by Nia Vardalos
First published 2013
Nia Vardalos receives news of her Oscar nomination for My Big Fat Greek Wedding while facing another reality: years of failed attempts at motherhood. She drinks green mud tea, tries acupuncture, and works with two different surrogates. Nothing works. She and her husband Ian Gomez turn to adoption through Foster Family Agencies. Social workers eventually match them with a nearly three-year-old girl. Vardalos knows immediately this child is meant to be her daughter. The real challenge begins when they bring their new preschooler home. Vardalos chronicles the messy transition with brutal honesty about the tears and unexpected laughter. She explores what it actually means to become a parent through adoption, moving beyond the matching moment to the daily work of building a family.
Genres: family-life, autobiography, biography-memoir, adoption
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
288 pages · Hardcover · HarperOne
Content warnings: infertility