Julie and Jenny, two twin sisters.
A story about family relationships, about the challenges that can arise within a family, whether it is biological or adoptive—love is the key.
Sometimes, our desires may differ from those of our family. Our dreams are not always the same as our parents' dreams.
However, we must always find common ground.
Julie tries to discover what "family" truly means.
Every family needs love, support, and respect to overcome difficulties.
This book is a life lesson that I recommend to everyone—it will help you better understand the meaning of family.

Julie Ryan McGue's Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood is a deeply moving exploration of identity, family, and resilience. As an adoptee and identical twin, Julie’s journey is both personal and universal, touching on themes that resonate with anyone seeking to understand their place in the world. This memoir not only honors the resilience of the human spirit but also celebrates the courage it takes to carve out one’s own path. It’s a heartfelt and inspiring read for anyone who values stories of love, loss, and the enduring power of family.

McGue’s writing shines with emotional depth, capturing the highs and lows of familial relationships with raw honesty. Her insights into adoption and the quest for belonging are profoundly impactful, offering readers a glimpse into the complexities of navigating identity within a loving but imperfect family.

I highly recommend it to readers of memoirs and those interested in the dynamics of adoption and sibling bonds. Have a good read!!!

Twice the Family by new to me author J.R.McGue is a story that will stay with the reader.
I read the blurb and was intrigued. A fantastic story about love, loss, healing and second chances.
Blurb: What is it like to grow up as an adoptee and be raised with your identical twin?
In this coming-of-age memoir, set in Chicago’s western suburbs during the 1960s to 1980s, adopted twin sisters Julie and Jenny become the oldest daughters in a big family made up of a mixture of adopted and biological children. The twins’ sisterly bond is tight as the two strive for individuality, identity, and belonging. But Julie’s parents’ continual addition of adopted and biological children to the family leads to a number of painful experiences: they encounter infertility, infant mortality, a child with special needs, and then, when Julie is sixteen, a sudden family tragedy.
Faced with these challenges, Julie questions everything--who she is, how she fits in, the circumstances of her adoption, where she belongs, her faith and idea of family. As their family values, parental relationships, and sibling bonds are tested, Julie realizes her adoptive family is held together by love, faith, support, and her parents’ commitment to each other and family. But the life her parents have constructed is not one that Julie wants for herself--and as she grows older, she realizes how her parents’ goals and dreams differ from her own, and how the experiences that have formed her have provided a road map for the person and mother she wants to be.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Julie has always known she was adopted. When she became an adult, she wanted to make real changes in her life that would benefit her. A nice read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I read Twice a Daughter and loved it so I was excited to read about Julie and Jen's childhood and early adulthood. Twins obviously have a unique bond but also being adopted makes them even more unique. This story is told with such honesty. Parts were absolutely heartbreaking but other parts were inspiring.

Mediocre book about two adopted twins trying to find their birth families. I lost interest when the author was crushed and insulted when family members didn’t want to have anything to do with them, which strikes me as a completely expected reaction. My niece and nephew are adopted, brother and sister from the same mother but different fathers, and their parents have never wanted anything to do with their birth mother. My niece found her, as it was an open adoption, and met her mother but the relationship didn’t last, and my nephew had no interest in tracking down his birth parents. I appreciate the lengthy quest the author pursued, but I am puzzled that she claims to have had serious health issues, all of which were ultimately determined to be benign.

I think this is a story worth telling, but not worth reading by the general public. It might resonate with people in similar situations.

I love reading about adoption and families. I write about the topic as well. McGue's book was heartfelt, spot-on, and authentic. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.