The Search for Mother Missing: A Peek Inside International Adoption by Janine Vance

The Search for Mother Missing: A Peek Inside International Adoption Reviews

• 
  Emerson

  The Search for Mother Missing is an impactful, thought-provoking, frustrating, and interesting read. Author Janine Vance reflects on her own journey as an adoptee focusing on a trip she and her sister made to Korea in search of answers. Her story brings light to the complicated world of people who have been adopted from struggles with identity, difficult family discussions, and being denied access to your own history. Janine does a wonderful job of just telling her own story and offering insightful reflections. Reading this book is enlightening but it is also emotional and frustrating as you feel for Janine. It was interesting going into this book because I have friends who were adopted as well as some understanding of the foster care system and have always been interested in the complicated nature of adoption. I think that this book is an important read. Janine’s story is a common one and shines a light on real issues. I would definitely recommend this book.
• 
  Dee

  The Search for Mother Missing is a beautiful story about twin sisters Janine and Jenette who embark on a trip to their native land South Korea. This convention held for adoptees allows for adoptees to connect and for some search for their birth parents. As Jenette uses her huge bulky camera to document the trip she spots out every set of twins who attended the events. Janine accidentally learns of the unspoken yet known dark side of adoption. As the sisters try to obtain their own records they are treated poorly and given next to no information. Janine does a wonderful job at a steady pace bringing you through her journey of this trip. I especially enjoyed when Janine flirts with the Ostrich haha.
  
  More needs to be shared in all the sides of adoption locally and internationally. People need to be aware. Mothers need options, Truth needs to shown with a spot light. I found this book to be fascinating.
  
• 
  Jan Anderegg

  A Beautiful and Enlightening Journey
  
  Although I was not adopted, I have seen first hand through close family what a flawed blessing the process of adoption can be. There is something inside all of us that longs to belong and to know where we came from. I read this story with fascination and a growing sense of dread as these beautiful young women discovered the ugly truth about the adoption process their original agency had used. Eye-opening and horrific to know that families were torn apart forever for the sake of lining someone’s pockets. While I am thankful for adoptions that do rescue children from terrible situations, I think we have all been duped into believing that children adopted overseas were orphans, or abandoned by parents who couldn’t or wouldn’t care for them.
  This book is beautifully written. The only thing that would have made it even better would have been if the girls had been able to find their birth parents or at least some legitimate information about the true circumstances of their adoption.
• 
  Michael Wells

  Finding truth
  
  This is a very insightful and well written book. Follows the struggles of an adoptive from Seoul South Korea. It is very emotional, heartbreaking and that the end a wonderful ending. I highly recommend this book and I think the author did a good job.
• 
  Emily Kessler

  I appreciated the way the Janine Vance drew me into her story, sharing the journey of her life as a transracial, international adoptee. Pieces of her story are heart-wrenching, and the injustice of others' actions to her as an adoptee are infuriating. I am glad to have read this book, and am challenged to ask harder questions about the adoption industry.
  While I enjoyed the writing and the subject matter, the editing of this book left a good bit to be desired. Misplaced commas that disrupted the flow of the narrative, as well as incongruent pieces of information mixed into odd places throughout the book, took focus from the author's words.
• 
  Saazzad

  The book is really awesome.. Actually I love to read this kind of books. The love for mother's twin sisters was very much affectionate.The book is very much fascinating.. I love this book so much..The author did a great work on this book..
• 
  Nancy Marandi

  Nice book, i love it, it has a great concept about our twins, really usefull thanks to the author.
• 
  Grady

  ‘Keep on going, never stop growing…Don’t ever lose sight of who we really are’
  
  Author Janine Vance earned her PhD in Philosophy and writes screenplays, scripts for documentaries, and has authored highly awarded books on Eastern Philosophy, Metaphysics as well as her special theme of adoption. Her books include - AMERICANIZED ’72, GOING BACK TO ZEN, THE POWER OF ISOLATION, RISE FROM THE DREAD, TWINS FOUND IN A BOX, and this very fine book – THE SEARCH FOR MOTHER MISSING.
  
  Providing an excellent resource guide about adoption in general, and international adoption in particular, is reason enough to invest in this book – especially for those considering adoption of a child from another country as well as those who have been adopted as children and have significant questions about philosophy, genetics, legalese and the many other facets of the international adoption system. But what makes this book even more of a treasure is the manner in which Janine Vance relates her personal (and that of her twin sister) experience.
  
  In the opening pages Janine outlines many of her themes as she prepares her travel mission – ‘Only two weeks from now, my twin sister and I will be in Seoul, South Korea! As a stay-at-home mother of two and a caregiver to my disabled father, the upcoming trip is a rare opportunity to shift my attention to me….Because I am of Korean ethnicity, most fellow Americans might think that I am not a real American citizen. But I am. I haven’t even explored my Korean roots, and I’m already thirty-two years old! I come from a white all-American family, so I’ve never identified myself as a real Korean…’ That degree of refreshing reality with which the author accompanies us on this journey of exploring the many facets of international adoption makes this book revelatory as well as inspiring.
  
  Few other authors have been able to allow access into the perplexities of adoption while providing a tender, memoiresque story. The multiple honors bestowed on Janine Vance are well deserved. This book is especially important to read at this time of racism of many variations. Very highly recommended.
• 
  Alicia Geromel

  I thought I would be bored
  
  Which just goes to show Don't judge a book just because somebody wanted you to read it. I was extremely surprised! I learned a lot. You will too if you read this book As an adoptive mother of our foster child i.did not know.whattothers have gone through. However, I know that we weren't given sufficient information to avoid making some really bad moves with this little girl who had been through so much in her birth family. Luckily, we all survived. I also wonder if 1 of the reasons that abortion is protected so much in this country isn't to promote lucrative foreign adoptions. Adoption of the perfect family is also something everybody needs to avoid. Christianity teaches that all human beings are flawed and have their warps. Therefore we all must be both wary and charitable In this business of adoption.
• 
  Pegboard

  The Search for Mother Missing: A Peek Inside International Adoption by Janine Vance begins with a tear-jerking forward from her adopted father; though in his heart adoption is not a barrier to his true love for his girls. The story behind Janine's adoption brings to light flaws within adoption institutes and the push to send children abroad.
  
  I could not help but cry as I read The Search for Mother Missing. Janine Vance tells her story with a spirit of honesty and meekness, but the undercurrent of emotions is evident as she tells her tale. Deciding to look for her birth mother takes a toll on everyone in the family. Fear and uncertainty take hold and makes her question the quest she and her sister are embarking on. I highly recommend this book for its knowledge of adoptions and their impact on families.
• 
  Dwee Andrea Nugraha

  Great book to read. The story is very complex, Thrilling, Romance, and affection of Family, they are all already inside in this book. Trully good and inspiring book !.
• 
  Megyn Rimes

  A Fascinating biographical story of the heroines, adoptees from South Korea, twin sisters Vance, and their quest for the truth behind their dubious adoption story. A gripping two week root travel of personal exploration with shocking, yet poignant and sincere, revelations of the truth behind the industry… A must read for everyone caring about international human rights.
• 
  Rayan Rahman

  This is really a good book for twins I love this book it's fantastic thank you.
• 
  Duke Bane

  Love the book, very fascinating especially the twins
• 
  Booksdown

  This highly readable and enjoyable book took me deep into the heart and mind of the author and her sister during a tense and bittersweet time of her life. Janine Vance set out to search for her birth parents, and her memoir reveals with unflinching detail the twists and turns of the journey: the uncertainty, the possibilities, the rejection, the relief, the loss, the tears of joy, the flashes of anger, and the happy surprises. Although I’m not an adoptee, I related strongly to her dramatic story.
  
  As the author discovered, there is no instruction manual for such a search, and much of what she learned was by trial and error. A very enjoyable, often emotional, read. I recommend giving it a go.
• 
  Janalyn Prude

  When Jeanette and Janine, twin sisters from sole, south Korea go to the international convention For adoption. Jeanine is nervous, while Jeanette is a social butterfly making friends and meeting people. Their adopted American dad loves them as if they were his biological children. So their search is it to fulfill a paternal longing, but a cultural curiosity. They want to know about the people that come from and the international adoption convention is the first step. This is a truly uplifting, inspirational book. I know people say that but in this case it is totally true. Janine is totally lovable and her writing style is so comfortable. You really do not want to put the book down. They heard they were found in a box on a street corner and soul, will they find out the truth or do they know the truth already. You really do need a Kleenex warning you will need them for happy and sad tears, but just know the book is so worth reading.