A testament to the more than 100,000 Korean adoptees who have come to the United States since the 1950s, this collection of oral histories features the stories of nine Korean Americans who were adopted as children and the struggles they’ve shared as foreigners in their native lands. From their early confrontations with racism and xenophobia to their later-in-life trips back to Korea to find their roots (with mixed results), these narratives illustrate the wide variety of ways in which all adoptive parents and adoptees—not just those from Korea—must struggle with issues of identity, alienation, and family.
Once They Hear My Name
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Editorial Reviews
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"The honest voice of each adoptee makes for riveting reading and provides a window into the lives, minds and hearts of these children, almost all of whom wrestle with not just occasional teasing, but more profoundly, with . . . the duality that's at the core of their being." —Judy Woodruff, PBS journalist
"In this important, groundbreaking book, the long overdue voices of Korean-American adoptees, grown-up and reflective, tell their stories with rare insight and breathtaking emotional honesty." —Helen Zia, author, Asian American Dreams
"Help[s] families teach transracial adoptees to celebrate rather than regret the cultural riches that come with their backgrounds." —The Christian Science Monitor
"Nine Korean adoptees tell their stories of growing up in American, white families." —Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Riveting reading for any adoptive parent. Nine adoptees share candid stories of growing up adopted, struggling to fit in with classmates or colleagues, and searching for their birth families." —Adoptive Families magazine
"Intensely personal accounts of the pain and pride of growing up straddling two very different cultures. Many of the adoptees describe getting teased or stared at because they did not look like their Caucasian family members." —The Gazette, Bethesda-Silver Spring, Maryland
"Based on oral histories of nine adoptees, the book illustrates the variety of ways adopted children and their parents wrestle with life's inescapable question: Who am I?" —Houston Chronicle
About the Author
Ellen Lee is a licensed clinical social worker. She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Marilyn Lammert is a psychotherapist. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland. Mary Anne Hess is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in education and family issues. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book long needed,
By
This review is from: Once They Hear My Name: Korean Adoptees and Their Journeys Toward Identity (Paperback)
I have just finished reading Once They Hear My Name. The book portrays, through biographical accounts, the complex issues faced by international adoptees as they weave together the varying strands of their experience into a coherent sense of adult identity. The stories, engrossing and moving, ring very true to this parent of a twenty-something daughter and son, both born in Korea. I could only read one chapter at a time, because I had to take time to digest and ponder it before moving on to the next. Adoptive families have many more resources for knowing about the special issues that adoption confers during a child's infancy and childhood than during adolescence and, especially, adulthood. I believe this book will resonate with the large, long-established community of internationally adopted persons and their (birth and) adoptive families living in the United States and in other countries around the world. Each adult adoptee from Korea interviewed for the book had a unique story to tell; yet, common issues appeared in all. The book provides a valuable service in framing these issues--especially because they are so respectfully presented in the words and from the viewpoints of the adoptees themselves. Don't read the book to find easy answers. Instead, read it to begin to understand the journey that adopted men and women are making. Read it, also, to be heartened by their courage, insight, humor, and strength!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended!,
By Norm (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Once They Hear My Name: Korean Adoptees and Their Journeys Toward Identity (Paperback)
As the grandparent of a young grand-daughter adopted a year ago from China, I found this book to be highly informative, and have passed it on to my daughter and her husband. The book brings home, through the poignant words of the adoptees and the sensitive treatment of the authors how important it is for families adopting from other cultures to expose their adopted child to the culture of origin and to encourage the child to explore his/her origins, even if the biological parents cannot be identified. I highly recommend it to prospective parents who are considering cross-cultural adoptions as well as to the current parents of such children.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartwarming and Informative,
By
This review is from: Once They Hear My Name: Korean Adoptees and Their Journeys Toward Identity (Paperback)
I had the opportunity to read this book while I was on a small vacation. When I began I didn't know that what was I was going to read was Korean adoptees' stories in their own words. I could not wait to read each one as to experience the differences within their particular story and the similarity that Korean adoptees experienced. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The stories were heartwarming, even in all the sadness and struggles they expressed. I saw in them courage and growth and understood in ways I couldn't have before reading the book what being adopted within another country, another culture can create for the one adopted. I read this book with the heart of a human being meeting the hearts of other human beings in their journeys. I also read it with the eyes of a psychotherapist who has worked with adoptees in their struggles, but to have the added insight about the cross cultured adoptees was enlightening and informative.
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