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kierli's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
So informative, so personal.
lydiainspace's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
melodys_library's review against another edition
4.0
Lisa Wool Rim was only 2 years old when she was adopted from Korea by a Swedish family. At 36 years old, Lisa began an emotional and deeply taxing search for her roots in the hopes of reuniting with her biological family in Korea. This led her down a path of lies and falsified documents.
Many public servants, orphanages and adoption agencies were involved in corruption in the 1970’s: Selling “found” children for adoption and receiving “donations” in the form of bribes from adoptive parents. No one was prepared for those adoptees to return and search for their families, their roots, and reclaim their rights as citizens.
Lisa channeled investigative journalism into her graphic memoir, leading the reader through vivid research chronicles in written and illustrative formats. She also explains the often overlooked adoptee’s side of adoption. Adoption agencies and adoptive families often set the standards, expecting adoptees to feel grateful that they were granted a better life. However, the feelings of pain and suffering of a family broken apart and constant questioning of identity are often overlooked or worse, swept under the rug.
The sepia-like overtone of the illustrations reflect the author’s feelings of isolation, loneliness, sorrow and frustration throughout her journey through fake papers to uncover the truth behind her adoption. I learned from and grieved for her.
Many public servants, orphanages and adoption agencies were involved in corruption in the 1970’s: Selling “found” children for adoption and receiving “donations” in the form of bribes from adoptive parents. No one was prepared for those adoptees to return and search for their families, their roots, and reclaim their rights as citizens.
Lisa channeled investigative journalism into her graphic memoir, leading the reader through vivid research chronicles in written and illustrative formats. She also explains the often overlooked adoptee’s side of adoption. Adoption agencies and adoptive families often set the standards, expecting adoptees to feel grateful that they were granted a better life. However, the feelings of pain and suffering of a family broken apart and constant questioning of identity are often overlooked or worse, swept under the rug.
The sepia-like overtone of the illustrations reflect the author’s feelings of isolation, loneliness, sorrow and frustration throughout her journey through fake papers to uncover the truth behind her adoption. I learned from and grieved for her.
koreanlinda's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
This was a difficult read. Don't get me wrong. The writer makes it very easy to follow the story, but the story itself is very hard to digest. It sits on your chest like a chunk of meat that won't go down.
The atrocity committed against numerous adoptees infuriated me. If the writer had not shown the love she was surrounded by from her family members, friends, and strangers, I might have given up in the middle of the book. So many people committed irreversible damage to babies and children for their own interests: jobs, money, politics, etc.
I loved Wool-Rim's drawing and writing style. It's comforting and down-to-earth. There are some pages where she shares the whole document from her adoption process. There are some pages where she uses excerpts. Those pages slow you down, but if you pay attention, you will understand why the writer made such choices. Every detail matters when you are searching for truth amid a hidden past.
I was not adopted, but I grew up in one of the biggest baby-exporting countries in the world: South Korea. So I keep reading, listening to, and watching adoptees' stories. (One documentary I recommend is Return to Seoul, directed by Davy Chou.) I empathize with their suffering, and I wish they get a fair share of healing from people they connect with, including Koreans like me. I also want to remind all the adoptees that growing up with your birth parents is often not ideal. As I grew up in my abusive mother's care and with several teachers' violent treatment in Korea, I wished that I lived in another country with different parents. Although we experienced different hardships with our upbringings, I look forward to connecting with more Korean adoptees in my life.
Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in April 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda
The atrocity committed against numerous adoptees infuriated me. If the writer had not shown the love she was surrounded by from her family members, friends, and strangers, I might have given up in the middle of the book. So many people committed irreversible damage to babies and children for their own interests: jobs, money, politics, etc.
I loved Wool-Rim's drawing and writing style. It's comforting and down-to-earth. There are some pages where she shares the whole document from her adoption process. There are some pages where she uses excerpts. Those pages slow you down, but if you pay attention, you will understand why the writer made such choices. Every detail matters when you are searching for truth amid a hidden past.
I was not adopted, but I grew up in one of the biggest baby-exporting countries in the world: South Korea. So I keep reading, listening to, and watching adoptees' stories. (One documentary I recommend is Return to Seoul, directed by Davy Chou.) I empathize with their suffering, and I wish they get a fair share of healing from people they connect with, including Koreans like me. I also want to remind all the adoptees that growing up with your birth parents is often not ideal. As I grew up in my abusive mother's care and with several teachers' violent treatment in Korea, I wished that I lived in another country with different parents. Although we experienced different hardships with our upbringings, I look forward to connecting with more Korean adoptees in my life.
Review by Linda (Any Pronouns) in April 2024
Personal essays on DefinitelyNotOkay.com
Artwork on Instagram @KoreanLinda
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Mental illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse and Colonisation
twu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, Trafficking, Bullying, Colonisation, Grief, War, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
kpbake427's review against another edition
5.0
There is so much I didn't know I didn't know about what it's like to be adopted. My mom was adopted and this book helped me understand her better.
vverbatim7's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.0