Book Review: Two Peas In A Separated Pod: A True Story of Adoption

Two Peas In A Separated Pod: A True Story of Adoption, by Jeannie Lachman and Carole Sanguedolce, Outskirts Press: Denver, Colorado, ISBN: 978-1-4787-5656-9, 175 pages, $14.95.

     This book is a heartwarming true story of the lives of two grown women, Jeannie and Carole, as they struggle to find each other as women, after being separated as children. Jeannie knows that she is adopted, feels love from her adopted family, but also feels a missing emptiness inside her--a longing of sorts. Carole was raised as an only child in a rural Ontario town called Cobalt by her biological mother, never knowing that she had a sister who had been given up for adoption six years prior to her birth. Both women do come together, sharing stories of their childhood, working through resentment, lost memories, lost emotions, lost time.

     The resilience of the human spirit is seen on every page of this book. Stories are shared. Tears are cried...tears of happiness and sadness. As with the progression of life, death happens, life happens, babies are born, and time ticks away.

     The only question not answered, however, is who Jeannie’s biological father is. Jeannie’s mother will not share the name of the father, even as she lies dying. By accident, Carole finds out the name of Jeannie’s biological dad and through a series of adventures, they come to discover brothers and finally come face-to-face with the biological father.

     The book is an emotional roller coaster, with the reader being right there alongside the sisters as they journey through this adventure, experiencing the highs and the lows, the expectations and the disappointments.  As I read the book, I found myself wondering the exact same questions as both these women and vicariously experiencing their anticipation and excitement as the stories of their lives unfolded. 

     I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has been adopted and for parents who are considering adoption. The book gives an insightful look into the lives of people as they search for belongingness in the world and the beauty that can be experienced once that belongingness is found. The book is easy to read, short, concise, and very well written, with 175 pages chronicling the lives of two women.

Reviewed by Marian L. Swindell, Ph.D., MSW, Mississippi State University-Meridian.