Part 3 of a 3-part series

In the previous two posts I discussed themes that bother me in adoption-related fiction and I began reviewing best-selling author Karen Kingsbury’s latest novel, Like Dandelion Dust. told me that the plot was inspired by a news report she read that caused her to wonder “what if…”

…What if a couple adopted a child and led a wonderful life for four or five years?
…What if it comes to light that someone has forged the birth father’s signature on the relinquishment documents and now, he’s back in the picture and wants custody of the child?

“Most judges would give custody to him,” said Karen. “They wouldn’t think twice about taking that child away from the adoptive parents.”

…What if the adoptive parents consider running with the child?
…Will law-abiding citizens dare to break the law; dare to face the consequences should they get caught?
…How will this experience effect their marriage?

The most troubling aspect of this book for me is one that most readers probably overlook because Karen Kingsbury touches on it only momentarily. But to me, it’s a critical factor that uncovers the very heart of the book’s conflict: Joey has no idea that he was adopted. He’s almost five years old, and he has no clue that he has a birth family out there somewhere.

If I hadn’t interviewed Karen in person and known that she talks about adoption all the time with her three sons who were adopted, I might have assumed she has no problem with parents not telling their children they were adopted.

While Karen merely mentions in passing that Joey’s parents have never told him he was adopted, I see ramifications of their decision throughout the book.

First and foremost, it’s just plain unfair to the child to keep that fact a secret. As I read, heart went out to little Joey. During the transition from his adoptive parents to his birth parents, the judge requires him to take three trips to Ohio, where he spends the weekend living with and getting to know his birth parents.

Only he doesn’t know they’re his birth parents! Because he’s spent the first almost-five years of his life assuming that he is his parents’ biological child, the entire concept of adoption makes absolutely no sense to him. His parents (who are completely in denial) continue to cover up that fact, telling him only that he’s going to visit “some people” in Ohio and that he’s instructed to call them “the other mommy” and “the other daddy.”

If Joey had known about his adoption from the get-go, his birth parents wouldn’t have come across as such scary, mysterious people in the little boy’s mind. Instead, he would recognize them as the people who had conceived him and as the mother who had loved him and cared so much about his well-being that she refused to allow him to grow up in an abusive household.

Instead, Joey has to visit unfamiliar people who constantly tell him that they, and not the mommy and daddy he’s always known, are his real parents. Talk about confusing and scary for a little kid!

Molly and Jack Campbell seem to have no problem with hiding their son’s adoption from him. Never once do they agonize, “Oh, I wish we had told him he was adopted from the time he was a baby. I wish we had told him that he has a birth mother who loves him dearly.”

Knowing that he was adopted wouldn’t necessarily change the outcome of the book, but it might have smoothed Joey’s transition back to his birth parents a tad bit.

In general, I think it’s selfish and short-sighted for parents to keep secrets about their child’s adoption from them. It perpetuates the notion that adoption is somehow shameful and that birth families don’t matter. Parents who lie to their children in order to make themselves feel better will discover that their dishonesty comes back to haunt them when their child is older and discovers the truth.

Despite the fact that this novel caused me a great deal of consternation, I stayed up till 3:30 a.m. finishing it. Karen Kingsbury is a masterful storyteller; she weaves plots and subplots in an engaging, suspenseful, highly-readable manner.

As I read, I constantly asked myself:

Will Molly and Jack skip the country with Joey?
Will the feisty judge change his decree and allow them to keep Joey?
Will they decide to lean on God’s strength to get them through this trauma?

Will Rip fulfill his post-prison promise to stop drinking and beating up his wife?
Is he a threat to little Joey?
Why does Wendy stay with such a jerk, anyway?

How will Joey adjust to living with his birth parents? Will the move irrevocably damage him?
Would taking escaping to another country with his (adoptive) parents damage him irrevocably in other ways? Why does the most innocent person in the book have to be the victim?

I won’t unveil the answers to these questions; you’ll have to read the book yourself if you want to find out. Let’s just say, I sense the possibility of a sequel.

To read a complete profile of best-selling author, Karen Kingsbury, and for more about her books, click on the following related links:

Best-Selling Novelist, Karen Kingsbury, Sees Herself as a Mom Who Writes In her ‘Spare Time’


Karen Kingsbury’s Journey to Adopt Three Boys from Haiti


Karen Kingsbury’s Reflections on Life as an Adoptive Mom


Book Review: A Treasury of Adoption Miracles by Karen Kingsbury


Book Review: Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury


Karen Kingsbury’s Website


Related Posts

Adoption and Infertility Authors at the ICRS


Christian Books with Adoption Themes


Reviews of Adoption-Related Fiction:

Together for Good by Melanie Dobson


Cradle of Dreams by Joseph Bentz

Excerpt from Cradle of Dreams

Guarded by Kirsten Lasinski