Lucky Girl by Mei-Ling Hopgood

Flap Copy from hardcover:
"Mei-Ling Hopgood was an all-American girl. She grew up in the midwest, was a high school pom-pom girl, studies journalism at the University of Missouri, and become a reporter for a Michigan newspaper. She wasn't really curous about her Asian roots, though she new she was adopted. Then one day, when she was in her twenties, her birth family from Taiwan came calling- on the phone, on the computer, by fax- in a language she didn't understand. The Wangs wanted to meet her; they wanted her to return home.

As her sisters and parents pulled her into their lives, claiming her as one of their own, Mei-Ling fell in love with them. But this unexpected reunion has a price. She uncovers the devastating secrets that haunt them to this day as she attempts to understand the hard choices of her birth mother."

This well-written and sometimes painfully honest memoir was an excellent read that I highly recommend. I was touched by Mei-Ling's situation growing up as part of a blended family, trying to create an identity independent of her ehtnicity. When she is confronted with the opportunity to learn more about her birth family, I was impressed by her original attitude and yet concerned that it might all go terribly wrong. The story of that meeting and the relationship Mei-Ling eventually forges with her sisters is extraordinary given the language barriers and the sad tale of her actual adoption.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has adopted or been adopted from overseas, or anyone who is thinking about an international adoption. Though I have no personal experience with adoption, I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir and believe it has a wide appeal.