself often tended to feel like an orphan, that Maud sometimes felt adopted and not really fitting in all that well after having lost her biological mother at the age of two, then being basically abandoned by her father and raised by her maternal grandparents).
But while many of the tie-ins that Lorilee Craker demonstrates between her own and her adopted daughter's lives and L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series have indeed been interesting, relatable as well as generally engagingly and entertainingly enough recounted (and I do indeed appreciate how much minute textual knowledge of the AOGG series the author brings to Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All, albeit that her silly schoolgirl like crush on Gilbert Blythe is a bit personally frustrating as I have always found him quite ho-hum and woefully under-developed as a character until the later series books and I also do believe that Rachel Lynde is rather often too vehemently criticised and condemned by Lorilee Craker), really and in my humble opinion, that there often also seems to be (at least to and for me) an annoying one-sidedness (and an authorial "I can do not wrong" and "my way or the highway") attitude inhabiting the pages of Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All, this has certainly very much lessened my general reading pleasure. For yes, these personal feelings and reactions while I was perusing Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All, they have thus and certainly also made a goodly number of Lorilee Craker's featured remembrances and musings both rather monotonous as times and sometimes also leaving a very much uncomfortable taste in my mouth (and this especially when Craker superimposes Mennonite morality and general Christianity on her text or when she imagines the life of her adopted Korean daughter's birth mother without proof and also with a certain amount of palpable condescension).
Not in any way a to be actively avoided tome is Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All and yes, I certainly have found parts of Lorilee Craker's memoirs eye-opening and intriguing, but not really what I was expecting either. And indeed, even with the specific, well sourced and explained Anne of Green Gables tie-ins, this book, Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All is from where I am standing equally not really all that much specifically about Lucy Maud Montgomery, her oeuvre and Anne of Green Gables anyhow (as the L.M. Montgomery parts do feel more like decorative trims for Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All and not really all that integral a part of Lorilee Craker's actual text, and this has certainly and most definitely been a major personal reading disappointment).
But while many of the tie-ins that Lorilee Craker demonstrates between her own and her adopted daughter's lives and L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series have indeed been interesting, relatable as well as generally engagingly and entertainingly enough recounted (and I do indeed appreciate how much minute textual knowledge of the AOGG series the author brings to Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All, albeit that her silly schoolgirl like crush on Gilbert Blythe is a bit personally frustrating as I have always found him quite ho-hum and woefully under-developed as a character until the later series books and I also do believe that Rachel Lynde is rather often too vehemently criticised and condemned by Lorilee Craker), really and in my humble opinion, that there often also seems to be (at least to and for me) an annoying one-sidedness (and an authorial "I can do not wrong" and "my way or the highway") attitude inhabiting the pages of Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All, this has certainly very much lessened my general reading pleasure. For yes, these personal feelings and reactions while I was perusing Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All, they have thus and certainly also made a goodly number of Lorilee Craker's featured remembrances and musings both rather monotonous as times and sometimes also leaving a very much uncomfortable taste in my mouth (and this especially when Craker superimposes Mennonite morality and general Christianity on her text or when she imagines the life of her adopted Korean daughter's birth mother without proof and also with a certain amount of palpable condescension).
Not in any way a to be actively avoided tome is Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All and yes, I certainly have found parts of Lorilee Craker's memoirs eye-opening and intriguing, but not really what I was expecting either. And indeed, even with the specific, well sourced and explained Anne of Green Gables tie-ins, this book, Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All is from where I am standing equally not really all that much specifically about Lucy Maud Montgomery, her oeuvre and Anne of Green Gables anyhow (as the L.M. Montgomery parts do feel more like decorative trims for Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me: What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging, and the Orphan in Us All and not really all that integral a part of Lorilee Craker's actual text, and this has certainly and most definitely been a major personal reading disappointment).
April 29, 2021
Four stars just for the chapter about Matthew. Made the entire book worth it. 😭❤️
September 8, 2015
What a special book this is! When I requested this to review, I had no idea how much I'd enjoy it. It was about Anne of Green Gables, and I thought the cover looked cute. That was all. I had no idea.
I don't read many memoirs. I'm a fiction snob, all the way. I'm not saying I don't care about your life, just...I don't need to read about it. Give me a western or romance or something.
Needless to say at this point, that was NOT the case with this book! I really liked this book. I think I even loved it. It's a memoir, telling a lot about the author's growing up and adult life and her experiences with being adopted, then adopting a little girl of her own, which on the surface didn't sound extremely interesting to me, but surprisingly it was. Maybe because this lady's personality is so much fun. Maybe because she's so relate-able. Maybe because her writing is GOLD. I loved the influences of the Anne stories flowing throughout, and the author's obvious enthusiasm for everything pertaining thereto. Her love for Anne's world is contagious and intoxicating, and her careful and delighted romp through the Anne stories gave a deeper insight to the life lessons found within that I'd never thought much of before.
This book was like hot tea on a chilly autumn night for me. It was like a healing salve on my heart. It reached its fuzzy fingers into my soul and made me feel wonderfully at home within its pages. I LOVED the parts about Lorilee Craker's childhood friends (Clara sounds perfectly awesome); it made me think about all the wonderful friends I have in my own life, and how blessed I am to have them. I also particularly enjoyed Lorilee's reminisces of meeting and falling in love with her husband, Doyle (who sounds like a good old boy). Seriously, though -- the woman made everything funny. Even the super deep recounts of finding and getting in touch with her birth parents again were funny. She just has this innate sense of humor that shines through her writing. That was what I ultimately loved best about the book. I think this lady and I would get along real well. She's definitely a kindred spirit. :-)
My rating: 9/10
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review
I don't read many memoirs. I'm a fiction snob, all the way. I'm not saying I don't care about your life, just...I don't need to read about it. Give me a western or romance or something.
Needless to say at this point, that was NOT the case with this book! I really liked this book. I think I even loved it. It's a memoir, telling a lot about the author's growing up and adult life and her experiences with being adopted, then adopting a little girl of her own, which on the surface didn't sound extremely interesting to me, but surprisingly it was. Maybe because this lady's personality is so much fun. Maybe because she's so relate-able. Maybe because her writing is GOLD. I loved the influences of the Anne stories flowing throughout, and the author's obvious enthusiasm for everything pertaining thereto. Her love for Anne's world is contagious and intoxicating, and her careful and delighted romp through the Anne stories gave a deeper insight to the life lessons found within that I'd never thought much of before.
This book was like hot tea on a chilly autumn night for me. It was like a healing salve on my heart. It reached its fuzzy fingers into my soul and made me feel wonderfully at home within its pages. I LOVED the parts about Lorilee Craker's childhood friends (Clara sounds perfectly awesome); it made me think about all the wonderful friends I have in my own life, and how blessed I am to have them. I also particularly enjoyed Lorilee's reminisces of meeting and falling in love with her husband, Doyle (who sounds like a good old boy). Seriously, though -- the woman made everything funny. Even the super deep recounts of finding and getting in touch with her birth parents again were funny. She just has this innate sense of humor that shines through her writing. That was what I ultimately loved best about the book. I think this lady and I would get along real well. She's definitely a kindred spirit. :-)
My rating: 9/10
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review
June 10, 2025
Simply wonderful. If you are an Anne of Green Gables fan (or just a fan of thoughtful, moving memoirs), this book will rekindle your love, and quite possibly add to it. Lorilee Craker ties in her own story of adoption, her story of adopting her daughter, and of course, our beloved literary orphan, Anne Shirley, and weaves a beautiful picture of what true love looks like, and the desperate human need to belong. This book will make you laugh, cry, and prickle with goose bumps. As Kathleen Kelly would say, "Read it! I know you'll love it."
January 21, 2019
Oh my days. This is a 100% whole-hearted 5* read for me, and I wish that every AoGG fan/adopter/adoptee/anyone who has ever struggled with feeling bereft, left behind and left would read this book. This such an impactful and beautiful book. It is heart warming and hilarious at times, heart rending and tear jerking at others. The stories told in this book are so beautiful, and the way that Craker weaves them all together is incredibly well done. As an avid fan of L. M. Montgomery and all her fictional children, this book both satisfied me (so much AoGG fellow fan girling! xD) and piqued my curiosity (who knew LMM was such a fascinating person?!). As a Christian, this book connected me at much deeper heart level, and left me in awe of God's good father heart towards his children. Because of him we are never left behind, we are never alone. I know this is going to be a book that I will come back to again and again over the years.
June 5, 2017
3.5 stars—the extra half-star is for mentioning Emily of New Moon. :)
July 17, 2019
This book tells how Lorilee Cracker, the author, was adopted and found a connection with Anne of Green Gables. Not only was the author adopted, she ended up adopting. Cracker is from the Mennonite faith and has bits of contemplation of how God works in the details by recounting a scene almost verbatim, from Anne of Green Gables, and then sharing her own experience in life that almost matched up.
This book was ok. I really wanted to like it much more than I did. Since I have been a huge fan of Anne of Green Gables from the beginning, it felt as though half of this book is telling me what I already knew and the other half about how Cracker came to terms with not knowing her birth mom and dealing with being adopted and what she experienced when she adopted her own daughter.
It was just hard to connect. I got enough information about the author and what she went through but it was just hard to want to pick the book up. I may try it again. I really want to adopt one day and thought I would have a deeper pull after reading this book but... It just felt there.
This book was ok. I really wanted to like it much more than I did. Since I have been a huge fan of Anne of Green Gables from the beginning, it felt as though half of this book is telling me what I already knew and the other half about how Cracker came to terms with not knowing her birth mom and dealing with being adopted and what she experienced when she adopted her own daughter.
It was just hard to connect. I got enough information about the author and what she went through but it was just hard to want to pick the book up. I may try it again. I really want to adopt one day and thought I would have a deeper pull after reading this book but... It just felt there.
September 14, 2015
I spent half the time crying while reading this book, so touching and vulnerable was Craker's writing. The other half of the reading was spent giggling. She's really funny. It's a beautiful weaving together of four stories which reveal the orphan in all of us...and the love and mercy and home we find.
Beautiful memoir.
Beautiful memoir.
June 15, 2018
Lorilee Craker was adopted as an infant. After having two sons, she and her husband adopted a daughter. In this book, she entwines her own childhood, her adoption of her daughter, and Anne's fictional life in a sweet, lyrical way. She meditates beautifully on how all of us, adopted or not, often feel "bereft, left behind, and left" just like an orphan, and how our Heavenly Father fills that hollowness within us with his love.
July 21, 2015
This book weaves together the stories of several orphans, both fictional and real. Lucy Maud Montgomery was abandoned by her father, left with her grandparents, and grew up feeling orphaned, which inspired her to write her famous Anne stories, one of the most beloved orphan girls of all time. The author, Lorilee Craker, was also an orphan, given up for adoption and raised by her adopted Mennonite family. Lorilee went on to adopt a daughter of her own from Korea. Four orphan stories from widely different times and circumstances, but all with one central message- The Love of God heals us, chooses us, delights in us, and adopts us into a heavenly family.
I loved that the author widens the definitions of orphanhood to include anyone who has ever been bereaved, experienced loss, or been disappointed in life. We are all spiritual orphans until God takes us under His wing. The book has a wide audience, not just orphans, since we have all felt left behind and abandoned at some point.
The writing is very clever and witty and jovial, which makes it rather too verbose for me sometimes. I don't need a string of 6 adjectives, no matter how clever they may be. Puns and jokes and cute little metaphors abound, but I prefer them in small doses.
The stories are sometimes too detailed and I get bored with all the minutiae, but most of the stories in each chapter are inspirational and I definitely cried a few times! The writer is down-to-earth and easy to relate to, but the stories are also high-minded and noble in their messages of love, acceptance, faith, and hope.
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for a free and honest review. The opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
I loved that the author widens the definitions of orphanhood to include anyone who has ever been bereaved, experienced loss, or been disappointed in life. We are all spiritual orphans until God takes us under His wing. The book has a wide audience, not just orphans, since we have all felt left behind and abandoned at some point.
The writing is very clever and witty and jovial, which makes it rather too verbose for me sometimes. I don't need a string of 6 adjectives, no matter how clever they may be. Puns and jokes and cute little metaphors abound, but I prefer them in small doses.
The stories are sometimes too detailed and I get bored with all the minutiae, but most of the stories in each chapter are inspirational and I definitely cried a few times! The writer is down-to-earth and easy to relate to, but the stories are also high-minded and noble in their messages of love, acceptance, faith, and hope.
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for a free and honest review. The opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
March 5, 2018
I was really excited by the idea of this book because I love Anne of Green Gables, but found it difficult to get through and found far less of Anne in the pages than expected. Rather than a novel, I feel that Lorilee Craker could have just written an article summing up "What my favorite book taught me about grace, belonging, and the orphan in us all." I think I would have enjoyed that kind of article far more than this book which focused more and more heavily on the author's religious beliefs as the book goes on. I actually found some parts of the book, such as her fictional account of how her daughter's adoptive mother felt about being pregnant, somewhat offensive and ignorant. I was also surprised that she included the letter she wrote to her biological father and parts of his reply to her. It just felt somewhat unnecessary and I felt like an intruder into a charged situation which I didn't need to be included in. Overall, I would not recommend this book to another, especially not another Anne fan.
November 17, 2015
I just finished reading AOGGMDAM. *sigh* I didn't want it to end!!! Many thanks to Lorilee Craker for writing it. It spoke to me on so many levels, as an '80s girl (best music EVER), as a dearly loved daughter, as an adoptive mom who now considers all things Guatemalan part of my heritage, as a lover of Anne of Green Gables, and as a newly orphaned sister (due to my only sibling walking out of my life). Lorilee helped me realize my heart bone is broken; and for giving me that metaphor I will always be grateful. What is more, she helped me take another step on the healing/forgiveness journey, cobbled, ankle-twisting road that it is. That is the mark of a truly great writer: the ability to help the reader see her own life through the lens of the story. Lorilee Craker is a great writer who will have you laughing one moment, crying the next, and saying, "Me too!" at every turn.
January 30, 2018
Really, really enjoyed this book! It made me want to read the Anne books again. I found Lorilee’s and Phoebe’s adoption stories very interesting as well. The background information about LMM was really fascinating. This book gave me an inside track to the thoughts and feelings of an orphan. Definitely recommend for Anne fans.
November 26, 2015
I enjoy memoirs which are based around the author's love of a particular book. Especially when it happens to be one I've also loved for decades. Our favourite books do help shape our lives, and that's worth celebrating, as Lorilee Craker has done here.
The adoption aspect is particularly meaningful to the author. She herself was adopted as a baby, and later, she and her husband adopted a baby girl from Korea to join their family of two boys. I started off expecting that many of the points wouldn't apply to me, but I was in for a surprise. It's well worth reading just to discover how many of us may carry aspects of the orphan heart without knowing it, whether that comes from being rejected, snubbed, shunned, left behind or failing to make a grade. That probably covers pretty much everyone at some time.
She sums up episodes from Anne's life with funny, twenty-first century insights and parallels, and as the reader, I couldn't help remembering some of my own too. It's essentially a book for female readers, and we can probably all identify our own kindred spirit Diana Barrys, mean girl Josie Pyes, and if we're lucky, love-of-our-life Gilbert Blythes, through the years.
We love Gilbert for the way he stayed devoted to Anne for so long, and how she realised that this 'boy next door' was more of a Prince Charming than the dark, handsome, mythical men she conjured up in her own head, or their look-alikes. It helps us to appreciate the men in our own lives with fresh eyes. And as for Josie Pye, Craker points out that these girls are everywhere, and don't rise to positions of influence without our permission.She gives tips on how to deal with them with grace and dignity.
The true meaning of the word 'real' is delved into. When it comes to families, although many may assume this means your biological folk, this is not necessarily the case. The love felt for adoptive family members becomes biological anyway, as depth of feeling releases hormones and bonding chemicals. I love how although Lorilee met her birth mother and extended family, and got along well with them, she still honoured her first family in her heart, because of their shared love and lifetime of experiences.
We've all seen how many adopted people decide to seek their biological parents as if it's a search for the holy grail. I took it as a nudge for those of us who have always had a birth mothers and fathers around, to not forget to honour and appreciate them in the same way.
Thanks to Tyndale House and NetGalley for my review copy.
The adoption aspect is particularly meaningful to the author. She herself was adopted as a baby, and later, she and her husband adopted a baby girl from Korea to join their family of two boys. I started off expecting that many of the points wouldn't apply to me, but I was in for a surprise. It's well worth reading just to discover how many of us may carry aspects of the orphan heart without knowing it, whether that comes from being rejected, snubbed, shunned, left behind or failing to make a grade. That probably covers pretty much everyone at some time.
She sums up episodes from Anne's life with funny, twenty-first century insights and parallels, and as the reader, I couldn't help remembering some of my own too. It's essentially a book for female readers, and we can probably all identify our own kindred spirit Diana Barrys, mean girl Josie Pyes, and if we're lucky, love-of-our-life Gilbert Blythes, through the years.
We love Gilbert for the way he stayed devoted to Anne for so long, and how she realised that this 'boy next door' was more of a Prince Charming than the dark, handsome, mythical men she conjured up in her own head, or their look-alikes. It helps us to appreciate the men in our own lives with fresh eyes. And as for Josie Pye, Craker points out that these girls are everywhere, and don't rise to positions of influence without our permission.She gives tips on how to deal with them with grace and dignity.
The true meaning of the word 'real' is delved into. When it comes to families, although many may assume this means your biological folk, this is not necessarily the case. The love felt for adoptive family members becomes biological anyway, as depth of feeling releases hormones and bonding chemicals. I love how although Lorilee met her birth mother and extended family, and got along well with them, she still honoured her first family in her heart, because of their shared love and lifetime of experiences.
We've all seen how many adopted people decide to seek their biological parents as if it's a search for the holy grail. I took it as a nudge for those of us who have always had a birth mothers and fathers around, to not forget to honour and appreciate them in the same way.
Thanks to Tyndale House and NetGalley for my review copy.
December 3, 2017
This is a memoir by a married, Canadian, Mennonite adoptee and mother of three children, including a daughter adopted from South Korea, who lives with her husband in the US. It's also a love letter to Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery and a bit of a literary critique. And it tries to interweave these threads, with limited success. If it were a blog series (and I'm betting it might have been), rather than a published book, it might rate higher.
Imagine you are sitting on an airplane and strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you, and she and you both have something (a book, a t-shirt, whatever) that signifies you are both Anne fans. And so she starts to tell you about her life -- as an adoptee, as a mother of an adopted child, as a writer -- and shares how Anne-ish things resonate vis-a-vis the tales of her life. She's witty (as a person sitting next to you on a plane, though not necessarily laugh-out-loud witty-like-a-best-selling author) and personable, and her stories are somewhat interesting, but only in that "this flight is three hours and I've got to entertain myself somehow" way.
But you expect a book to provide more depth. The insights into Anne and her relationships (with Gilbert and Diana, with Matthew and Marilla), and the ways Anne's life resonated with Craker, may make an Anne fan's heart warm and fuzzy. However, the gently amusing anecdotes (her new parents accidentally purloining her from the hospital, her bio-sister's best friend's strapless maid-of-honor dress staying up) aren't quite sustainably compelling for an entire book.
There's a lot of religiosity in this book that one might not expect. It's probably not oppressive if you're a North American Christian, but if you're not (and I'm not), it can get a bit overwhelming.
I like Canadians. I like Anne. I liked Craker well enough (certainly well enough to sit beside her on a plane) and bonded with her over the rude treatment by middle-school classmates. But I wish there's been more there there. Craker and I will not become bosom friends.
Imagine you are sitting on an airplane and strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to you, and she and you both have something (a book, a t-shirt, whatever) that signifies you are both Anne fans. And so she starts to tell you about her life -- as an adoptee, as a mother of an adopted child, as a writer -- and shares how Anne-ish things resonate vis-a-vis the tales of her life. She's witty (as a person sitting next to you on a plane, though not necessarily laugh-out-loud witty-like-a-best-selling author) and personable, and her stories are somewhat interesting, but only in that "this flight is three hours and I've got to entertain myself somehow" way.
But you expect a book to provide more depth. The insights into Anne and her relationships (with Gilbert and Diana, with Matthew and Marilla), and the ways Anne's life resonated with Craker, may make an Anne fan's heart warm and fuzzy. However, the gently amusing anecdotes (her new parents accidentally purloining her from the hospital, her bio-sister's best friend's strapless maid-of-honor dress staying up) aren't quite sustainably compelling for an entire book.
There's a lot of religiosity in this book that one might not expect. It's probably not oppressive if you're a North American Christian, but if you're not (and I'm not), it can get a bit overwhelming.
I like Canadians. I like Anne. I liked Craker well enough (certainly well enough to sit beside her on a plane) and bonded with her over the rude treatment by middle-school classmates. But I wish there's been more there there. Craker and I will not become bosom friends.
November 17, 2015
I ordered Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter & Me by Lorilee Craker because I am a big Anne fan. I let it sit on my desk for quite awhile though, expecting it to speak more to the heart of orphans than anyone else.
How wrong I was. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. While part of the premise of this book is about Lorilee's, her daughter Phoebe's, and Anne's story of being an orphan and adopted, it is so much more. Craker seamlessly wove in bits of all three of their lives together and I felt as this was as much a devotional as it was a memoir.
Anne quotes, the back history of Lucy Maud Montgomery (how did I not know that she herself was essentially an orphan after her father so much as abandoned her after her mother died?), and words of wisdom make this book enlightening as well as endearing.
Chapters such as "Vanquishing Josie Pye" (don't we all have a Josie Pye in our life?!) and "Twenty Pounds of Brown Sugar and a Garden Rake" (all about Matthew Cuthbert and the "fathers" in our life - such a sweet chapter!). Each and every chapter spoke to me and I already look forward to reading through this book again - I savored so many of the descriptions and 'yummy' words.
While this book would be terrific for anyone adopted, anyone who has adopted, or anyone who has given a child up for adoption, or anyone who loves Anne, there is so much more to this book. As the subtitle reads, this book is about "What my favorite book taught me about grace, belonging & the orphan in us all".
This book was given to me by Tyndale Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
How wrong I was. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. While part of the premise of this book is about Lorilee's, her daughter Phoebe's, and Anne's story of being an orphan and adopted, it is so much more. Craker seamlessly wove in bits of all three of their lives together and I felt as this was as much a devotional as it was a memoir.
Anne quotes, the back history of Lucy Maud Montgomery (how did I not know that she herself was essentially an orphan after her father so much as abandoned her after her mother died?), and words of wisdom make this book enlightening as well as endearing.
Chapters such as "Vanquishing Josie Pye" (don't we all have a Josie Pye in our life?!) and "Twenty Pounds of Brown Sugar and a Garden Rake" (all about Matthew Cuthbert and the "fathers" in our life - such a sweet chapter!). Each and every chapter spoke to me and I already look forward to reading through this book again - I savored so many of the descriptions and 'yummy' words.
While this book would be terrific for anyone adopted, anyone who has adopted, or anyone who has given a child up for adoption, or anyone who loves Anne, there is so much more to this book. As the subtitle reads, this book is about "What my favorite book taught me about grace, belonging & the orphan in us all".
This book was given to me by Tyndale Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
May 4, 2019
Author’s memoir of her experiences in the world of adoption (both hers and her daughter’s) and connecting that to the life of L.M. Montgomery and her Anne of Green Gables, and also (pleasant surprise to me) to the love of a Father who adopts us and never leaves us.
I think the very last part was the very best - recounting her first night with her Korean daughter, who was already half a year old. I had never thought of that heartbreak of the first night for an adopted baby who doesn’t know what’s going on. 😭
It was interesting to learn little tidbits of Maud’s life, and I’m excited to go onto reading a book all about her.
The downside to this book was the ways I often felt annoyed by her writing style. I wasn’t expecting a full-fledged scholarly dissertation, but I also wasn’t expecting a narrative that sometimes sounded like a “mommy blog”.
I think the very last part was the very best - recounting her first night with her Korean daughter, who was already half a year old. I had never thought of that heartbreak of the first night for an adopted baby who doesn’t know what’s going on. 😭
It was interesting to learn little tidbits of Maud’s life, and I’m excited to go onto reading a book all about her.
The downside to this book was the ways I often felt annoyed by her writing style. I wasn’t expecting a full-fledged scholarly dissertation, but I also wasn’t expecting a narrative that sometimes sounded like a “mommy blog”.
March 30, 2016
This book wasn't quite what I expected. It's a weaving together of Anne's, the author's, and the author's daughter's adoption stories. It's a book that I was very excited about that fell flat for me. I felt like she rambled quite a bit and then there would be something that would really catch my interest and it wouldn't get the development that could have been great. I feel like it's a book that people who are familiar with Green Gables would read, but there was quite a bit of rehashing the story as well. Not my favorite.
November 26, 2015
Beautiful. A touching tribute to Lorilee's adopted daughter intersected with her own story of adoption combined with Lorilee's deep connection with the beloved novel, Anne of Green Gables. If that sounds like a lot--it's not. Lorilee deftly intertwines these three stories of abandonment and loss into a wonderful story of what it means to be truly found. Her stories will make you laugh and her own similar type of romp through life will endear her to you. Her best writing yet.
July 13, 2016
I can't even finish it, but I'm counting it because I had to slog more than halfway through before giving myself permission to toss it aside. I don't need Anne of Green Gables retold to me with personal (and boring) stories slipped in. Not my cup of tea...maybe a good book for someone else.
November 25, 2023
I didn’t really enjoy this book, and I don’t know whether I would have finished it if I hadn’t gone and picked it for a buddy read group. One of my main annoyances stems from the way the book is presented vs. what it actually is. I don’t like faulting a book for not being what I wanted it to be. But here, I feel like the book claimed to be something it wasn’t.
Rather than an exploration of AoGG through the lens of adoption, or an exploration of one adoptee/adoptive mother’s experience revisiting AoGG with her daughter—both of which are indicated by the title and the description of the book—this is more a series of vignettes loosely connecting AoGG to the author’s life. And then there are several chapters focused on her experience as an adoptee and her journey of adopting a child from Korea. The book also felt uneven: some chapters were almost solely memoir, others made direct connections between specific AoGG scenes and the author’s life, and still other chapters took great pains to pull Christian applications out of the Anne/memoir vignettes.
Which leads to another frustration I had: the title, the back cover blurb, etc. didn’t indicate this was a “Christian” book. It sounded like something for a general audience: people who love Anne and are interested in exploring its connections with adoption/orphanhood, as experienced by this particular author. But the book blurb felt misleading as I got into the book itself.
The Christian slant to it wouldn’t have necessarily turned me off, except that I didn’t expect it, and the way the author talks about God seems to assume that her view of God is both normative and shared by her audience. If I’d noticed it was published by Tyndale, maybe I would have been clued in. (I also probably wouldn’t have picked it for a general buddy read if I’d realized the assumed audience.)
I don’t mind books where I’m not the target audience, but I like to know who the target audience is. And maybe I’m a bit over-sensitive about books that assume a female Christian reader, who is also a mother, and is probably white. I’m not that far off from her target audience in many ways, but this type of Christian-y writing tends to rub me the wrong way.
Then there’s the writing style. Craker loads up her sentences with an excess of descriptors and jumps from metaphor to metaphor in a way that often made me roll my eyes. In some senses, I want to give her a pass, because I feel like this type of writing is very Anne-ish. However, I think Anne also grew into (or out of) her use of florid description and extravagant phrasing and learned to tone it down appropriately. The book would be far stronger if Craker had moderated her overwritten sentences just a bit. Okay, maybe a lot bit.
And then add to that: Craker kept over-explaining/summarizing scenes from AoGG, which annoyed me further. Of any assumptions she could make about her target audience, familiarity with AoGG would be a pretty safe one to make—but there I sat, reading summaries of the Mrs. Lynde apology and the jumping-on-Aunt-Josephine scene. Sigh.
I wanted to like this. It just didn’t deliver in the ways it promised, or in the ways I had hoped. It did make me want to re-read Anne of Green Gables, though, so that’s not a bad thing!
Rather than an exploration of AoGG through the lens of adoption, or an exploration of one adoptee/adoptive mother’s experience revisiting AoGG with her daughter—both of which are indicated by the title and the description of the book—this is more a series of vignettes loosely connecting AoGG to the author’s life. And then there are several chapters focused on her experience as an adoptee and her journey of adopting a child from Korea. The book also felt uneven: some chapters were almost solely memoir, others made direct connections between specific AoGG scenes and the author’s life, and still other chapters took great pains to pull Christian applications out of the Anne/memoir vignettes.
Which leads to another frustration I had: the title, the back cover blurb, etc. didn’t indicate this was a “Christian” book. It sounded like something for a general audience: people who love Anne and are interested in exploring its connections with adoption/orphanhood, as experienced by this particular author. But the book blurb felt misleading as I got into the book itself.
The Christian slant to it wouldn’t have necessarily turned me off, except that I didn’t expect it, and the way the author talks about God seems to assume that her view of God is both normative and shared by her audience. If I’d noticed it was published by Tyndale, maybe I would have been clued in. (I also probably wouldn’t have picked it for a general buddy read if I’d realized the assumed audience.)
I don’t mind books where I’m not the target audience, but I like to know who the target audience is. And maybe I’m a bit over-sensitive about books that assume a female Christian reader, who is also a mother, and is probably white. I’m not that far off from her target audience in many ways, but this type of Christian-y writing tends to rub me the wrong way.
Then there’s the writing style. Craker loads up her sentences with an excess of descriptors and jumps from metaphor to metaphor in a way that often made me roll my eyes. In some senses, I want to give her a pass, because I feel like this type of writing is very Anne-ish. However, I think Anne also grew into (or out of) her use of florid description and extravagant phrasing and learned to tone it down appropriately. The book would be far stronger if Craker had moderated her overwritten sentences just a bit. Okay, maybe a lot bit.
And then add to that: Craker kept over-explaining/summarizing scenes from AoGG, which annoyed me further. Of any assumptions she could make about her target audience, familiarity with AoGG would be a pretty safe one to make—but there I sat, reading summaries of the Mrs. Lynde apology and the jumping-on-Aunt-Josephine scene. Sigh.
I wanted to like this. It just didn’t deliver in the ways it promised, or in the ways I had hoped. It did make me want to re-read Anne of Green Gables, though, so that’s not a bad thing!
July 9, 2017
I just finished reading Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me (What My Favourite Book Taught Me About Grace, Belonging & the Orphan in Us All) by Lorilee Craker. It is a charming true story that weaves together the author's passion for Anne of Green Gables, her own adoption story, and the adoption story of her daughter.
I adored this book right from the very first page. As the author takes us through her own journey and connections to Anne's story, it made me think of my own. While adoption is not a piece of my story, I think we can all relate to Anne Shirley's struggle to find her place with the people she hoped to love, and she hoped would love her in return. Anne of Green Gables is possibly the very first book that I ever truly fell in love with (certainly Gilbert Blythe was the my very first book boyfriend), and I have always identified with Anne as someone who was never "popular", who disparately yearned for close friends, and as someone who sincerely enjoyed school.
Any Anne of Green Gables fan will love revisiting many anecdotes from the novels, and I also learned more about Lucy Maud Montgomery herself.
The writing in this book is beautiful. The author's stories and prose brought me to the brink of tears multiple times (saved solely because I was reading in public). Chapter 7! This one just pulled at my mama heart so much. And the chapter on Gilbert Blythe/Jonathan Crombie gave me all the feels. All of them. I fell in love with Gilbert all over again and, again, mourned the much too early loss of Jonathan Crombie.
Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me has filled me with the desire to re-read all of her books, travel back to PEI, and then re-watch all of the movies.
It speaks to the Anne in each of us and importantly illustrates how our favourite redhead is still relevant today. Craker best summarizes one of the key messages in her book when she says,
"Through Anne, Maud speaks volumes about the desire we all have to belong and to matter to the people we love."
I don't know how some gems get lost in the mountain of publishing, and you likely won't find this book in your local library (I know the Toronto Public Library doesn't have a copy), but I promise you won't be disappointed adding this one to your permanent bookshelf.
I adored this book right from the very first page. As the author takes us through her own journey and connections to Anne's story, it made me think of my own. While adoption is not a piece of my story, I think we can all relate to Anne Shirley's struggle to find her place with the people she hoped to love, and she hoped would love her in return. Anne of Green Gables is possibly the very first book that I ever truly fell in love with (certainly Gilbert Blythe was the my very first book boyfriend), and I have always identified with Anne as someone who was never "popular", who disparately yearned for close friends, and as someone who sincerely enjoyed school.
Any Anne of Green Gables fan will love revisiting many anecdotes from the novels, and I also learned more about Lucy Maud Montgomery herself.
The writing in this book is beautiful. The author's stories and prose brought me to the brink of tears multiple times (saved solely because I was reading in public). Chapter 7! This one just pulled at my mama heart so much. And the chapter on Gilbert Blythe/Jonathan Crombie gave me all the feels. All of them. I fell in love with Gilbert all over again and, again, mourned the much too early loss of Jonathan Crombie.
Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter, and Me has filled me with the desire to re-read all of her books, travel back to PEI, and then re-watch all of the movies.
It speaks to the Anne in each of us and importantly illustrates how our favourite redhead is still relevant today. Craker best summarizes one of the key messages in her book when she says,
"Through Anne, Maud speaks volumes about the desire we all have to belong and to matter to the people we love."
I don't know how some gems get lost in the mountain of publishing, and you likely won't find this book in your local library (I know the Toronto Public Library doesn't have a copy), but I promise you won't be disappointed adding this one to your permanent bookshelf.
March 14, 2018
Oh my, what a delightful read. I absolutely fell in love with Lorilee Craker's writing. Full of so much heart and humor, I would consider this a must-read for any Anne fan. I swooned over the chapter on Gilbert Blythe (she made some really great points), laughed over the author's charming humor, and even teared up a bit at some parts. A truly delicious book! I'm convinced that Lorilee Craker is a Kindred Spirit.
January 27, 2019
This was a lovely book - humorous in parts and tear-jerking in parts, a beautiful look at adoption using stories from the author's own story, her daughter's story and Anne of Green Gables too. Absolutely loved it!
February 10, 2019
A true Anne fan weaves together similarities (and stark contrasts) between the fictional orphan's story and her own. The author's perspective was eye opening, well-told, and packed with emotion. I loved it.
September 4, 2019
I loved this. Lorilee's perspective both as an adopted child and a mother of an adopted child was interesting and unique. I loved the way she was able to weave her own story in with Anne's story and put a Christian spin on the whole thing. Highly recommend if you're a fan of Anne-girl or you're just looking for a really lovely memoir.
November 29, 2025
I really enjoyed the way the author blended the orphan stories of 4 women (fiction and non-fiction) together into a beautifully written memoir. From beginning to end, I was drawn into this intricately woven story.
December 30, 2019
A story of adoption and the desire we all have to belong, and to matter to the people we love.
April 15, 2021
I’m crying so hard. This book is lovely in every way. Please read it.
August 10, 2024
3.5 ⭐️ Enjoyed and appreciated some chapters more than others. A bit of a mixed bag for me.
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