(Lorilee Craker is a multiply-published author and freelance journalist. Her work has been featured in People, the Wall Street Journal, and many more places. Lorilee has written upwards of a dozen books including “Through the Storm” with Lynne Spears (mother to Britney). Thank you to Family Christian for providing me with the privilege of reading this book and presenting an honest review!)
“Adoption. She tasted the word in her mouth” ~from Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter & Me: What My Favorite Book Taught Me about Grace, Belonging & the Orphan in Us All by Lorilee Craker
In the memoir Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter & Me: What My Favorite Book Taught Me about Grace, Belonging & the Orphan in Us All, author Lorilee Craker invites us on a delightful journey into the world of adoption through the twists and turns of her own adoption story, her heartwarming journey adopting her sweet daughter, and Anne Shirley’s own adoption adventure. Lorilee artfully guides us through the three journeys that take place in very different times, circumstances, and places, and weaves them together.
We readers get to glimpse the unique position of being both an adopted child and the mother of one. We are allowed a peek at the hearts of parents embarking on the adoption process and likewise, we are blessed with the perspective of an adult adopted child as Lorilee generously shares with us the feelings and questions she experiences.
Lorilee also recalls the sweet story of Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables fame), the beloved redhead who captured the heart of Gilbert Blythe and those of her adoptive family, Matthew and Marilla. (Who am I kidding? Anne captured the hearts of anyone who came in contact with her and her story!)
I completely enjoyed Anne of Green Gables, My Daughter & Me. I was transported through time via Anne’s story on Prince Edward Island, Phoebe’s beginnings in Korea, and Lorilee’s adventures from birth to motherhood. This was especially sentimental and dear to me considering my own Mom introduced me to Anne at an early age. We’d sit together gleefully (and sometimes tearfully) to watch Anne’s life unfold before us on the television screen when PBS would have an Anne Marathon. My Mom, who’s now Heavenside, would have adored this book.
Lorilee brilliantly wove for us the tapestry of these three lives and their original beginnings to their forever families. Although I have family and friends who have adopted and been adopted themselves, the intricacies and heart emotions of adoption hadn’t occurred to me in the ways that Lorilee shares them with us. I’ve gained a new perspective and understanding through her beautifully and blithely written words. You will be captivated by these stories. You’ll want to write down nearly every sentence as a meaningful quote to remember and reflect on again and again.
Be dazzled,
