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Finding Aster: Our Ethiopian Adoption Story
by
Dina McQueen
Finding Aster-an Ethiopian adoption story is a fascinating memoir that follows one woman's journey to motherhood via international adoption. Dina's process begins with major surgery that leaves her unable to bear children. After recovery begins and burgeoning health finds her ready to discover what's next, she and her husband decide to become parents. The journey that bega...more
Paperback, 246 pages
Published
February 28th 2011
by Inkwater Press
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This book has been pretty extensively reviewed and after seeing the five-star review done by the San Francisco Book Review, I thought I'd give it a shot.
I thought this memoir was brutally honest and I respect the author a great deal for her candidness throughout. It occurred to me after hearing about memoirs like Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea," which is being heavily scrutinized as untruthful after a 60 Minutes expose on the liberties he took with writing his book, how difficult it must be...more
I thought this memoir was brutally honest and I respect the author a great deal for her candidness throughout. It occurred to me after hearing about memoirs like Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea," which is being heavily scrutinized as untruthful after a 60 Minutes expose on the liberties he took with writing his book, how difficult it must be...more
I have to say that this book could have used a lot of editing. The author is basically self-absorbed and annoying, and the first four chapters could have been summed up very quickly - about having bad relationships, and a regretted abortion. No need to go on and on about some meaningless relationship - it had nothing to do at all with the heart of the story, about adopting a girl from Ethiopia.
When it got into the adoption story, it got a little bit better, but the author still came off as spoil...more
When it got into the adoption story, it got a little bit better, but the author still came off as spoil...more
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I was not overly impressed with this book. The first 20-25% of the book was about a bad relationship which resulted in an abortion and her hysterectomy. The middle50% or so was about her adoption journey, which was for the most part interesting. Since my husband and I adopted from Ethiopia, I would love to have known what adoption agency she used, but she changed the name for anonymity (and probably to protect herself from a lawsuit as everything she had to say about them was not good. They with...more
This was a very readable memoir of Ms. McQueen's and her husband's adoption of an Ethiopian infant. Most notably, the writer was able to capture the tension that must have pervaded every waking (and non-waking even) moment from the time the couple decided to explore international adoption until they finally arrived back in the U.S. with their baby. This is no spoiler, you can see the beautiful little girl on the book's front cover. The adoption process turned out successful, but not without hitc...more
I found this book very intriguing and engaging. Although I am not in the market for adopting since my family is grown, I could barely put it down. She is a wonderful storyteller and I love her writing style--it just flows and is so full of emotion. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to expand their family or who just likes a good human interest story. If adoption is at all a consideration, it is certainly most informative and eye opening and may help you answer a lot of your own questions....more
I enjoyed this book which describes Dina's experience adopting a little girl from Ethiopia - from the series of events that brought her to the decision to adopt, through to the actual process of international adoption. Though the story is filled with personal details, it reads a bit more like practical information that would be good to know if you were planning to adopt yourself. And though I have no plans for adoption, I still enjoyed this book and found it interesting.
Mar 11, 2013
Katie Moncelsi
marked it as to-read
Nov 18, 2012
Abby Turner
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Sep 03, 2012
Jenn
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May 31, 2011
Anna
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Apr 20, 2011
Mary Ellen
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Mar 11, 2011
Janeene
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An award-winning writer, adoption advocate, and speaker, focusing on helping to change social consciousness surrounding adoption. But her most important role: adoptive mom to Aster, a vibrant 4-year-old from Ethiopia. "
More about Dina McQueen...
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