Lea's Literature
"If I get a little extra money, first
I buy books, then I buy food"
After traveling, reading books and writing are my main hobbies. As most of you know, I
cannot imagine a day without a book so scroll down to hear about my latest read
or check out book reviews from previous months. Also,
if you are like, you can check out my my published
stories and articles. I write nonfiction and fiction for children.
Book of the Month
Joanna Trollope's skill at writing about complicated relationships and
developing full characters shines through in Brothers and Sisters. This is the story of a brother and sister,
Natalie and David, both in their thirties,
who decide to seek out their birth mothers. They were both adopted as
babies/toddlers by their parents. Trollope depicts how their individual searches
not only affect David and Natalie, but also their mother, their
birth mothers, wife, wife, husband, and children. At times I found some of
Natalie and David's feelings disturbing. They felt, even though
they were loved by their mother, an emptiness about being abandoned by their
birth mothers. I know this is natural, but it pains me to think of Grace
feeling like this. The reactions to their search and its results
were interesting. Their father was at ease with his relationship with
Natalie and David and had no fears about their finding their birthparents.
Their spouses were supportive, but secretly worried about how finding their
birth parents would change Natalie and David. Their mother was terrified that
she would be replaced by their birth mothers. In the end, each character grew in unexpected
ways due to the search. Natalie and David found closure after meeting
their birth mothers--a mixture of relief and sadness. What was most
interesting was how their mother felt after her Natalie and David met their
birth mothers. She also found closure and some relief. She became
more confident in herself as their real mother, understanding that love is just,
if not more, binding as blood. I am glad this book forced me to consider
Grace's potential feelings about her birthparents and being adopted. It
reinforced Keith's and my opinion that we need to openly talk to her about
adoption and let
her know that it's okay to think and talk about her birth parents.
For reviews of previous books, see Lea's
Reading.