Customer Reviews

Hard to Place: One Family's Journey through Adoption

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished "Hard to Place" this morning after stealing precious moments this weekend to read it. It was riveting and really affected me in terms of realizing the personal strength, faith and charity the author and her family exhibited in the face of tremendous challenges raising a blended family. Imagine adding two small brothers to a family that already had three children! I loved the descriptions of how nature helped heal hard times, and the role of music in connecting the "hard to place" adopted brothers with their siblings living in two very different worlds. The book is poetic, bold, and sometimes shocking-- it would make a fantastic movie! This is a MUST-Read, not only for those having experience with adoption, but for anyone who's part of a loving family that through courage, loyalty and good will, triumphs over adversity.

I couldn't recommend this book more! While the adoption of the author's two youngest children is the catalyst for this book (and is an unbelievably compelling story in its own right), the real message is one of an extremely close-knit family supporting and loving one another through the trials and tribulations of life. Many families would have crumbled under just one of the challenges this family faced, but instead the Goldsteins triumphed and became even closer as they overcame each crisis - thanks largely to the strength of the author and family matriarch. Extremely well written, it makes you feel as if you are a part of the clan. Don't start it unless you have time to finish the whole book - I read it cover to cover in one sitting!

"What a story!" "What a woman!" What a writer!"
These are the three exclamations I hear from every
friend to whom I give this book.Their only complaint
is that they couldn't sleep till they finished it.
Neither will you. Your reward for sacrificing a few
hours sleep will be a renewed faith in God, in family,
in your own capacity for personal growth.

Hard to place is a great true story.
Any one who is curious about adoption should read this book.
The trials and joys of adoption are presented with great insight and great compassion.
The author is truly a hero. She dedicates herself to her family and describes in great detail
the heartaches, frustration and the joy associated with melding a natural family with an adopted family.
Very good account of the process and the reults of this melding.
The author is a hero for her bravery and dedication to helping children.

Pros: For the first two chapters, I couldn't put this book down. The reason is easy to identify: if anyone would like a straight real-life explanation from a sensitive feminine perspective about the gravity of having children, then this book is it. I found it enlightening and frank, with none of the witty banter that distracts from an engaging story. After that, the book is devoted to the discovery, acquisition, rearing, and long road toward reconciliation for a pair of adopted brothers the narrator raises. The perspective remains solid, with everything easily engaging. There is a little parallel narrative when things are happening elsewhere that adds more momentum to the conclusion.

Cons: The refreshing perspective was a surprise, so I found some of the lengthy sections regarding well-documented plot information less interesting in contrast. However appropriate, because family life wasn't always going haywire, I could not help wanting more drama in some sections. This is a conflicted admission, however, because non-fiction tends to follow the course of real events to reinforce whatever is gleaned from them. To understand it, some details must be included.

Summary: Experience teaches us so much, and this author knows how to deliver her experiences well. Besides detailing the tumultuous events of a family against many odds, it does not over-do it, and this cannot be said of many authors today. I don't read mémoires usually, but this was a fine example of how to do it right.

Marion Goldstein's story is about much more than adoption. It encompasses pieces of a tapestry that make a family- fierce love, commitment, human frailty and woven around characters to which a reader can relate. Whether it's the loneliness and attachment of two little boys, the determination of two parents, or the confusion of a young adult, the title is apt. This family does come through, rather than detouring around, the phases of their lives. Ethel Lee-Miller author, Thinking of Miller Place: A Memoir of Summer Comfort

I woke up at 4:45am to finish the book. I am in awe of this family. Marion Goldstein is an extraordinary author as I imagine she must be an extraordinary mother. She writes so eloquently and has such compassion. I hope when my daughter embarks on her journey to find her birth mother I can have an ounce of the dignity and grace that this family exhibited and grow from it the way this family has.
It has made me look through my beautiful adopted daughter's eyes in a different-more compassionate way. I only hope that my daughter's journey ends as well as did Kurt & Eddie's-with them being content and loving their forever family.

Thank you Marion Goldstein! You have written a sensitive, beautiful literary memoir. It celebrates life while sharing its challenges. Now I give it or recommend it to everyone I can. It's a journey well worth taking.

I read this book with only one interuption and my wife finished it in one sitting. Like the Goldsteins' we adopted two little boys and, of course, Kurt and Eddie's story gripped us from the beginning. But their story is so vividly written and inspiring that it's a joy for anyone to read.