MOTHER MOTHER

A novel focuses on the travails of a couple trying to adopt a child from Guatemala.

Julie Cowan, an assistant curator at a San Francisco museum, and her husband, Mark, a pathologist, desperately want children. After several miscarriages, the couple decide to adopt a baby from war-torn Guatemala. The first chance falls through, but then comes Juan Rolando Garcia Flores. The adoption process, particularly the legalities, is Byzantine and capricious. For four long years, the couple wait, flying to Guatemala every year to visit Juan. The bureaucracy almost pulls him back at the last minute, but finally he is home with them in California. Juan—who later renames himself Jack—is a wonderful kid, although the trauma he has suffered often manifests in rages. Other problems ensue. Mark leaves Julie when his lover becomes pregnant; he is entranced with the idea of becoming a “real” father. The narrative toggles between the Cowans in California and Jack’s birth mother, Rosalba, in Guatemala, and the differences are beyond wrenching. But the conclusion is almost miraculous and quietly joyful. While this story is fictional, it was inspired by O’Dwyer’s own experiences. The author’s prose is artful throughout this engrossing novel. At one point, a sad drunkard is in a doorway in Rosalba’s village: “The smell of corn alcohol and old clothes came in like a second person.” Readers will learn much about the struggles of adoptive parents: the wonderful support groups, the excitement, the clueless and insensitive comments from others (including Julie’s own sister), the moments of doubt, the desperate search to find an adoptee’s birth mother. A character in Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood says: “Isn’t life a terrible thing, thank God.” That sums up the trials and triumphs of the brave souls who navigate the challenging adoption process. This moving story will touch all parents, adoptive or not.

An absorbing, uplifting, and informative family tale.