Dreaming a World: Korean Birth Mothers Tell Their Stories

by Sangsoon Han

A powerful follow-up to I Wish for You a Beautiful Life, this new book gives voice to seventeen Korean birth mothers, who tell their stories looking back from the present to the time they were pregnant and gave birth. They describe their situations then, the decisions they had to make, and their lives in the time since. What they have to tell us is both heart-breaking and compelling, from voices seldom heard.

Genres: Nonfiction, Research

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 26, 2010

Reviews

[Julia Langnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

After finishing this novel just now I'm truly struck by the stories of these mothers. They are going to sit with me for a long time. This book has a immensely special atmosphere, and you get transported into a completely different world when you read it. I have nothing but immense respect for the mothers that told their stories in this novel. The stories were hard to read at times, and there was a certain cultural gap that made the logical reasoning of the mothers hard to understand, but their honesty and clarity stood out throughout. The stories were varied, brutal, but so full of hope and love. I'll never forget the devotion these mothers have for their children, and it strikes me how the simple thought of one day seeing their child again helped to raise these mothers up and give them energy to pick up their lives. A brilliant novel, I thought the "homemade" structure really helped keep the book very organic and true to the human emotions it portrays.

Thank you to the mothers for having the courage to record their stories. They won't be forgotten.

[Kate Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent...hard to not cry...

[Annie Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Korean adoptee whose birth mother had a very similar situation to many of these women, this was heart wrenching and touching to read different perspectives on the impact that the Korean culture had on these birth mothers and their children.