Hello dear Readers,
Below my book review of All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung.
Title: All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Genre: Biographies/Memoirs
Author: Nicole Chung
Publisher: Catapult
Publication Date: October 2, 2018
Publication Date: October 2, 2018
Language: English
Book Description
Named a Best Book of Fall by The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, Elle, and more
"This book moved me to my very core. . . . [All You Can Ever Know] should be required reading for anyone who has ever had, wanted, or found a family―which is to say, everyone.” ―Celeste Ng, author of Little Fires Everywhere
What does it mean to lose your roots―within your culture, within your family―and what happens when you find them?
Nicole Chung was born severely premature, placed for adoption by her Korean parents, and raised by a white family in a sheltered Oregon town. From childhood, she heard the story of her adoption as a comforting, prepackaged myth. She believed that her biological parents had made the ultimate sacrifice in the hope of giving her a better life, that forever feeling slightly out of place was her fate as a transracial adoptee. But as Nicole grew up―facing prejudice her adoptive family couldn’t see, finding her identity as an Asian American and as a writer, becoming ever more curious about where she came from―she wondered if the story she’d been told was the whole truth.
With warmth, candor, and startling insight, Nicole Chung tells of her search for the people who gave her up, which coincided with the birth of her own child. All You Can Ever Know is a profound, moving chronicle of surprising connections and the repercussions of unearthing painful family secrets―vital reading for anyone who has ever struggled to figure out where they belong.
My Thoughts
In reality, the only thing I have in common with the author is to have been born premature. Other than that, I was never separated from my family. I was raised in a home, with my mom, dad and two brothers. I never felt I did not belong to the place I grew up in or was not equal to the people around me. I felt inferior in other ways such as never feeling I was pretty enough or popular enough, feeling socially awkward or being to shy, things that could never compare to what Nicole went through.
However, now that I live in a country different than the one I was born and raised and the current state of our political and social world, I can at least have a better understanding of why it was difficult for Nicole, not only the been adopted part but the growing up not looking the same as the majority of people around her, the racism, the differences, the eagerness to feel equal, to know she belonged, all the judgment from society. Reading Nicole's story was so fascinating. The reason I say this is because is always encouraging for me to read other people's stories on how they overcame the most difficult situations in their lives. Too many lessons you can learn and apply to your own life.
I loved the honesty and openness on Nicole's words. The way she tried to find herself and her born family in the simplest things of her daily life. How she is brave enough to share with us the readers her story, no matter how hard and raw and cruel the reality of it is. I felt so happy when we discovered she finally got in touch with her born family and how the relationship with her sister starts building up and how that helps her to have some sort of healing as well as meeting her born father. Also, the relationship between Nicole's own daughter and her and how they both start laying the path to know more about their Korean roots and culture.
All You Can Ever Know, a powerful, deep, moving and unforgettable memoir.
Wendy
However, now that I live in a country different than the one I was born and raised and the current state of our political and social world, I can at least have a better understanding of why it was difficult for Nicole, not only the been adopted part but the growing up not looking the same as the majority of people around her, the racism, the differences, the eagerness to feel equal, to know she belonged, all the judgment from society. Reading Nicole's story was so fascinating. The reason I say this is because is always encouraging for me to read other people's stories on how they overcame the most difficult situations in their lives. Too many lessons you can learn and apply to your own life.
I loved the honesty and openness on Nicole's words. The way she tried to find herself and her born family in the simplest things of her daily life. How she is brave enough to share with us the readers her story, no matter how hard and raw and cruel the reality of it is. I felt so happy when we discovered she finally got in touch with her born family and how the relationship with her sister starts building up and how that helps her to have some sort of healing as well as meeting her born father. Also, the relationship between Nicole's own daughter and her and how they both start laying the path to know more about their Korean roots and culture.
All You Can Ever Know, a powerful, deep, moving and unforgettable memoir.
Wendy
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