China Ghosts: My Daughter's Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood

by Jeff Gammage

"After eighteen years together, Christine and I are down to our last hour as a couple. By dinner we will be a threesome. It seems strange to stand so firmly atop a generational fault line, to know that in an hour you'll be a parent, to understand that your old life is disappearing before your eyes, that a new one is about to begin. . . ." Aching to expand from a couple to a family, Jeff Gammage and his wife, Christine, embarked upon a journey that would carry them across a shifting landscape of emotion—excitement, exhilaration, fear, apprehension—and through miles of red tape and bureaucratic protocol, to a breathtaking land on the other side of the world where a little girl waited. When they met Jin Yu, a silent, stoic two-year-old, in the smog-choked city of Changsha in Hunan Province, they realized that every frustrating moment of their two-year struggle was worth it. But they also realized that another journey had only begun. Now there was much to experience and learn. How do you comfort a crying toddler when you and she speak different languages? How do you fully embrace a life altered beyond recognition by new concerns, responsibilities—and a love unlike any you've felt before? Alive with insight and feeling, China Ghosts is a journalist's eye-opening depiction of the foreign adoption process and a remarkable glimpse into a different culture. Most important, it is a poignant, heartfelt, and intensely intimate chronicle of the making of a family.

Genres: Adoption, Nonfiction, Memoir, China, Parenting, Asia, Biography

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seemed to be all about the author's journey rather than his daughter's journey. We get a few peeks at his daughter's development, mostly as he marvels at how perfect, special, and wonderful she is, with early issues quickly glossed over. There is a lot of padding of the book with details of the history of various cities in China, Chinese adoption, the city of Philadelphia, and so forth -- to a maddening extent -- the author would cut away from a dramatic moment in the adoption story to tell you all about the hotel where they were staying. I began to find his obsession and preoccupation with his daughter's birth family a little bit unsettling when he related different fantasy scenarios about them, and talked of going to China to hunt them down. This would help his toddler daughter, leaving her for an extended period of time to do this? The book also begins to take on a sad and melancholy tone as he keeps repeating how angry he is that she had to spend two years in an orphanage, and how upsetting it is for him to constantly think of the children left behind there. Weirder still is that two-thirds of the way through the book, the family adopts a second daughter, but she's barely mentioned at all, and only one picture of her is included. Apparently she's not a worthy object of obsession. I love a family story, but I'm not interested in the author's obsessional self-monologue, which is what this boils down to.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This guy is a whiner! He was so obsessed with that scar on his daughter's head, it made me want to scream!
Then he really pissed me off (am I allowed to say that here?) with his musings about how the mother might have abandoned the child, without one sentence concerning the possibility that it was the father!

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book that I could not put down. It wasn't just about becoming a father of an adopted daughter, but about becoming a father period. I love what he writes about becoming a father, "Watching her, I realize I know something new and different, something I didn't know the last time I sat in this seat: I know what it's like to love a child. I know what it means to place the happiness of a little girl far above your own. It's liberating in a way. I don't have to worry about myself anymore. What happens with me is unimportant. I only have to worry about her. Becoming a parent really is becoming selfless.

I appreciate too the guilt he experienced after visiting the orphanage and not being able to take all the children home. The guilt he feels about finding happiness and joy because of the misfortune of his daughter's biological parents of not being able to keep her.

I did find it odd that he spends so much time talking about his oldest daughter, Jin Yu and very little about his second adopted daughter, Zhao Gu. He writes, "Jin Lu has learned that her sister will for the most part graciously accept second billing in their dramatic productions." Well, Zhao Gu has a very minor role in this book with only one picture and very little description and that seems sad to me. Maybe Gammage is planning to write another book about her. For her sake, I hope so.

[Päivi · Rating 2 out of 5]

An incredibly disappointing read. Two stars because I did persist to the end, even though with gritted teeth and skipping paragraphs. As an adoptive parent with a connection to China, I always look forward to shared experiences. While there were a few moments of recognition around the events of the adoption process, most of the time I wanted to shout at the author to come out of his self-centered, America-centric, white-male-privileged world. For a journalist he seems utterly lacking in interest in his daughters' country of birth, and simply assigns his own experiences and feelings to those of people in China. He flips back and forth between ranting at the "Chinese government", "Chinese culture" and individuals, apparently equating them all to one entity. He rages against China's one-child policy, but with a very cursory recognition of why the policy was put in place. Surely a journalist ought to hold a more balanced understanding of the complexities of Chinese history and culture. What makes him feel entitled and qualified to criticize the policies of a nation of 1.6 billion citizens, or its child welfare system, or his child's birth family? Yes, he expresses gratitude for the privilege of parenting, but only with equal or excessive negative judgement. I was looking forward to learning something new about China, and opening my mind to a new take on international adoption. I suffered through a biased monologue with little to say about either.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

** Books 36 - 2020 **

This books to accomplish Tsundoku Books Challenge 2020

2,8 of 5 stars!

I remembered bought this books since i'm curious about how the adoption process in China. When i finished read this book im thinking about a book that i read this year too one child policy in China and i totally can relate with this books

I expect the story about Jeff, christine and their child adoption of Jin Yu and Zhao Gu. I wanna know the process when they going to china for adopting Jin Yu but it turn out so much drama and whining from Jeff. Don't get me wrong never ever set your high expectation in china. Everything can be happen don't make their standard is same with yours from America. He is always complaining why Jin Yu has a scar in her heads , why she is such an silent toddler, how can her mother abandoned her, etc and it is almost repetition almost half books. And then after they adopted Jin Yu they also adopted Zhao Gu.. unfortunately we will never know what is the baby looks like since why Jeff only put Jin Yu's photo alone in the cover and in the books. There is no photo Zhao Gu in this books.

I hope this book will be such an heartwarming books but i've got the books contains of complain, anger and whining stuff 😅

#StayAtHome #Selfquarantine

[Diem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. What great good luck for all parents adopting from China to have books available on the topic from two brilliant writers. Jeff Gammage's, "China Ghosts" and "The Lost Daughters of China" by Karin Evans are so lush and evocative that you just lose yourself in them.

Where Evans' book is gentle and respectful, only occasionally teetering toward judgment, Gammage's book is by turns explosive and heart breaking and funny and very, very dynamic but never shrill. He lunges forward in violent anger only to draw back at the last second in a desperate attempt to be reasonable and, if he can muster it, sympathetic. In that way it is a very similar experience to reading Kay Bratt's, "Silent Tears", except the execution is infinitely more graceful. Bratt hacks you about the face and neck with a dull ax of self-pity pausing for a few blood-soaked flickerings of enlightenment. Gammage embraces you with his rapturous discovery of fatherhood and then quietly slips his stiletto of guilt and anger between your ribs just so. Oh wait, not that kind of execution.

If you read only one book this year make it, "The Great Gatsby". It's one of my favorites and you can never read it too many times and it isn't very long so you can probably manage it in 365 days. But, really, one book a year? That's pathetic.

Gammage's journey to fatherhood via Chinese adoption isn't shocking. It isn't rocked by scandal or murder or the discovery of secret codes. It is a story told tens of thousands of times all over the world. But it is beautifully told and you need to read it.

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful memoir of an adoptive father who traveled to China with his wife to adopt their first child, a daughter. Jeff Gammage captures the thoughts of a newly adoptive parent, one who feels the enormous responsibility of being a good father, and whose life as a man changes dramatically:
"Having a daughter has taught me to live at low altitude, close to the ground, where children live, a world where a smooth flat rock is a treasure and a straight piece of stick is a find. It's taught me to set my body clock - at least on weekends-to child standard time, a time zone where there's always an extra minute to examine the stem of a dandelion, imitate the goggle-eyed stare of a goldfish, or stroke the softness of a duk feather found by a pond."
Jeff Gammage also spends a lot of time thinking about Chinese adoption. He loathes the one-child policy which forces women to give up their daughters, yet he also appreciates the chance he received to become a father of a Chinese child, whereas the US thought he was too old. His hopes for his oldest daughter to find peace in being Chinese and American is paramount.
Having adopted two children myself, Jeff's thoughts have often echoed in my head. Parents worry; It is the children of adoption who need to make peace with their former and future lives.

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

insight into international adoption by an adoption by a father is unusual so this book was really helpful. even more intriguing is the fact that he actually didn't want to become a father but agreed out of love for his wife who really wanted children. he comes to love his chinese daughters more deeply than he could have ever imagined. of the many adoption books i've read, this is one of the handful i've recommended to kyle.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memoir of a couple's decision to adopt a daughter from China. Harrowing, emotional, quite wonderful. Raises a lot of questions about adoption and gives some insight to China. I know a couple preparing to adopt from China, and I don't believe I'd recommend this book to them at this time. A little too scary.

[Sondra · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the grandmother of an abandoned (when one day old) girl, this book made me "re-live" the experiences my daughter and son-in-law have shared as they waited (for 20 long months!) to receive my beautiful granddaughter! Many of the feelings Gammage shares were similar to those my daughter and son-in-law felt as well. It's just a touching story -- and a "must read", I think!

[Lila Marantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I adopted our two daughters from China in 2000 and 2007. Jeff Gammage’s journal of his China adoption experience could have been our own. Jeff takes from preadoption, to assignment and placement . His story ends with the adoption of his second child. As Jeff and his wife Christine journey to China to meet their daughter for the first time, Jeff appears to find faith as well. There are many thoughts and events which seem coincident which occur within the new family. Perhaps there is no coincidence and truth and beauty are leading him to this goodness?

The concern Jeff has when his new daughter is placed in his arms and is so despondent is real. His anger with the bureaucratic process and seeming disregard by officials of his daughter Jin Yu’s head injury is understandable. When Jin Yu comes around to her ebullient self and her head wound heals, all is forgiven. The family bonds and Jeff is thankful for the Chinese matching process which brought him to Jin Yu, the baby at the other end of the red thread which joins their hearts.

Only one who has gone through the method of Chinese adoption can understand the Ying Yang of the experience. At one point you are angry with the disregard the Chinese have for their wonderful daughters, preferring sons to female children. You question the lack of reproductive freedom China’s one child policy enforced. Then you are thankful you are given the blessing of these lovely children who become your own. Jeff scoffs when approached by well meaning strangers who comment his daughters are fortunate to have him as a father. You see Jeff knows the adoptive parents of Chinese orphans are the lucky ones. We are blessed to have been given the opportunity to nurture and love these special children.

Read his book. It is well written, accurate, and at times humorous. It might even make you cry.

[Koren · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the beginning I thought for sure this was going to be a 5 star book. The story leading up to the husband and wife going to China to adopt a daughter was beautiful. Very informative about how the Chinese limited families to one child as they were facing overpopulation so female babies were being abandoned at an alarming rate because the people wanted male babies. After the adoption the story goes downhill. It is more about the husband (author) and what he is feeling than it is about the baby. I got frustrated with his 'dreams' and his obsession with finding his daughters birth parents and worrying about how his daughter was going to feel as she got older about being an abandoned child and instead I wanted to know more about the child and how she acclimated to a different life. Before they leave for America he finds a scar or some kind of infection (I'm not sure which because he calls it both) and goes off the deep end about that. Then all of a sudden they adopt another Chinese baby but there is nothing leading up to the adoption, just all of a sudden they are in China again adopting another baby. At the end he very quickly gets us up to speed on how the two girls are doing.

[Tatiana · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book tells the true story of the author's adoption of his eldest daughter from China. He describes not only the process, but his feelings and those first couple of years as a family together.

The subject matter of the book was interesting and one that I had not read about. However, it is a very poorly written book. It reads almost like a stream of conscious, with a lot of filler. The story about her adoption is told in snippets throughout the book, with long and repetitive exposes on thoughts on being a father. I assume the author thought that by cutting the story in such a way, you are left wanting to find out more, which is true, but the interest wanes as you slog through his musings and fears time and again. Honestly, it really felt like filler.

I can only assume that he may have written this book for his daughter to read when she is older, like a journal or diary of her adoption, and I hope it will mean something to her that her father took the time do this.

[Sc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read as this is from a adoptive father's perspective of the process, his feelings towards his adopted children. It assures you that fathers do not feel any less than mothers in the process of adoption... and his writing style is beautiful yet easy to read.

[Hellofromemily · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest and compelling perspective.

[Liralen · Rating 2 out of 5]

In China Ghosts, Gammage spends a little bit of time talking about his older daughter's adoption and adjustment to life in the USA (and out of an orphanage). He spends a lot of time ruminating on adoption and self-loathing (for not having adopted her earlier, thus getting her out of the orphanage earlier) and what might have led Jin Yu's birth mother—it's almost always the birth mother, not the birth father—to abandon her.

Gammage has a background as a journalist, and it comes through strongly: first in the research, of course; he digs some into the reasoning behind China's one-child policy and the impacts that the policy has had. But the thing that says journalist to me most is the brevity of the paragraphs. I got the sense that he was so used to writing for newspaper formatting that he couldn't quite get himself out of that. As an example, on the first page of Chapter 10 (page 153), the paragraph lengths are as follows: 1 sentence, 2, 1, 1, 1, 4, 1, 1. The paragraphs get a little longer after that, but the whole effect is a little...ooh, wait, I'll let Gammage describe the effect: In the months after we returned from China, my child's lost family and missing history preyed on me. I didn't fret. I brooded (167). Broody. The effect is broody.

There's not actually a lot about Jin Yu's childhood once she's home with Gammage and his wife, which means there's an awful lot of that brooding. I find the obsession with her birth mother a little weird—For some reason I dwell on Jin Yu's mother, Gammage says, perhaps because the two share not just blood but gender (142). That is, he obsesses over the biological mother but not the father. I don't actually think that's unusual, but it feels like he's ignoring all of the social norms at play here. Gender? No. If he'd adopted a son, he'd still be wondering about the circumstances that led the child's mother, not father, to give the child up for adoption.

I don't know. The tone sat poorly with me—all that brooding—and the focus on the whys and hows of Jin Yu's gestation and birth and so on wasn't nearly as compelling as I think I would have found a broader focus. Also kind of surprising how little time is given to their younger daughter, Zhao Gu, adopted several years later. There's a family photo in the book, taken on their trip to pick up Zhao Gu (the only photo of Zhao Gu in the book), and in that photo is a bystander, a (presumably) local woman: Looking at this photo now, says Gammage, I imagine that this elderly woman is not merely another Buddhist come to worship on her knees. I imagine that she is a ghost. And not just any ghost, but a familial relation to my Jin Yu, a long-ago matriarch of her clan, made momentarily real and inadvertently captured by the camera's flash (252). The imagination isn't weird to me—but imagining that this is Jin Yu's ancestor rather than Zhao Gu's is very weird to me. If he's going to go there, I wish he's at least explore it enough that we understood why he was thinking Jin Yu rather than Zhao Gu.

Not one that I'd be super fast to recommend.

Edited November 2020 to add a note about fate: Gammage talks about his adoption of his daughters as fated, something that was meant to be, a unilaterally good thing. In One Child, Mei Fong has this to say about fate and adoption: The flip side of saying some adoptions are meant to be, however, is saying some children are fated to be abandoned.In her blog The Red Thread Is Broken, Grace Newton cuttingly observes, "It is also saying birthmothers are equally destined to be in situations in which they have to relinquish their children, and that these children are destined to lose their first families, countries, cultures, and everything they knew." (189)

[erin g · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gammage is a journalist and author from Philly writing about his first experience adopting a daughter from China (the second daughter's mention is pretty abbreviated). Though he throws in some history and travel-writing-esque passages earlier on, and even takes a stab at Chinese politics and policy, the book is more concerned with his emotional journey. If you've never wondered about the life of the adopted child before they were matched, been curious about all they left behind, known and unknown, or don't think it matters, this book probably won't hold your interest. For me, even though he edges into the melodramatic at times (the storyteller's prerogative, I guess), it was a welcome reflection of thoughts, questions, and scenarios that have played through my head a hundred times.

Gammage is, thankfully, a more-than decent writer. Early on, the jumps between facts about China's history and landscape and the emotional scenes surrounding his first encounter with his daughter are a bit jarring. His descriptions sometimes feel cumbersome and repetitive, and my first impression was that the manuscript suffered from want of a more vicious editor. There are some artistic gems in there, though (such as the notion of a "child standard time, a time zone where there's always an extra minute to examine the stem of a dandelion, imitate the goggle-eyed stare of a goldfish, or stroke the softness of a duck feather..."), and I was eventually grateful that he erred on the side of more descriptors rather than fewer. In the foreign adoption situation, where so little is or can be known about a child (something he struggles with in the months, even years, post-adoption), each detail matters that much more. One of the best points Gammage makes, in fact, is that the realities of adoption offer little in the way of hard fact, and much in the way of conflicting shades of gray. China Ghosts is a quick read, and I would recommend it to those connected to a Chinese adoption for no other reason than that the author is open and honest in confronting the myriad of emotions surrounding the decision, the experience, the children and the country.

[Dara S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written from the prospective of a man becoming a father through international adoption after 40, having been married over 15 years. He is in awe of his new daughter. At first, Jin-Yu, age 2, shows no reaction to these new people in her life, taking her away from everything she has ever known. The new parents begin to wonder if something is wrong with her. Then the dam breaks and they can do nothing to console her. They are at a loss of what to do. She soon adapts to her new parents. Her father is interested in trying to find her birth parents, whom he calls "ghosts", to assure them she is loved and taken care of. He has little success.
When the family goes back to China to adopt a second child, Jin-Yu asks if they are leaving her in China. This is a great book if you are thinking of international adoption or are just interested in people who have adopted children.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subtitled, “My Daughter’s Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood” Jeff Gammage is a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and for a long time, he and his wife were happy without a child in the family. When they finally decided to adopt a Chinese girl, Jeff was surprised and very pleased at how much he enjoyed the experience of being a father. Most of this book is the story of their trip to China to adopt Jin Yu, although their second trip some years later to adopt Zhao Gu is also included. The ghosts in the title apparently refer to Jeff’s guilty feelings that they “took away” Jin Yu from her parents (they didn’t – she had been abandoned) and that Jin Yu had spent two years in a Chinese orphanage before the Gammages found her. I thought he put himself on much too much of a guilt trip. One of the delightful stories of Jin Yu tells how, when they were in China to adopt Zhao Gu, they stayed in a modern hotel with automatic doors. Jin Yu discovered the exact place to stand on the floor in front of the doors so that she could step forward and the doors would open, and step back to make them close. Her father also tells how she ate so much food when they first adopted her, and it was quite awhile before she realized that food was always available and she didn’t have to gorge for fear she wouldn’t eat again for a long time.

[Douglas Lord · Rating 4 out of 5]

This affecting memoir chronicles the "pounding emotional assault" involved in adopting a little girl from China. A reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Gammage effectively (if sometimes floridly) captures the process, making much of the titular journey and passage. Haunted by his new daughter's lack of personal history, the author also obsesses about a wound on her head. The latter becomes a metaphor for their shared journey, encapsulating not only the drama and vicissitudes inherent but also "the nature of luck and chance, the reality of good and evil." Gammage also writes about his responsibilities as a father in larger ways (e.g., the significance of his action politically, socially, and economically). For libraries lacking a Chinese adoption memoir, this is a fine choice. Note, however, that there is limited practical adoption how-to here; for that, seek Myra Alpherson's classic The International Adoption Handbook: How to Make Foreign Adoption Work for You.

Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.

[Hava · Rating 5 out of 5]

China Ghosts: My Daughter’s Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood by Jeff Gammage was an excellent autobiography. I’ve read a string of less-than-stellar autobiographies lately (ie Hope’s Boy, Shattered Dreams, Enter the Past Tense) and I was ready for a great one. I found that in China Ghosts. Click here to continue

[Rivkah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written account of the author's adoption of two daughters from China. What's particularly nice is that it's written from a male perspective, as many adoption books, particularly about adoptions from China, seem to written by women. I think that this convinced my husband to read this book as well. My husband doesn't have much time to read, so I have to pick and choose books to get him educated about our decision to adopt from China. He really liked this book.

What's nice in this book is that Jeff is very concerned about where his daughters came from, and he explains the feelings that many adoptive parents have - joy at adopting, guilt at removing their children from their native land and families.

[Jennifer Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book was so adorable, I had to pick it up and see what was inside. The book is a heartfelt tale of a father's emotional journey to China and back to adopt his first child. It's not all roses and sunshine though - in fact, it's quite painful to read at times. The author is a newspaper reporter, so he tells it like it is - all his own opinions of course, but not sugar-coated. All in all, a great (and fast) read. I think anyone who is considering (or has already) adopted a child should read this book. The truths (not all bad) about adopting a child, especially from another country, would not stop me from adopting, but at least I would be prepared.

Brad and Angelina - have you read this? Maybe you could write your own book. :)

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books are good because they touch your heart...not because they carry some hidden message or have exceptionally good writing. But luckily, Jeff Gammage had both great writing and a touching memoir. I loved how he explored the complexities of adopting a daughter from China but also explored the feelings her biological family must be experiencing as well, even as his own emotions were overloaded.

This book was also unique for its male perspective. So often, we hear the adoptive mom's perspective or just the mom's perspective, so it was a nice change to get the dad's take on the process. Fathers play a unique role in their daughters' lives, and I'm glad Jeff Gammage chose to share his thoughts on the entire subject.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The part of this book on adoption that's worth four stars is how the author conveyed that China adoptions do in fact share aspects in common with domestic adoptions.

He and his wife initially took comfort in the security that the birthmom/dad could not resurface in a China adoption. But in time he turns around on that view, and comes to realize how how much his daughter's unidentified birthmom and birthdad DO play a role in her life, and how he wishes he could locate them.

Often people tend to look at Chinese adoptions as if the children had one generic set of parents - factory-stamped from China. Yet every child placed for adoption has incredible uniqueness and specific family history, regardless of country of origin.

[Kerith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely done, quick read, well written -- a Valentine to his daughters, especially the first one, Jin Yu. This was interesting to read since I'd only been back from China with my daughter for two weeks at the time I read it. He fixates on his first daughter's past and his inability to find out anything to tell her, and finally comes to the conclusion that the questions are hers to ask and he will do the best with what they've got. We all have to come to grips with that.
Good information here on China's adoption program and why it is the way it is, and of course, most especially why most of the children are girls.
I recommend it to anyone going through the process, interested in the process, or touched by Chinese adoption in some way.

[Kathy Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed at : China Ghosts: My Daughter's Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood by Jeff Gammage


Interestig reads one adoption and the problem that may surface during the process.

A good book. However, at times, I felt that it sounded a bit exaggerated

For example page 114 where the author how the China authourity when and match their adopted daughter to them from the likeness of their features to their temperament.

And page 164 on how guilty he felt for wasting time at doctor offices and fertility clinic while their daughter Jin Yu was waiting to be adopted.

anyway, this is just my personal opinion.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the true story of Jeff and Christine's journey during their foreign adoption process. They now have two daughters from China and they live in Pennsylvania.

The story is totally captivating and kept me reading through to the end. I think that in any other time period of my life this book may not have appealed to me, but the fact that our youngest and her husband just spent the past year in China and that I was able to go visit them (my husband has gone twice and our oldest daughter went as well), made this book just pop out to me...begging me to read it. I am so glad that I did.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Obviously we've been there, done that with our two adoptions, and I've read a lot of accounts of folks' adoptions. But this one is different - Jeff brings an insight that deepened my thinking about birth parents, abandonment, grief and loss, and China itself. The existence of conflicting emotions - gratitude vs. anger, joy vs. sadness, etc. can be difficult to reconcile, and Jeff's observations brought a new perspective. I recommend this book to anyone who has adopted or is considering adoption.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book about a father's journey in the adoption process in China. He and his wife waited a little too long to have kids so when they figured out that the wife wasn't fertile anymore, they decided to adopt. While the husband wasn't keen on the idea of kids, he became so entralled with his new Chinese daugther and you can just feel his passion for his little girl thoughout the book. What makes the book so interesting is all the issues they had to deal with during the adoption. It's definitely a good book to read if you're interested in foreign adoption.