Customer Reviews

Lucky Girl: A Memoir

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Reading books about ordinary people who have something extraordinary in their lives is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. Mei-Ling is an ordinary, happy American girl who grew up in a small family with loving parents. She is intelligent, successful, and well loved by friends and family.

The twist though is that the family is much larger than one might first think. She is one of the many girls adopted from Taiwan, and brought to America by a couple who wanted a baby. In fact, this couple also adopted two boys, also from Asia to complete their little circle.

Mei-Ling is different from many of the girls who were adopted in that she had a link to connect her with her birth family, if she chose to do so. She learned of Sister Maureen early on, when she was told the story of how she came to be adopted . When in her twenties, the nun who was almost a storybook like figure to her once again got in touch with the family to let them know that her birth family was interested in meeting, if she would like to do that.

What followed was the story of two families coming together, and bonding. Sometimes it was painful, other times loving, and there were times it was hilarious. There were brothers and sisters and a gentle birth mother. Her birth father was something of a conundrum.

This is a wonderful book, about good people, families and love. I recommend it.

I was fortunate enough to come across Lucky Girl by chance and what a happy discovery it was! Hopgood's writing style flows beautifully and avoids the trap of sap even though the subject is worthy of it. Her ability to reel us into her personal story is done effortlessly but with great impact. I found myself totally engaged in her life. Following her through her post college years as a successful journalist, joining her on her wedding day bliss, really feeling the love and warmth that she shared with her adoptive parents, crying when her father passed away unexpectedly, and then joining her on her journey to meet her birth parents. All this storytelling is done with humor, investigative wit, sincerity and self examination. It really is an epic tale that weaves together so many lives, emotions and discoveries. Well done!

I devoured this book. It is the kind you can read in one sitting but shouldn't because you don't want to be done with it so soon.

Mei-Ling Hopgood does an excellent job reconstructing and telling the stories of both of her families. There is tremendous character development as she answers some mysteries, uncovers new ones and eventually finds the answers to those, too.

This book is in a class with The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food and China Dolls: A Novel.

Hopgood's book rides from a breathless rush into discovery to heartbreak to the sweetness of sisterhood.

This is a good choice for anyone whose life is intertwined with adoption or multicultural familes -- or anyone who wants to learn about these subjects.

Mei-Ling Hopgood's memoir "Lucky Girl" is a riveting read examining the author's complex family tree, from her biological Chinese parents who gave her up for adoption to her middle-class Michigan parents who loved her unconditionally. Hopgood also looks within as she grapples with the conflicting emotions of a child given up by her parents.

With a reporter's eye, Hopgood probes her past and uncovers family skeletons that shape who she is today: A much-loved, creative, successful woman who knows that she is indeed a lucky girl.

Although she was adopted from China as an infant, award-winning journalist Mei-Ling Hopgood had a typical American upbringing. Growin up, she thought her Chinese parents were were peasants who gave her up so she would have a chance at a good life.

Hopgoods's life is turned upside down when her adoptive mother receives a phone call from the Catholic nun who arranged the adoption. It seems her Chinese family wants to make contact and have her visit them.

Expecting to find rural peasants in a pastoral setting, Hopgood is shocked to find that her family is urban, middle-class, rowdy, unconventional, loud and just a little bit bossy.

Hopgood puts her journalism training to good use as she unfolds the story of her family and tries to assimilate into the world of the Chinese without losing her American identity.

I hope Hopgood writes a follow-up to this book. There is so much more to know.

Mei-Ling was born in Taiwan and at seven months old, she was adopted by a loving American couple, Rollie and Chris Hopgood. The Hopgoods also adopted two boys from Korea. The three children grew up as all-American kids and Mei-Ling was never really curious about her birth family or her life in Taiwan before her adoption.

One day, after Mei-Ling had finished college and was working as a journalist, her adopted mother called her and told her that Sister Maureen, the nun who had facilitated her adoption wanted to see her. Mei-Ling decided to meet with Sister Maureen and when it was suggested that Mei-Ling could probably find her birth parents, Mei-Ling declined. Several months later, Mei-Ling asked Sister Maureen to write to the hospital where she was born. This started communication and eventually visits between Mei-Ling and her birth family.

Mei-Ling Hopgood's memoir, Lucky Girl does give her background, but mostly focuses on her contact and relationship with her birth family after she was an adult. And, what a family it is! I don't want to give too much away, but her birth father is a domineering man with archaic ideas and her mother is a submissive woman. A lot of this is a result of their age and culture, but it was all quite a shock for Mei-Ling. Mei-Ling was thrilled to discover that she has seven sisters (only Mei-Ling and one other sister were given up for adoption, though). Mei-Ling struggles to understand her mother and the choices she made, but her meetings with her birth family only reinforces what she already knew - that she is a lucky girl.

I really enjoyed Lucky Girl - it's a beautiful tale of self-discovery without a hint of self-pity. Mei-Ling readily admits that there were times when she felt different when she was growing up because there weren't many Asians where she lived, but she's also quick to point out that the Hopgoods were wonderful parents who encouraged and loved her and helped her become the strong woman she is today. When she says, "Giving our children even a fraction of the love and generosity that my mom and dad shared is the best legacy that I can think of leaving," she is of course speaking of her adopted parents. After reading her book, I think she will leave a fine legacy.

I loved reading this story. It's a beautiful portrait of the most unusual family circumstances told in a straightforward style that includes humor, actual letters and e-mails, just enough history to give context and a raw eye toward detail that leaves you wanting more.

Maybe it's my pregnancy hormones or the fact that so much of Mei-Ling's story was familiar to me, but I was in tears by the time I reached the Epilogue!

The story is told in first-person by Mei-Ling, an award-winning journalist who was born to a large family in Taiwan, adopted by a Michigan couple and then reunited with her birth family many years later. As a fellow Washington, D.C., reporter who grew up in Hawaii and has a sister adopted from Korea (where Mei-Ling's brothers are adopted from), I found many things in this book that I could relate to.

More than anything, though, I loved discovering Mei-Ling's family, from the good to the bad, along with her. The way she opens her life up with personal introspection and tough questions to her birth parents both surprised and enthralled me. It's an amazing story that is told with grace, wit and passion.

I recommend this book without hesitation. It will open your eyes about adoption and might even push you to examine your own self identity.

I liked many things about this book a lot---the culture shock of getting to know a large family in a vastly different culture than your own, the honesty the author shown about her mixed feelings toward her birth family, the descriptions of food (the author loves to eat, and it shows!) and just the reason to imagine what it would be like to suddenly discover you have 7 sisters you never knew. But most of all, I loved it as a tribute to the love of the author's "real" parents, her adoptive parents. After all the discoveries, the thrills and sadness of finding out about one's own biological heritage, what remained strongest was the love that 2 people had for the author, the love that made them the parents every child wishes they had. My family has adoption dotted all over. 98 years ago, my great-grandparents adopted my grandmother and started a family that continues down to me. My grandmother is still alive, and I know there has never been a moment that she felt any less than a "real" child of her parents. I loved reading about another family with this kind of love legacy.

Lucky Girl: A Memoir
Riviting account of a life experience. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever adopted a foreign child, or anyone who knows anyone who has or is thinking about it, or anyone who has a caring heart! The book relates a story that is 100% true and is still on-going. Your life's perspectives will become richer by reading this account.

It was interesting to see how she viewed her childhood growing up in Michigan but also what happened after her birth family came looking for her almost 23 years later! The journey that follows this discovery leads her to not only feel fortunate to have an interesting, complex life with two families from completely different countries but also to appreciate how lucky we are to be girls. Being a girl comes with much responsibility and I am proud to say this book will make you feel all the emotions that we all have as girls, young ladies and women.