Perhaps it is just the books coming across my path, but recently I have noticed a wave of books regarding stories of adoption. This summer alone I have read a novel and two memoirs covering this subject. Jennifer Grant's Love You More: The Divine Surprise of Adopting my Daughter was the third book, the second memoir, and the one I am reviewing here.

Grant's book details the process of adopting her daughter from Guatemala: how the idea was originally raised, the steps in the process itself, the final homecoming, and what life has been like since then. What distinguishes Grant's book from the other two I've recently read is that she explains far more of her thoughts and feelings about the process. Instead of just saying, "I was nervous" she let's her reader know exactly what was going through her head, and the specific themes of her heart. She doesn't have the same number of hilarious stories as the other memoir, nor does she have the drama of the novel. What Grant has is her heart, and she lays it bare. She is more vulnerable, more open, and more honest than either of the other two books. And that is what makes her book worth reading.

On a personal level, I appreciated Grant's book because once I began reading it I realized that we live in the same town and several of the local landmarks she mentions are familiar to me. A close friend of hers, who with his wife has also adopted and who therefore plays prominently in the story, was a professor of mine in college. I had never heard their story and how they came to be the parents of two little girls from China. Having that personal connection to someone in the book made it even more enjoyable.

Full disclosure: I received this book for free in exchange for a review.