Pearl

As the mother of five children, three of which were abandoned by three separate birth families in two different countries and eventually adopted into our family, the thought of reading a fiction account of the anguish of relinquishment from the birth mother’s perspective was daunting. For those of us who adopt the abandoned, there is a deep respect, mourning, and loss associated with our children’s beginnings that is hard to reconcile with the answers this world has to offer about why these tragedies occur, and our lives are inescapably tied to this sorrowful beginning that often leaves us with very little information to pass on to our children. Many of us field angry comments from strangers and friends alike who speculate what would compel a mother to leave their child in the dirt, on the steps, in the corridor, or on the road – all the while we try to show respect to the child’s first family – now OUR family – as we explain the circumstances of each child’s country of origin, beg for compassion, and tiptoe carefully around romanticizing their story of origin.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself halfway through this book and unable to put it down. It is well-written, fast-paced, and there is a subtle rhythm of poetry that flows through the language style as the author articulates the thoughts of Mei, the main character, as the death of her first child leads her to obsessively search for her second. Her pain is tangible, and I found myself in tears many times in this book, although mostly stemming from joy as Mei unpacks her pain and relinquishes it much as she did her daughter, Pearl.

There is a treasure of Truth in this book that is not fiction, but I will leave that to you as the reader to discover on your own.