Somewhere Sisters: A Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family

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Identical twins Isabella and H were born in Vietnam and raised on opposite sides of the world, each knowing little about the others existence, until they were reunited as teenagers, against all odds.

The twins were born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 1998, where their mother struggled to care for them. H was taken in by their biological aunt, and grew up in a rural village, going to school, and playing outside with the neighbours. They had sporadic electricity and frequent monsoons. Hs twin sister, Loan, spent time in an orphanage before a wealthy, white American family adopted her and renamed her Isabella. Isabella grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, with a nonbiological sister, Olivia, also adopted from Vietnam. Isabella and Olivia attended a predominantly white Catholic school, played soccer, and prepared for college.

But when Isabellas adoptive mother learned of Isabellas biological twin back in Vietnam, all of their lives changed forever. Award-winning journalist Erika Hayasaki spent years and hundreds of hours interviewing each of the birth and adoptive family members and tells the girls incredible story from their perspectives, challenging conceptions about adoption and what it means to give a child a good life. Hayasaki contextualises the sisters experiences with the fascinating and often sinister history of twin studies, the nature versus nurture debate, and inter-country and transracial adoption, as well as the latest scholarship and conversation surrounding adoption today, especially among adoptees.

For readers of All You Can Ever Know and American Baby, Somewhere Sisters is a richly textured, moving story of sisterhood and coming-of-age, told through the remarkable lives of young women who have redefined the meaning of family for themselves.

Reviews

Somewhere Sistersis a heartbreaking, many times maddening tale of three adoptees, two of whom are twins separated at birth, who find themselves at the intersection of nature and nurture, fighting against fate and circumstance to carve out their own destinies. Seamlessly weaving historical context with brilliant reportage, Hayasaki delivers an incisive and poignant exploration of the world of transracial adoption and twinship, bearing witness to the profound struggles of those caught between two worlds, trying to define themselves.
Ly Tran, author ofHouse of Sticks

Well-researched and compassionately written,Somewhere Sistersis a journey from separations to reunions, from individual lives to the history of adoption. Urgent and compelling, this book asks important questions about responsibility and ethics and will inspire all of us as we work toward a more responsible and inclusive society.
Nguyn Phan Qu Mai, author of the international bestsellerThe Mountains Sing
"Somewhere Sisters is stirring and unforgettable a breathtaking adoption saga like no other; a provocative exploration into the ideas of family and belonging; and a deeply meaningful meditation on what makes us who we are and what connects us to one another.Robert Kolker, New York Times-bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road and Lost Girls
Somewhere Sistersis a heartbreaking, many times maddening tale of three adoptees, two of whom are twins separated at birth, who find themselves at the intersection of nature and nurture, fighting against fate and circumstance to carve out their own destinies. Seamlessly weaving historical context with brilliant reportage, Hayasaki delivers an incisive and poignant exploration of the world of transracial adoption and twinship, bearing witness to the profound struggles of those caught between two worlds, trying to define themselves.Ly Tran, author of House of Sticks
Expertly reported, this tale of Vietnamese twins separated in infancy and raised in a world apart challenges perceptions of international adoption.People Magazine
Hayasaki contextualizes [the sisters] stories in the larger history of transracial and transnational adoption, as well as nature-nurture science, making for a nuanced portrait.NPR, Best Books of 2022
Hayasaki, a journalist who spent five years tracing the girls diverging paths, writes a sensitive, well-researched account of the years before and after their emotional reunion.The Washington Post
Journalist Erika Hayasaki chronicles the unbelievable timeline of twin sisters Isabella and Ha heart-wrenching tale told with compassion.Buzzfeed
A talented journalist, Hayasaki has meticulously reported this story, touching on complex topics such as the ethics of adoption, Asian American identity, how siblings reunite, and more.Shondaland
Erika Hayasaki lays out what happened to both twins, and what their story can teach us about family, nature and nurture, and adoption.Bustle
Hayasaki explores the many dimensions oftransracialand transnational adoption in this moving account of families torn apart.
The Cut
"Deeply researched, artfully woven, and lyrically written, Somewhere Sisters explores the harsh reality behind international transracial adoption. Hayasaki is a master storyteller, and her compassion for her subjects is evident on every page. Her meticulous exploration into the dark legacy of nature-nurture studies, American saviorism, and the science of attachment is a powerful addition to our understanding of the lifelong impact of adoption."Gabrielle Glaser, author of the New York Times notable book American Baby

Well-researched and compassionately written,Somewhere Sistersis a journey from separations to reunions, from individual lives to the history of adoption. Urgent and compelling, this book asks important questions about responsibility and ethics and will inspire all of us as we work toward a more responsible and inclusive society.Nguyen Phan Que Mai, author of the international bestseller The Mountains Sing
"Erika Hayasaki has produced an elegant exploration of race and nationality. This intimate, meticulously reported portrait of an impoverished Vietnamese mother and her twin daughters, who were separated by adoption, is a not only a compelling story, but one that touches on profound questions of human identity.Barbara Demick, author of Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town and Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Hayasaki reveals the racial and class prejudices at the root of such adoptions without losing sight of the complexities of human emotions and family ties. This is a clear-eyed and well-grounded take on a thorny social issue.Publishers Weekly
Hayasaki weaves their reflections about belonging, heritage, and identitygleaned from hundreds of hours of interviews with the girls and their birth and adoptive familieswith a broad consideration of adoption and twin studies that aim to shed light on the extent to which genes and environment shape human behavior, personality, and development. An engaging portrait of intersected lives.Kirkus Reviews
Fascinating and moving on its own, the sisters' complex story of growing up, both together and apart, is complemented by Hayasaki's illumination of the personal, psychological, and sociocultural realities of adoption.Booklist
This book raises so many critical questions about the responsibility of wealthier countries and their attitude toward adoption in countries that they often left after years of colonization and war A very emotional and human account of finding out what the meaning of family is.San Diego Union Tribune

SOMEWHERE SISTERSshould be required reading for anyone considering intercountry and/or transracial adoption. Even-handed and balanced, Hayasakis book is a vivid, searing portrait of the complex realities behind the simple saviorism that is so often the impetus for foreign adoptions.

Washington Independent Review of Books
SOMEWHERE SISTERSshould be required reading for anyone considering intercountry and/or transracial adoption. Even-handed and balanced, Hayasakis book is a vivid, searing portrait of the complex realities behind the simple saviorism that is so often the impetus for foreign adoptions.Washington Independent Review of Books, "Our 51 Favorite Books of 2022"
This incredible true story is as fascinating as any novel... Journalist Erika Hayasaki interviewed family members extensively in order to write this nuanced tale of transracial adoption, nurture-versus-nature, and sisterhood.
BookBub

Author Bio

Erika Hayasaki is a journalist based in Southern California, the author ofThe Death Class, and a professor in the Literary Journalism Department at the University of California, Irvine. Her writing has appeared in theNew York Times Magazine, theNew Yorker, theAtlantic, and others. She has been a 2021-22 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellow and a 2018 Alicia Patterson Fellow and received awards from the Association of Sunday Feature Editors, the Society for Features Journalism, and the American Society of Newspaper Editors. She is the mother of a daughter and twin boys.