Swimming Up the Sun: A Memoir of Adoption [Paperback]

Nicole J Burton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0979899206 | ISBN-13: 978-0979899201

At age 22, the author set out to find her English birth parents, a Jewish father and a mother believed to be an artist. The adventure led to parents, grandparents, and siblings, a kaleidoscope of relationships with one dark secret at its center. As an adoptive child in Britain, playwright Nicole J. Burton always wanted to find her birth parents. After immigrating with her adoptive family to the United States, she pursued the elusive characters haunting her imagination. With an appointment with one of Her Majesty's social workers and her birth mother's name in hand, she returned home to Britain. There she began a search that led to more drama than any play she could possibly conceive.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Apippa Publishing Company (March 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979899206
• ISBN-13: 978-0979899201
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,308,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Account, March 27, 2008

By 

Sara Nieves-Grafals (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swimming Up the Sun: A Memoir of Adoption (Paperback)

Nicole Burton's Swimming Up the Sun provides an insightful account into self-exploration. She brilliantly interweaves the external circumstances of her search with inner musings in an engaging book. The author is quick witted, humorous, and candid in her observations. I would recommend this memoir to people who have had personal experience with adoption as well as those who want to learn about the gripping need for connection with those who share biological ties. Excellent book!

Sara Nieves-Grafals, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for all members in an adoption relationship, May 22, 2008

By 

Super Shopper (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Swimming Up the Sun: A Memoir of Adoption (Paperback)

Nicole has written a heartfelt, honest account of the complex needs, tensions, and feelings of all the members of a biological family involved in adoption. As an adoptive mother, I especially appreciated the open and sensitive account of an adoptee's search and her emotional roller coaster as she sought to connect with her biological family. I highly recommend this book to all those already involved in adoption, or who are considering an adoption. Adoptees' needs are an important aspect of the situation, and Nicole presents this perspective simply and eloquently.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking and memorable, January 22, 2009

By 

Susan S. Harper (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swimming Up the Sun: A Memoir of Adoption (Paperback)

As the daughter of an adopted woman who was disappointed in her own search for birth relatives, this story resonated with me on many levels, but one needn't have a connection to adoption to enjoy the honest and moving story of this woman's journey. My book club recently read this and, for once, everyone actually read the whole book! All of us connected with at least one of the characters and found this hard to put down. As a memoir of an adoption or just as a good read, this is worth picking up.