Somebody’s Daughter, by Marie Myung-Ok Lee, is a novel that tells two stories. For someone who is not a Korean adoptee, Marie Lee did her research because she was able to capture the many emotions of Korean adoption with her words.

There are two stories in this novel. The first is the story of Sarah – a young Korean adoptee who is struggling with her identity. Sarah’s search leads her to study in Korea where she learns some hard lessons about who she is as she realizes that just as she doesn’t feel a part of her family in America because of the way she looks, she also doesn’t feel a part of Korea despite how she looks. The author takes us on a journey through Sarah’s emotional development and her search for the birth mother that she had been told had died many years earlier.

The second story is just as important to tell. Marie Lee introduces Kyung-sook, a young Korean woman in the 1970s, who lives during a time. Kyung-sook’s story is full of wonderful detail about the culture and traditions of Korea. While we often dwell on the Korean adoptee, we do not always remember the stories of the birth mothers and this story brings that back to us with startling color.

Whether you are an intricate part of the Korean adoption world or not, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read stories about real people and their lives. I enjoyed this book on many levels – as an adoptee, as a mother, as a reader…

If you would like to know more about this book and/or the author, you can check out her websites at the following links:

Marie Lee’s Website
Green Fertility

You can purchase this book at any of the major booksellers, www.adoptionshop.com, or borrow it from your local library.

You can also check out my more personal review of the book at:
Somebody's Daughter