Lucky Girl

I loved reading this story. It's a beautiful portrait of the most unusual family circumstances told in a straightforward style that includes humor, actual letters and e-mails, just enough history to give context and a raw eye toward detail that leaves you wanting more. Maybe it's my pregnancy hormones or the fact that so much of Mei-Ling's story was familiar to me, but I was in tears by the time I reached the Epilogue! The story is told in first-person by Mei-Ling, an award-winning journalist who was born to a large family in Taiwan, adopted by a Michigan couple and then reunited with her birth family many years later. As a fellow Washington, D.C., reporter who grew up in Hawaii and has a sister adopted from Korea (where Mei-Ling's brothers are adopted from), I found many things in this book that I could relate to. More than anything, though, I loved discovering Mei-Ling's family, from the good to the bad, along with her. The way she opens her life up with personal introspection and tough questions to her birth parents both surprised and enthralled me. It's an amazing story that is told with grace, wit and passion. I recommend this book without hesitation. It will open your eyes about adoption and might even push you to examine your own self identity.

It was interesting to see how she viewed her childhood growing up in Michigan but also what happened after her birth family came looking for her almost 23 years later! The journey that follows this discovery leads her to not only feel fortunate to have an interesting, complex life with two families from completely different countries but also to appreciate how lucky we are to be girls. Being a girl comes with much responsibility and I am proud to say this book will make you feel all the emotions that we all have as girls, young ladies and women.

I devoured this book. It is the kind you can read in one sitting but shouldn't because you don't want to be done with it so soon. Mei-Ling Hopgood does an excellent job reconstructing and telling the stories of both of her families. There is tremendous character development as she answers some mysteries, uncovers new ones and eventually finds the answers to those, too. This book is in a class with The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food and China Dolls: A Novel. Hopgood's book rides from a breathless rush into discovery to heartbreak to the sweetness of sisterhood. This is a good choice for anyone whose life is intertwined with adoption or multicultural familes -- or anyone who wants to learn about these subjects.

I was fortunate enough to come across Lucky Girl by chance and what a happy discovery it was! Hopgood's writing style flows beautifully and avoids the trap of sap even though the subject is worthy of it. Her ability to reel us into her personal story is done effortlessly but with great impact. I found myself totally engaged in her life. Following her through her post college years as a successful journalist, joining her on her wedding day bliss, really feeling the love and warmth that she shared with her adoptive parents, crying when her father passed away unexpectedly, and then joining her on her journey to meet her birth parents. All this storytelling is done with humor, investigative wit, sincerity and self examination. It really is an epic tale that weaves together so many lives, emotions and discoveries. Well done!

Mei-Ling Hopgood's memoir "Lucky Girl" is a riveting read examining the author's complex family tree, from her biological Chinese parents who gave her up for adoption to her middle-class Michigan parents who loved her unconditionally. Hopgood also looks within as she grapples with the conflicting emotions of a child given up by her parents. With a reporter's eye, Hopgood probes her past and uncovers family skeletons that shape who she is today: A much-loved, creative, successful woman who knows that she is indeed a lucky girl.