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Book Review: Joyous Mother

September 1st, 2009 at 07:37am Albert McIlhenny

Children of Dreams – Lorilyn Roberts Virtualbookworm.com Publishing (April 2009) Topic: Biography Summary: A woman’s struggle to build a family Rating:

I will begin by stating emphatically that I am absolutely biased when it comes to adoption stories. Since my wife and I adopted a beautiful little girl from China eight years ago, I have not been able to get through any book recalling others’ adoption stories without getting a bit nostalgic and misty eyed. That said, Lorilynn Roberts’ Children of Dreams is still an exceptional tale – part adoption story, part confession – as she weighs her own longing to be a mother against the pressure of obstacles put before her and feelings of inadequacy parents often face.

The author gets right to the point at the beginning. Her husband left her for another woman and her dreams of motherhood went with them. But somehow she did not let these dreams die in that crisis and began the adoption process. She takes us through her travel to Nepal as she went to adopt her first child and of her second in Vietnam. The culture shock is quite telling for those used to life in the West – and the mechanics of getting through the various governmental functionaries is itself part art and part luck. There is also the oddity of being the stranger – everyone immediately knows “you’re not from here”. I had to giggle as she described how her blonde hair became the center of some attention. This brought back some memories of amusing moments from my own experience as my height (6’5’’) got some notice in Asia as well.

Best of all, Roberts does an excellent job of portraying her travels to Nepal and Vietnam. She manages to draw the reader in through little details of her encounters. While such items might not individually seem like much, when brought together, they add vividness to her descriptions that might otherwise be missed. There are points where you actually feel like you are experiencing the adoption with her.

Throughout the process of both adoptions, there are times where she simply had to let go and trust things in God’s hands. This was particularly the case with the latter one as there were more difficult issues and perhaps fears that her dreams might be thwarted. With each hurdle she has to dig deeper within herself and somehow finds that God is always there to help her along.

As much as a tale of adoption, Children of Dreams is a tale of hope and faith and finally fulfillment. From the heartbreak of her marriage’s ending to the creation of a new family, she tells how her faith in Christ brought her along at each trial until she had that for which she had dreamed the most. In the end, the Psalm was for her fulfilled: “He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!”

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