Customer Reviews

A Ghost at Heart's Edge: Stories and Poems of Adoption

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The main thing that distinguishes this anthology from many other books about adoption is its literary, unsentimental approach. Unlike the usual humourless depictions, this book goes for depth instead of decibel level, mind over melodrama. It also includes some oft-ignored perspectives such as that of a birthfather, birth-grandparents, adoptive grandparents and adoptees whose reunion stories are not the spangly stuff of the 6 o'clock news. As a contributor to the anthology, I am proud to find my work in such good company. As a reader, I appreciate its literary treatment. As an adoptee, I'm moved by the unflinching accounts.

As as adoptive mom & as a writer, I find it hard to locate books that satisfy my yearning for both literary fulfillment AND insight into the "triad" that is Adotpion. "Ghost at Heart's Edge" is that rare book; It's elevating intellectually, an imaginative opening (lots of them) while giving deep thought to what adoption, at its "heart" entails.

This is not a "reunion" book, good though those are, nor is it a psychological tome, good though theory can be for understanding. Rather, this compendium is literature of a high order and insight with unusual depth. I've carried my copy, literally, from East coast to West, from Canada to Hawaii, hoping to meet one of the editors and get it signed. Along the way, I dip in and out of these poems and stories, and am never anything but fully immersed. Highly recommended, and not just for those who are in Adoptive world, but for us with a hole in our hearts or, better said by the editors, with a Ghost at the Heart's Edge, which includes virtually all of us. Yes? Yes!

This type of book has been needed for a long time. A very real collection that looks at the joys of adoption without shrinking from the loss and pain. Should be required reading for prospective adoptive parents and potential birthparents.

Wow! What an achievement, it bowled me over, I stayed up until 3 am and had sand eyes all day the next day. Heartfelt thanks.

Like reading the songs from my own heart.

"A Ghost at Heart's Edge" is a rich tapestry of truth, beauty and pain, woven with heartfelt honesty. It offers rarely seen glimpses into all facets of adoption, not just the standard "joyous" reunions that are always more complex in real life than in TV drama. It should be required reading for anyone considering adoption. For those already adopted or who have adopted a child, it will ring with boldly familiar truth. I am pleased to be included in this groundbreaking work.

This is a wonderful book also for readers who don't have any experience of adoption. I was swept away by the sheer beauty and quality of the writing. An impressive and diverse array of writers such as Chitra Dvakaruni, Isabel Allende, Alison Lurie, and George Rabasa all explore different facets of parental love, family lines, and belonging. This is the best book I have read since GIRL IN HYACINTH BLUE.

You don't need to be an adopted child or adoptive parent to love this collection. You need only to have been a child or a parent. This collection is about the strings that link us to the most important people in our lives. From the stories by Chitra Divakurni and Isabel Allende to the poetry by editors Susan Ito and Tina Cervin - what gems! This is a book that -"after the long drought and the barren silence" (from a poem by Edward Hirsch included in the collection) - embraces families of all ethnicities and walks of life to shine a literary light on what it means to be a parent, to be a child. I feel so lucky to have found it. Highly recommended.

This book is probably the most balanced collection of stories I've ever read about adoption from all different viewpoints. I love this book and highly recommend it to anyone touched by adoption.

Susan Ito and Tina Cervin have skillfully compiled a beautiful meditation that challenges our most insidious assumptions of what it means to be a True Family. Required reading for anyone with a beating heart.

As the grandmother of 3 adoptees, I was eager to get this
book an was sorely disappointed. It did not give me any
insights...........a lot of it I just could not relate to.
I made myself read it through to the end, hoping that
I would find some thoughts that would connect me to the
poems, etc. Fortunately, my precious adoptees are all
aware of their beginnings, know that God makes all children and
is the glue that holds all families together.