Meeting Sophie: A Memoir of Adoption (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The baby is screaming again..." (more)
Key Phrases: adoption support group, ceramic fish, stacking cups, South Carolina, Ping Ping, White Swan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Here is a story of a single professional woman adopting a baby from China, losing her father to cancer and moving on after being denied tenure at a conservative Southern college. But it's also a meditation on the meaning of family: blood family, adoptive family and even the dysfunctional family-like structure of a college English department. It begins with McCabe's (After the Flashlight Man) first moment with her new baby in a Chinese hotel. As she gradually fills in the details of before and after, the unlikelihood of this adoption attests to McCabe's near-mystical desire for a child. A feminist liberal at a church-affiliated college, McCabe is ill-suited to her new department, whose members patronize her and hound her to act more like them: "Southern ladies." This attitude strikingly mirrors her role in her own family, where she was cast early on as "the dumb one" and a selfish outcast, despite her good grades growing up in the Midwest and her adult attempts to help out when her father is ill. The family myth shows its effect as McCabe doubts her ability to care for her baby until, seemingly through intuition alone, she guesses, contrary to the opinions of doctors and adoption professionals, her new daughter's allergies (to lactose and antihistamines), which are serendipitously similar to her own. As a new mother and grieving daughter, McCabe struggles poignantly and triumphantly to maintain her own identity as she creates her place within family. Her tale will be familiar and inspiring to those interested in delving into their own family relations, as well as to single women considering adoption.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Meeting Sophie tells the story of Nancy McCabe adopting a Chinese daughter and the many obstacles she faced during the adoption and adjustment process as she renegotiated her role within her family and fought difficulties in her job. Especially poignant is her struggle to bond with a sick, grieving baby while in a foreign country during political unrest-followed, upon her return to the U.S., by a devastating loss and a career crisis.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: University of Missouri Press (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826214959
• ISBN-13: 978-0826214959
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #715,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Way with Words, February 6, 2004

By	S. Hadabe (Moline, IL) - See all my reviews

Nany McCabe has a way with words; she created such a powerful, moving story. From the beginning I got the sense that she was an interesting and intelligent person, but what I loved is how she grew emotionally. Through the book, she began recognizing the love and the limitations of love that bound her and her family. This book helped me analyze parent and adult children dynamics as well as reflect on adoptive parent and child relationships. As a daughter and an upcoming adoptive mother, I felt a sense of recognition and hope.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving and inspiring, February 4, 2004

By A Customer

The reader who wasn't interested in McCabe's personal life doesn't seem to understand that a memoir is by definition a narrative composed from personal experience. Meeting Sophie is not just about "the adoption process." Instead, it eloquently and poignantly demonstrates how becoming a parent--however one accomplishes it--affects all aspects of a life, making other challenges seem larger and at the same time easier to face.
A moving and inspiring story.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight, January 30, 2004

By A Customer

This book is marvelous, not just because of the fascinating and moving story of Sophie's adoption, but also in how it sheds light on the particular dilemmas women face as mothers, daughters, teachers, writers. The chapter that focuses on the author's father is alone worth the price of the book. Meeting Sophie is sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious, always gutsy and beautiful. McCabe is truly a gifted writer.