Interesting memoir about adoption and the author’s search for her birth mother. I think the story of her mother and father could have been told in a more dramatic way with more build up.

A Remarkable Search..
Emotional and powerful account of a remarkable search for a birth family and the incredible, twisted path down which it leads. In essence, a pacy memoir of a quite unbelievable story - yet a true one - exposing mind blowing scandal and duplicity along the way. Written with an open honesty and empathy, both heartwarming and heartfelt.

I love to read books about adoption. This one was so intriguing and I am happy that Freed wrote it. She has a very interesting story to share and did it in a well-written way. A page-turner. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I found it difficult to enjoy this book and connect with the author.

Religious themes and references were made early on and lost as the book went on. There were a lot of grammatical errors, clumsy sentences, some spelling mistakes and unnecessary words that are rarely used in everyday language, 'hubris', for example. It feels out of place.

I found the emotional recounts beauty, such as when Donna cuddled up to Mira, but these moments were not frequent enough. I disliked the facts, they felt like tangents and were monotonous in places.

There was also a sense of the book being unfinished. I never really grasped Donna's relationship with Ruth and couldn't take to Ruth after the early reports of her behaviour. I don't know why Ruth changed other than her depression was managed. But maybe there could have.been more emphasis on their relationship warming up, with memories of little intimate moments, rather than a big jump to being close.

At the end, there could have been more about her own family - Donna's husband and Dexter, plus how she got on with her adoptive siblings: she had fallen out with Leah once - do they get along now? And what about her brother? Is he happy? Spelling it out clearly would have made a nice, more conclusive ending for me as a reader.

I liked the honesty relayed about Mira, but it felt like a confused relationship and I was sad that there was such a gap in the relationship, as I warmed to Mira more than Ruth.

I am sorry, it was not a book I would recommend. But thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Interesting story that crescendoed into a conclusion that didn’t feel as surprising as it had been set up to be. Overall a compelling read.

A very interesting story of Donna, her determination to find the truth and live a happy life. Very inspiring !!!

What a fantastic and fascinating life Donna has had. To be so resilient and build positive relationships with all family members despite obstacles.
I felt honoured to read this story.