All You Can Ever Know
Chung, NicoleBorn to Korean immigrant parents, Nicole Chung was adopted as a baby by a white Christian family and raised as the only person of colour in their small Oregon town. After years of not feeling she belonged and then becoming pregnant for the first time, she realised it was time to find out more about her birth family and the circumstances of her adoption, not only for herself, but for her future children too.
Engaging and thoughtful, this memoir is a candid examination of the challenges of interracial adoption and the undeniable importance of knowing where you come from.
Pages
222
222
Year
2018
2018
Reviews
02-09-2024
This was an interesting read. Everyone appreciated the fact that the author was able to make the reader aware of the difficulties of inter-racial adoption, among the good things that come out of having a loving couple adopt a child. Would recommend.
21-06-2024
We enjoyed the book, great insights into adoption. Some parts were a bit laboured.
17-01-2024
Good discussion about interracial adoption and the pros and cons of closed and open adoption. Discussion on the literary merits of the book was wide-ranging. We agreed it would have been cathartic to write, but some felt it was gloomy and repetitive, although others enjoyed it.
10-01-2024
Some didn't finish the book - those that did found it sad. Lots of discussion about adoption. Well-written.
22-05-2023
Thank goodness for open adoption now. Her origin of birth didn't factor in the adoptive parents' thinking, who were closed to the obvious. They no doubt loved her and did their best for her. The story came alive when she contacted her birth family. It gave insight to an adoptee's needs.
20-03-2023
We had an excellent discussion because our facilitator provided a summary of proposed changes to the N.Z. adoption laws. We agreed the book was well-written and honest.
15-12-2022
There was a lot of discussion brought on after reading this book about adoptions and lots of stories were told. Most people found the book well-written and empathised with adoptions outside of one's race.
16-11-2022
Although some members felt the book could have been shorter, overall people felt they gained a better understanding about adoption, and especially transracial adoptions. The importance of knowing your roots and where you came from, and how you are responded or not responded to because of your race and feeling different was highlighted. A good read.
22-06-2022
Found this a bit confusing. It did raise issues of interracial adoption and feelings of being different - relevant to N.Z. today.
22-10-2021
We found the book useful to help understand deep and complex personal issues that adoption, especially inter racial adoption, raises. However the book was more suitable as an essay.