From China With Love: A Long Road to Motherhood

by Emily Buchanan

Although Emily Buchanan had a highly successful career in broadcasting and a loving husband there was something missing from her she desperately wanted children. After the trauma of three miscarriages, Emily and her husband Gerald were forced to accept the knowledge that they would not be able to have children of their own and decided to look into adoption. Their desire to have a very young baby led them to consider an adoption from abroad. As a journalist Emily knew only too well the sad plight of many children in the world trafficked to desperate couples and determined that her child had to come from a country where adoption was properly regulated. In this touching story Emily describes their first meeting with Jade Lin, who had been left on the steps of an orphanage in a small town in Inner Mongolia just after she had been born. Unlike many of the thousands of less fortunate babies abandoned each year in China, Jade Lin had been placed with a foster family before being approved for adoption and allocated to a family. It was love at first sight for Emily and Gerald, but they still had obstacles of language and culture to cross, as well as dealing with the reaction of friends and family back at home. This diary tells in vivid detail the highs and lows of Emily’s journey to motherhood. "extraordinarily brave and honest, and written with great clarity. I can't remember reading anything on the subject that was as open,... or done with as much dignity. ...neither of us could puit it down, and we were both very moved by it. John Simpson "A delightful and candid account of a quest for much wanted children." Kate Adie "A factual and honest account of a mother's journey in adopting two daughters from China." Adeline Yen Mah

Genres: Adoption, China

312 pages, Paperback

First published July 18, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: These works may belong to multiple authors with the same name

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful journey with a woman who wants to be a mother and has decided to try adopting. Nothing seems to be easy but the end result is the greatest gift
Quite eye opening

[Seosaimhthin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of material on Chinese adoption as it's always something that's interested me since I read a magazine account back when I was eight or nine. Reports say adoption is not that common in the UK and international adoption even less so - only a few hundred Chinese adoptions have taken place in comparison to the tens of thousands of American ones.

Emily Buchanan's book is a special addition to what is almost its own genre now - although she tells us of the adoption day and the flight home she also, as a journalist, takes the time to explore what issues her new family may face in terms of identity, racial difference and culture. She spends time talking with Xinran, whose views on the issue are also interesting reading. She discusses problems or issues faced by other families. It is not just one family's journey but a collection of differing viewpoints and thoughts surrounding the process.

The rules were changed in May 2007 and as a single person I will no longer be eligible to adopt. This book, however, makes me feel a little closer to a process I may now never be a part of, makes me understand the joys and lows of international adoption and improves my understanding of, in this country, this little known and little used way of creating a family.

[Rivkah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first books that I purchased when contemplating adoption from China. Unlike most books I've read about China adoption, the author lives in England where the adoption processes are very different. She is also not your typical adoptive parent - the book details her travels throughout the world, documenting war zones for a large newspaper, not really the safest occupation!

Overall, this is very well written, and a story that is fascinating to follow.

[Chia Chin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily's narrative style in this semi-travelogue was filled with beautiful metaphors & interspersed with enriching emotions, of which her personal courage & deep respect for her adopted girls' heritage, stood out most.

[Hasanuddin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kisah mengharukan, perjuangan seorang wanita memperoleh hak asuh dari bayi-bayi perempuan yang ditelantarkan oleh keluarga.

[Carrie]

memoir