Review of Twice the Family

[Megan Gilligan]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Twice the Family" by Julie Ryan McGue.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Sisterhood by Julie Ryan McGue is full of immense emotion and heart. Julie starts the memoir by setting up the scene of her and her identical sister, Jenny’s, birth. Born in 1959 to a single mother, they were relinquished to a Catholic Charity in Illinois. From the beginning, Julie writes many questions pertaining to her early days, although she is unable to find answers. The twins are adopted pretty early by an Irish Catholic couple who struggled with miscarriages but dreamed of a large family.

The memoir then continues to document their childhood through school, their family growing with new children, and their transition into college. Throughout the memoir, Julie gives her honest insight and feelings. She also accurately documents the transition into adulthood, with both her and her sister finding love, building careers, and building their own families.

The memoir did not have any typos and was edited nicely. Though it had many mentions of the Catholic faith, I truly feel that all people would enjoy this book. It is a great read for anyone interested in adoption, especially since it is a firsthand account. I would say you need to have an interest in the human experience, especially growing up, to enjoy this memoir.

With that said, I would say I would have to give this memoir a 4 out of 5 stars. Parts of the memoir seemed repetitive, adding to the length of the memoir. There were parts that seemed to just drag on, not adding anything to the story, but instead just seemed to want to add length to the story. I was also left wondering about the other siblings in the family. The story did, of course, follow the twins, but I was left wondering about their connections to their older siblings, especially as adults. It just seemed like a missed opportunity to make a complete story.

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Twice the Family
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