TWICE THE FAMILY

McGue’s memoir examines family dynamics and the sense of belonging.

At three weeks old, the author and her twin sister were adopted by Jeanne and Jack Ryan through Catholic Charities in Chicago. Named Julie and Jennifer, McGue and her sister were the longed-for children their parents wanted—the Ryans had previously endured six miscarriages. The author recounts the growth of the Ryan family, which included her adopted brother Skeeter and other siblings Lizzie, Patrick, Mark Edward, and Susie. McGue emphasizes her parents’ desire for a big, loving, Catholic family and details the happiness and sadness this brought. Most poignant are her accounts of the loss of Mark Edward at birth and Susie’s sudden death at 3 years old. The author writes with frankness and empathy, particularly about the struggles of her mother, who suffered depression in the wake of these losses. McGue has separated the memoir into three parts, titled “Identity,” “Belonging,” and “Becoming.” The first section concerns the author and her sister’s adoption through their younger years, the second examines their identity issues and family bonds as they entered adolescence, and the final part covers McGue’s college years and beyond. Her writing is compelling and well-paced, building a narrative that keeps the reader close to every event she relates. While the bulk of the memoir shines, the prologue, in which the author imagines exiting her biological mother’s womb where she had been cocooned with her sister, feels tonally at odds with the rest of the book. However, this is a brief passage, and its jarring nature does not materially detract from the memoir. Through the lens of her personal history, McGue explores human nature, family, and connection, ultimately concluding that, “What we do with our brokenness, and how we handle other vulnerabilities, faults, traumas, and failures, determines the people we become and the course of our lives.”

A sensitive and open account of adoption.