About this item
Highlights
- Forty-two-year-old Shelley Marino's desperate yearning for a child has led her to one of the only doors still open to her: foreign adoption.
- Author(s): Dana Sachs
- 336 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Literary
Description
About the Book
When Shelley Marino travels to Vietnam to adopt a child, she is accompanied by her friend, Mai, who finds the land greatly changed from the impoverished country she fled two decades before. This first novel is a tender and exquisitely told story from a powerful new writer.Book Synopsis
Forty-two-year-old Shelley Marino's desperate yearning for a child has led her to one of the only doors still open to her: foreign adoption. It is a decision that strains and ultimately shatters her relationship with her husband, Martin--the veteran of an Asian war who cannot reconcile what Shelley wants with what he knows about the world. But it unites her with Mai, who emigrated from Vietnam decades ago and has now acquired the accoutrements of the American dream in an effort to dull the memory of the tragedy that drove her from her homeland. As a powerful friendship is forged, two women embark on a life-altering journey to the world Mai left behind--to confront the stark realities of a painful past and embrace the promise of the future.
Review Quotes
"Poignant...A well-told story, with appealing characters, delightful moments and a satisfyingly real ending." -- Charlotte Observer
"Precise and vivid. -- Columbus Dispatch
" IF YOU LIVED HERE is filled with dramatic moments. Author Dana Sachs deserves to be listened to." -- Things Asian