Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy

Travel with Patti Lacy … to China

No instant coffee or tea. Yes instant friends.

Sue and I land in Beijing, where Sue vows to show me the China foreigners never see. Yep, I’m shaking in my comfortable touring shoes!!!

Soon, the people of China (even little girls!) embraced me despite (or perhaps because of) their fascination with my big feet, ugly shoes, “watery” (blue) eyes, “washed out” skin, unacceptable use of the left hand, and “gorilla-like” height. And I will never be the same for that lavishing of love.

On China: Day 1, Sue and I wandered the maze of hutongs and befriended The Turtle Man, who shared his love for his home and his pets.

At first children shrank away from the big bad stranger but soon trumped my attempt at a smile with Chinese wonders of pearly teeth and dimpled cheeks.

This little boy offered a hug…kinda.

Even the dogs warmed up to an invader of the American type.

The glimmer in an eye, the flash of teeth, speaks “Hello” in every language. Praise God for the lack of scowled faces, clenched teeth, tight lips. We were ushered into the neighborhood mah jong parlor, where locals begged to have their pictures taken.

Cooks waved us toward alleyway diners. Isn’t this a GREAT sign? Not sure of the last foreigner who found this place, but certainly East Met West this night!

Amazingly, a couple we’d met earlier in a local park strolled by. A whistle and holler brought Jessica, a Berkley grad and current Beijing schoolteacher, and Brad, a Danish scholar with, according to Sue, perfect Mandarin (the fink), to our table, where we received fab touring tips and insight into the hearts, minds, and souls of China. Yeah, this dinner cost around 24 yuan (less than $4.00), or $1 buck apiece (6.75 yuan=$1). Yeah, Sue and I treated them. Aren’t we generous??!!

On Day 1, the people of China embraced me, a practice that continued.

Did they like me or just pretend to be welcoming? I don’t know.

Did I like them? No. I loved them.

Questions: Would you go to China if your story—and God—called? Are you hesitant to embrace new people, new practices? Would you have been afraid to wander the hutongs of Beijing?

About the Book

A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Dallas hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer...or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?

Watch the book trailer!!
About the Author

Patti Lacy graduated from Baylor University in 1977 with a BS in education. She taught at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, until she retired in 2006 to pursue writing full time. She and her husband, Alan, have two grown children. Visit Patti at http://www.pattilacy.com.

Here is my own person review.

Reclaiming Lily

by Patti Lacy

If you had adopted a child from another country, and then several years later you are contacted by a member of that child’s family, how would you react? Would you be scared that person would be trying to take your child away? Or would your child try to cut all ties with you and your family to get to know their biological family? Would you want your child to get to know their biological family? What if this family member had information about the biological family’s medical history that could impact your child? Would that change how you feel?

This is the situation that Gloria Powell finds herself in. Several years earlier, she and her husband adopted a child, Lily, from China, who they renamed Joy. Lily’s sister Kai Chang has found them and has information about inherited genetic problems that Lily may face. Gloria’s relationship with Joy is also in shambles, meaning Kai’s presence may hurt Gloria’s relationship with Joy even more. Will Gloria be able to let Kai and Joy get to know each other? Will Joy be able to figure out who she is and have answers to why she was given up for adoption?

This is one of my new favorite books. I didn’t want to put it down. I brought it to work with me and read it on my breaks and stayed up as late as I dare reading it until I finished it. It is a fresh look at some of the challenges of adoption and raising kids who have ties to both the country of their birth and where they were raised. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in China, adoption, or just enjoys a good read!


I received this book free from Tywebbin tours for the purpose of this review.