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Summary: A Remarkable Exploration into the World of Adoption in China
Review: Once in a great while I have the good fortune to discover a book whose home on my bed table is more or less permanent. Such a work is "The Lost Daughters of China" by Karin Evans, journalist, mother of two, and explorer of the landscape of China adoptions. The pages are dog-eared; notes line the margins. I pick it up again and again, finding something new each time.At first I found the title alarming, too blatant and raw for what I perceived to be Sensitive Topic #1 at our house, but the narrative compelled me each time. Evans chronicles the journey she and husband Mark took toward their daughter Kelly Xiao Yu and, in the telling, illuminates many of the unlit passages we all know too well of such an adoption tale. With meticulous and extensive detail, Evans goes both wide and deep in her exploration of how the miracle of her family came to be. She leaves no stone unturned as she examines the forces of poverty, history, famine, population control, misogyny and the history of infanticide that have brought this special child into her arms. Along the way, there are interviews with China adoption scholars, social scientists and writers, bits of modern poetry by Chinese women, quotes from the Buddha and Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes. She talks of those who are left behind, the work going on to improve life in China's orphanages, the sorority of "cousins" that is growing through FCC and the network of families whose lives will be intertwined through their daughters' lives forever. As Evans states, "I have never anywhere met a more grateful or happier group of parents." The rich tapestry that is our daughters' cultural heritage is interwoven with the harsh realities of their beginnings, giving fertile soil in which to grow their stories and mandating us to stick together through it all. Evans' narrative is all of ours, and yet it is hers exclusively. Caught in a bureaucratic snafu of simple bad timing, she is forced to spend nearly two years awaiting a referral. Finally it comes, but her joy is made bittersweet by the untimely death of the beloved father who adopted her years earlier. Still overwhelmed by grief, Evans and her husband leave for China a scant week later, knowing that their new daughter will bear his name. She fantasizes the story of her daughter's birthmother--her desperation, her poverty, her utter lack of control--imagining the courage and love it took to deliver this child into unknown, but hopefully better circumstances. With compassion, sensitivity and intellect, the author peers into the unknowable corners of Chinese adoption, shedding light where she can, probing the possibilities, or sometimes simply embracing the darkness, holding the questions and turning them over, again and again. This exercise seemed almost futile to me at first, then a shock of recognition flooded over me and it was familiar. For this is how I explore, in ever-changing ways, how to talk about her past with my own growing daughter as her understanding and her mind continue to expand. As Evans quotes the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, "The point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer." As I felt pulled between opposing poles of identifying with Evans' tale and feeling oddly taken aback by it, I was struck by the fact that this exact dynamic is, for me, the beauty of this book. It is the experience of diversity itself, that no matter how much we love and identify with our daughters, we must also realize, every day, how different they and their lives truly are from our own. So I made friends with the title, letting its truth sink in: that my daughter's past before the orphanage is truly lost to her, and she in turn is truly lost to the birthmother who gave her life and love before I could. She once was lost, before she was found, and a piece of her may be grappling with this fact forever. In embracing this harsh truth, I embrace the diversity that is our family, and whenever I lose track, "The Lost Daughters of China" is right there to remind me.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read
Review: The book "China's Lost Daughters" is part memoir part history lesson into the dynamics of American families adopting Chinese girls. Evans weaves her own adoption journey with the eco-socio-political environs of China. Her research is thorough, though I found first-hand snapshots of the society from the local Chinese lacking. Though she covered most aspects of the East-West adoption, there was no firsthand experiences from the mothers who gave up their daughters. Evans uses secondhand knowledge, from the workers at the orphanages and the Chinese adoption officials, and her imagination. The other aspect of the East-West adoption that is not addressed is the effect on the adopted girls who are only grade school age. The limitations of the book are due to its purpose as a public memoir for her daughter.
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Summary: Perfect for adoptive extended family
Review: This book changed my life and expanded my world. Not just a great piece of literature, I believe this book will help to heal a world of children who will soon be wondering, "Why?" Lyrical, poetic, and filled with heart, heartbreak and hope, this is one of the best books I have ever read. I also highly recommend "Wild Swans" to everyone.
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Summary: Heartbreakingly Beautiful
Review: This book changed my life and expanded my world. Not just a great piece of literature, I believe this book will help to heal a world of children who will soon be wondering, "Why?" Lyrical, poetic, and filled with heart, heartbreak and hope, this is one of the best books I have ever read. I also highly recommend "Wild Swans" to everyone.
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Summary: READ THIS BOOK!
Review: This book is absolutely amazing. Not only does Karin Evans describe her own experiences with adoption (her description alone will melt your heart) but she goes into each aspect of the Chinese policies, history, reasoning for 'abandonment', etc. You really feel like you understand what's happening and how the parents of the lost daughters must feel (or what must go through their minds). Her choice of quotes and resources makes all the difference and shows the wide spectrum of her research. I guarantee you won't be able to put it down.
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Summary: beautifully written
Review: This book is so eloquently written I had a hard time putting it down. The author does an extraordinary job of explaining the political and historical reasons that infant girls are given up to orphanages in China, and does so in a way that leaves the reader empathetic and understanding, rather than judging and condemning. The facts of this book are interspersed with the author's own emotional experience of adopting her daughter from China. Her thoughts and recollections are extrememly moving, and help to answer questions that linger in an adoptive parent's heart. I consider this book a very important part of my preparations to adopt a baby girl from China -- I have also sent copies to friends who are adopting their daughters from the country. An excellent book all around!
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Summary: A Must Read!
Review: This book puts a realistic twist on the area of Adopting from China, she seems to see the whole process from ALL sides, the adoptive parents, the officials, from the INS, the United States Government and the Peoples Republic of China, she also gives us a rare look at what these babies birth mothers go though and the risks they take to assure their daughters are found and provided for. I highly recommend this book, it's by far the best of this genre out there.
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Summary: Considering a Chinese Adoption? - Read This First!
Review: This informational book is recommended to anyone considering the adoption of a Chinese girl. The morals, ethics and emotions involved in such adoptions are illustrated by the author as she relates her experience with the process. Karin Evans addresses the questions that all adoptive parents have, and then brings to the fore many considerations that are unique to the adoption of abandoned girls from China. A good resource for those beginning to think about adopting in China. Recommended reading for adoptive parents of Chinese girls who are are preparing for their daughter's questions about their native land and the reasons behind their abandonment.
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Summary: The best book I have read in years!!
Review: This is a very inspiring book. This book is a great insight on the "adoption" trip and all the paperwork we went through to make our family. I have made sure I have kept a copy for my 2 daughters so that they can read it when they are able to understand the "adoption journey". I would recommended to anyone who has adopted, who is going to adopt, or has any curiosity about adoption.
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Summary: Well written and insightful
Review: This is a well-written, thoughtful and evocative book. It is well worth reading by China adoptive parents as well as a broad audience of those interested in adoption or international or demographic issues. Contrary to the review of my fellow Washingtonian below, it does not purport to be the "final word" on the subject, and in fact looks forward to the writings of the adoptive daughters themselves as they grow up. But I think that reviewer's question is well put, she is perhaps not the only one with a negative reaction to the book but is certainly one of only a very few. Sounds more like sour grapes to me. For other good books on international adoption, of interest to a broad range of readers, I would recommend Adopting Alyosha, by R. Klose, The Russian Word for Snow, by Janis Cooke Newman, and Wuhu Diary, by Emily Prager.
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