Customer Reviews

Lost and Found: A Memoir of Mothers

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Kate St Vincent Vogl has a beautiful "voice" and her prose transports you to the kitchen, the playground and to on her emotional journey of redefining family. This book tells the story of a woman, grieving for the death of her own mother amidst the joy of her new daughter, when the phone rings one night and her birthmother re-enters her life. On what terms, with what monikers and what challenges lie ahead, all are beautifully told in ways that will cause you to rethink your own family ties, whether adoped or not.

I loved this book and I was really not expecting to have that reaction. I am not adopted but found it to be tremendously moving and a book I will share with my own mother and with friends. If you are an adoptive parent, or adopted child, this will resonate on a completely different level. I think the author did a great job of laying out the challenges of integrating The Mother and The Father into an existing family structure where those roles had already been defined by years of parenting. The story is packed with emotions but not maudlin or sappy. The story will stay with you for years.

Being a part of the book did not at all make the read less compelling. Tearful yet exhilarating, I learned more about myself through Kate's words. Articulating my feelings and our relationship with precision and grace. Kate makes this book a one of a kind

As the parent of an adopted child this story really touched my heart. It goes deep into the dynamics that define a family and motherhood. I was amazed at the complexity of the author's life once she met her birthmother. We all seem to have our own definition of what makes our family a family Ms. Vogl allows us to realize how delicate that web of family is and how it can change so quickly. I wish this book had been available when I was beginning my adoption process. It is a must read for all members of the adoption triad but is not strictly an "adoption book" it is for everyone.

I took a writing course at the Loft in Twin Cities with Kate St Vincent Vogl. At the time, her book was about to be published, but as a teacher, her focus was on her students and helping them navigate writing a story and creating compelling dialog and memorable characters. Her book was the first I downloaded onto my new "Christmas" Kindle. It did not disappoint. The book is filled with imagery about mothers, daughters, step-mothers, birth-mothers, adopted-mothers - and all the people that constitute a family. It is Kate's story but a compelling memoir because everyone can find a little something of themselves inside. Thanks, Kate for a great book and for being a good teacher!

This book touched me deeply. It's a story of how Kate struggles with losing her mother to ovarian cancer and soon after receives a phone-call from a birth-mother who wanted to enter into her life. It is a very heartwarming story of how that birth-mother gradually became a part of an Kate's life and how the author opened her heart to understand herself in ways she never imagined. Her realness through this story kept me very intrigued. It was very heartwarming to me to see how Kate did not shut any of this down and how she worked to make it all fit into a blended family.

Did you not ever know exactly what needed to be done--but not quite know how to do it--gracefully--and still stay true to yourself? Let alone others? Of course, we all have those moments. But author Kate Vogl's instant was searing. In one deep breath she lost the mother she dearly loved and wanted and found herself phone to face with the birth mother she never thought she needed. Because her birth mother found her in Kate's mother's obituary. Kate had lost and now was found, but not in a way she'd expected. And now she had threads to tie, daughters and mothers galore, families in duet, her own feelings to sort in the background. Her emotions were raw, of course. Fortunately there were no villains but the rest of her life now had a new map. How she did it, holiday by school open-house by dance recital, familiar ground to readers, still breaks and warms our hearts in unexpected ways. Kate's is truly a beautiful life lived.

This book is very well written and insightful. Mother and daughter carve out a relationship and bring two families together.

The author does a fabulous job of analyzing all the players in her life from their different perspectives while maintaining an empathetic view of the hows and whys behind decisions, actions and feelings. Fabulous for book clubs that include any mothers &/or daughters! Discussion will flow!

This is a unique perspective to learning about your past. This is a well written book about a sensitive subject. I encourage anyone to read it.