An Unexpected Adoption: The Girl Behind the Face - Tina, Rog, & Mui Thomas - A Short Summary and Review

 An Unexpected Adoption: The Girl Behind the Face - Tina, Rog, & Mui Thomas - A Short Summary and Review

By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures

A Rite of Fancy Book Recommendation and Review

Tina and Rob meet Mui and decide she is worth more than Australia.

A Short Summary:

An Unexpected Adoption: The Girl Behind the Face by Tina and Rog Thomas tells the true story of Tina and Rog, who discover Mui, a little girl with Harlequin Ichthyosis, in an orphanage in Hong Kong. What begins as a meeting becomes a life-changing decision as the couple chooses to adopt Mui and build their family around her needs, dignity, and worth.

Their decision requires sacrifice. Tina and Rog had dreamed of relocating to Australia, but Mui's circumstances changed the direction of their lives. Instead of walking away, they chose love, commitment, and the difficult road of caring for a child with a devastating and highly visible medical condition. The book follows their journey as a family and shows the strength required not only of Mui but also of those who loved and fought for her.

My Favorite Quote from the Book:

"Yet, while a smile communicates, it does not mean it is understood."

- Tina Thomas

Questions to ponder while reading:

What is a parent?

What does it mean to love?

My Review:

My review of An Unexpected Adoption is simple: this story goes right to your heart. It is an incredible journey of adoption, sacrifice, courage, and family love. Mui's condition is horrible, and the book does not make light of the difficulty involved. But what comes through most strongly is not the illness itself; it is Mui's humanity, her strength, and the love of the people who refused to see her as disposable.

This is the kind of story that reminds you that love is not always tidy or convenient. Sometimes love interrupts the life you thought you were going to have. Sometimes love asks for more than you expected to give. And sometimes, that interruption becomes the truest and most important part of the story.

An Unexpected Adoption is a moving indie memoir and a worthwhile read for anyone interested in adoption stories, medical memoirs, family stories, disability, resilience, and the power of choosing another person when it would have been easier not to.

If you liked An Unexpected Adoption: The Girl Behind the Face, you may also like:

Autobiography of a Face - Lucy Grealy

Blue Nights - Joan Didion

The Story of My Life - Helen Keller

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About the Author

a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life

She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.

You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.

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