Somewhere Sisters: A Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family by Erika Hayasaki

(Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!)

 

about book: (summary from Goodreads)

Identical twins Isabella and Hà were born in Vietnam and raised on opposite sides of the world, each knowing little about the other’s existence, until they were reunited as teenagers, against all odds.
 
The twins were born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 1998, where their mother struggled to care for them. Hà was taken in by their biological aunt, and grew up in a rural village, going to school, and playing outside with the neighbors. They had sporadic electricity and frequent monsoons. Hà’s twin sister, Loan, spent time in an orphanage before a wealthy, white American family adopted her and renamed her Isabella. Isabella grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, with a nonbiological sister, Olivia, also adopted from Vietnam. Isabella and Olivia attended a predominantly white Catholic school, played soccer, and prepared for college.

But when Isabella’s adoptive mother learned of Isabella’s biological twin back in Vietnam, all of their lives changed forever. Award-winning journalist Erika Hayasaki spent years and hundreds of hours interviewing each of the birth and adoptive family members and tells the girls’ incredible story from their perspectives, challenging conceptions about adoption and what it means to give a child a good life. Hayasaki contextualizes the sisters’ experiences with the fascinating and often sinister history of twin studies, the nature versus nurture debate, and intercountry and transracial adoption, as well as the latest scholarship and conversation surrounding adoption today, especially among adoptees.

For readers of All You Can Ever Know and American Baby, Somewhere Sisters is a richly textured, moving story of sisterhood and coming-of-age, told through the remarkable lives of young women who have redefined the meaning of family for themselves.

my thoughts:

What a meaningful and powerful read. Somewhere Sisters is about Vietnamese twin sisters, Hà and Loan, who were separated. Hà was raised by an aunt in a rural village; while Loan went to an orphanage where she was eventually adopted by a wealthy, white American family. Loan grew up in Chicago and was renamed Isabella. Her new family had also adopted another girl from Vietnam, Olivia.  However, when they eventually find out about Isabella's twin sister, they set out to find her. Eventually, they reunite the two sisters and bring Hà to America for her education. 

Erika Hayasaki, an award-winning journalist, researched this story. She interviewed the families, she explored scientific studies regarding twin studies, and she also looked at the current dialogues surrounding adoption. She wanted to provide a thorough look into this specific case and allow for the families to share their thoughts and feelings about their experiences with it. And, she wanted to utilize her research as a way of looking deeper into the complexities of the situation and how it had affected/impacted the sisters. It all made for an engaging and compelling read. I found myself reading through the book slowly, as I couldn't help but stop every now and then, and just think about what these sisters had gone through and about their families. Such a great book.

I would definitely recommend Somewhere Sisters to anyone and everyone looking for their next nonfiction read - you are going to fall in deep with this one. Make sure to check it out!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!