Adopted Reality, A Memoir [Kindle Edition]

Laura Dennis (Author)

Book Description

Caught in a paranoid delusion that she's a bionic spy responsible for 9/11, adoptee Laura Dennis must fight her perfectionist, self-destructive tendencies to regain her sanity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

With raw honesty and thoughtful reflection, Laura Dennis crafts a stunning psychological thriller in her true-life memoir, Adopted Reality. She weaves in three major life events--adoption, reunion with her birth mother and a bipolar episode following the 9/11 terror attacks where her beloved Uncle Tom died in the Twin Towers and she believes she was responsible for his death. I was hooked from the first sentence, "I've successfully infiltrated the Illuminati's West Coast Cell." - Kathy Pooler, A Memoir Writer's Journey

Author Laura Dennis' memoir Adopted Reality tells the story of how expectations of personal perfection inevitably lead to sorrow and failure. It's a universal story of our flawed humanness. ... Anyone who is adopted, a dancer or bipolar and anyone who knows and loves such a person will appreciate "Adopted Reality: A Memoir" for its honesty, drama and ultimately the peace Dennis finds with her adopted reality. - Monica Lee, The Percussionist's Wife

The author adds a sense of ongoing drama by often ending chapters with a single, searing line that hints at what's to come: "And then, whether or not I truly am, convince a judge that I'm sane." - Kirkus Reviews

From the Author

            As I washed my hands in the public restroom sink and readjusted the elastic of my dance tights to their proper place--two-and-a-half inches below my belly button, a fellow dance colleague approached. A locally famous choreographer about fifteen years older than me wanted to know how it was that I came to have two moms. Apparently the story had been circulating around the dancers here at the Ocean City, MD regional dance competition and had made it back to this working dance mom, cool even in her forties with long hair, jazz pants and the type of mean girl attitude to which I was still painfully and frustratingly susceptible.
            Summoning my most laidback tone, I told her how just a couple of weeks ago I'd reunited with my birth mother, spending a week with her in NYC taking dance classes, eating at fancy restaurants and relating our life stories. At the end of the week, my mom came into the city, I explained.
            "That's your real mom, right, the one who raised you," she interrupted.
            Yes, I told her, my mom came into the city and the three of us had a 'My Two Mom Night.' When the two first met, they hugged and thanked each other for the gift they'd received--Kathy thanked Marilyn for raising me, Marilyn thanked Kathy for allowing her to become a mom.
            This bossy, stage mom and dance teacher said with tears in her eyes, "That is an amazing story. You've hardly told me anything and I want to do is go back in the bathroom stall and have a good cry."
            As I awkwardly explained I had to get back to my dancers to prep them for the next piece, and left the restroom, I realized that this story of my adoption and reunion was interesting, and not just to me. I thought wistfully, wouldn't it be cool to write a book about the experience? What I didn't know--couldn't know, was the April 2001 trip to New York City with my birth mom had set in motion a series of events that would in just six months lead to a manic break with reality.

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Product Details

• File Size: 344 KB
• Print Length: 150 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Entourage Publishing; 2 edition (June 5, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0089BISC4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,758 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #73 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Parenting & Relationships > Adoption

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A brave and honest story that reads like a psychological thriller. July 14, 2012

By Kathleen Pooler

Format:Kindle Edition

With raw honesty and thoughtful reflection, Laura Dennis crafts a stunning psychological thriller in her true-life memoir, Adopted Reality. She weaves in three major life events- adoption, reunion with her birth mother and a bipolar episode following the 9/11 terror attacks where her beloved Uncle Tom died in the Twin Towers and she believes she was responsible for his death. I was hooked from the first sentence," I've successfully infiltrated the Illuminati's West Coast Cell." It reads like a novel as she takes the reader along her adventuresome and suspenseful descent into madness and subsequent hospitalization and treatment. Parallel to this episode, she skillfully goes back and forth between her current and past life with her adoptive family, her biological family's history and the subsequent reunion with her birth mother, Kathy. She writes of both families with compassion and love. Due to her brutal self-honesty and willingness to share her inner feelings, I was drawn into her story and by the end felt I had gained a greater appreciation for bipolar illness, adoption issues and the impact the 9/11 had, especially on someone who had suffered a personal loss on that day. The author makes an unbelievable story believable and authentic. Beyond being a riveting story, this memoir will give hope and inspiration to anyone who has faced any one of these painful life circumstances. It provides a clear view of all these issues- a window into the world of mental illness, adoption/reunion issues and post-traumatic stress syndrome as experienced by anyone who has suffered a personal loss from 9/11. I also think it should be required reading for anyone working in the mental health field. It is a brave and honest story of survival against many odds. I commend the author for getting her story out there in such an engaging and compelling way. Riveting read!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting exploration of adoption, bipolar disorder, and life. June 18, 2012

By mdreader

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book came recommended to me from a friend on facebook. On a bit of a whim, I downloaded it to my tablet and read it in two sittings. I have to say that the author's seamless weaving of memoir, first hand depiction of madness, and reflections on being adopted are simply captivating. As someone who knows others who were adopted, as well as others plagued by mental illness, this was an insightful read to say the least. I came away with a fuller appreciation of both human conditions thanks to the well crafted, poignant tale. I would highly recommend this for a summer read. It will be the best $6 dollars you spend.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing memoir.... June 19, 2012

By photomom

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Laura Dennis is an amazing new author, writing from personal pain and experience, explaining life's detours from inside of a powerful awakening. I felt I experienced her compounded trials with her and felt the overwhelming burden of all of her life decisions. Adopted Reality,A Memoir, reminds me as a teacher, of the many hidden battles young students experience and choose to handle on their own. I know the author personally and can testify to her unusual intellectual and creative gifts. To know they further emerged out of such a difficult life journey, leaves me speechless.

More About the Author

Laura Dennis was born in New Jersey and raised in Maryland, but she learned how to be a (sane) person in California, where she lost her mind and found it again in 2001. A professionally trained dancer, Laura gave up aches and pains and bloody feet in 2004 to become a stylish, sales director for a biotech startup. Then with two children under the age of three, in 2010 she and her husband sought to simplify their lifestyle and escaped to his hometown, Belgrade. While the children learned Serbian in their cozy preschool, Laura recovered from sleep deprivation and wrote Adopted Reality.