Customer Reviews

The Sound of Hope: A True Story of an Adoptee's Quest for her Origins

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

 

 

Anne Bauer's, The Sound of Hope, kept me wondering and worrying about what was going to happen next. This book is a very fast and enjoyable read. I am not an adopted child and yet she was able to draw me into her story......her true story and made me think. And isn't that what a good book should do. Make us think, not tell us what to think. She has done a wonderful job. I hae never thought about her side of life and how scary and complicated it could be just deciding to try to find your birth mother. But she does not write from just one side of this issue. Anne Bauer lets you in on the hurt and frustration of her parents who have raised her since she was ten days old. Why she feels the need to do this...for her...and to them...and to the birth mother who gave her away over twenty years ago. This is truly an honest account of all aspects of an adopted child/adult struggling to find out who they are. The Sound of Hope is a book that I will strongly recommend to anyone to read but especially to anyone who has been adopted. I am a librarian and have seen few books as well written on this subject as The Sound of hope.

(Official Apex Reviews Rating: 4.5 Stars)

"...it's a good boat that tries to find the harbor it left...but be careful: don't go looking for someone who might not want to be found."

This poignant remark, made by her sage grandmother, perfectly sums up the internal conflict driving young Anne Marie Willoughby. By all accounts, Anne has lived her life in rather normal fashion: she has a healthy childhood, she does well in school, and she ultimately falls deeply in love with a wonderful, caring, compassionate man. Of course, her upbringing is not completely idyllic (early poverty and an emotionally abusive father are a couple dark spots), but by and large she has little to truly complain about.

However normal it may seem, though, there is something a bit different about Anne's life: when she's five years old, she learns that she was actually adopted, rescued from a maternity home when she was only ten days old. Furthermore, the family that adopted her also adopted her two brothers, Thomas and Brian, and has raised all three of them as their own ever since. Once this seed is planted in Anne's mind, it becomes impossible for her ever to forget, and her curiosity about her real origins only grows stronger over the ensuing years.

Her inquisitiveness finally gets the best of her when she turns twenty-two, and she soon launches an all-out campaign to discover the true identity of her birth mother. Despite a series of temporary dead ends, her resolve remains strong, and her tenacity ultimately pays off when she makes finally contact with the woman who brought her into this world. Her reaction, naturally, is mixed - but it hardly compares to the fallout that comes from her parents, brothers - and even her fiancé - as they struggle to understand the motives behind her actions. As a result, Anne is forced to reconcile both sides of the emotional tug-of-war left in the wake of her quest - and it proves to be quite the daunting task.

Taut and compelling, The Sound Of Hope is the kind of rare story that comes along every so often that is able to pull at the heartstrings in a variety of equally impactful ways. Anyone who has ever struggled with issues of personal identity or self-awareness will certainly relate to Anne's internal struggle, but parallel to her dilemma is that of her family members, who, after having cared greatly for her her entire life, are suddenly confronted with feelings of inadequacy, envy - and even rejection - in the face of her actions. Add to all this the emergent shock of her birth mother who, twenty-two years later, must face the resurrected ghosts of a past that she was convinced would never again resurface, and you have the makings an understandably volatile, emotionally explosive situation.

Despite the potentially disastrous repercussions, though, Anne and her family - both adopted and biological - manage to navigate their collective way through the circumstances, however rocky it may be. Made possible by the very real love that they all share for one another, such a sacrifice stems from the strength of proven bonds that have been forged over the years - and, curiously, even the natural bond that Anne shares with her birth mother, despite the fact that it has never been nurtured. Regardless of how clichéd it may sound, in her stirring true-life tale Bauer does a commendable job of showing just how effectively the power of real love can weather any storm - emotional, spiritual, or otherwise.

A riveting story with a timely, memorable message, The Sound Of Hope is recommended reading for many a jaded heart in these seemingly hopeless, cynical times - most especially those who remain unconvinced of the indomitable power of love.

Heather Slocumb

Apex Reviews

I really liked most of this book, and I must say for an adoptee searching for her birth parents she found them very quickly, but that took the mystery and intrigue out of her story. For a book that was supposed to be about the seaech, once she found her mother and determined that she had not wanted to give her up, I think she went on too long and in too much detail about her adoptive family, which to me sounded pretty much like any other family, adopted sibs or not. She did convey the sense of loss and of not belonging as all of these stories do, but when she continued to have her feelings hurt and was not satisfied that everyone didn't get along, even after "finding and meeting" everyone, it was a bit much. Apparently her hurt went beyond any kind of resolution or healing, and that is too bad.

I was hoping to see some photos because her descriptions of her birth family were so intriguing (mother a dancer, youthful, darling; sister with long flowing red hair; looks just exactly like her father, etc.), so I went to the web page given at the end of the book, but it has been shut down. End of story; no further info.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It opened my eyes to see what it feels like to be an adoptee in our society. I have a better understanding of, not only what she went through once she decided to search for her birth mother, but also how she felt as a young child knowing she was adopted. I also have an understanding of what the adoptive parents and birth parents were feeling. It is so well written that you can "feel" her emotions. When I was not reading the book, I found myself thinking about the story and what I would do being it those situations. I recommend it to anyone, whether involved in adoption or not. I admire Anne very much for her strength and honesty!!