Fair Disclosure: I know Pippa and Andry. In fact, it is because of Pippa and Ron's adoption of Andry's sister Olya that I adopted my own two Ukrainian siblings, Nastia and Sasha. But I truly had no idea until reading this book, of the tragedy of Andry's life before his adoption. Nor of the depth of his intellect or the keenness of his observational skills. That he, after the neglect and hunger and deprivation he suffered as a child, has grown into a well-adjusted man with the ability to love and be loved is a testament to the human spirit writ large.

This book is essentially a collection of short stories, one per chapter, told largely in parallel by Andry and his mother Pippa. We learn about Andry's birth family: the lazy, abusive petty criminal that was his father; the docile, seemingly helpless mother and grandmother; the brother and sister who one by one were adopted and moved to other countries. And all of this in Andry's own, often dispassionate words, as if describing a movie he once saw.

We follow his adventures in his native village as he learns to steal, not just to feed himself, but to collect things that boys everywhere covet, and which his family will never be able to provide. There is no remorse in his tales, just a matter of fact tone that mirrors the hopelessness of poverty.

At the same time, we feel the unconditional love that Pippa gave him, her determination to reunite him with his siblings and the difficulties of her own journey helping him adjust to a "normal" life with a nuclear American family. Pippa's innate maternal wisdom helps her to break down the protective wall with which Andry surrounded himself, stone by stone, lesson by lesson. We feel her pain and frustration, and occasionally her anger. And thankfully, we learn that the two of them succeeded in bonding and putting the past into deep and meaningful perspective.

This book is especially meaningful to me because of the experiences my own daughter brought with her from similar circumstances. She was 9 when we adopted her, and had sadly had to experience neglect, hunger, abandonment and abuse herself before my ex-wife and I swooped into her life and brought her to America with her much younger brother. She was not as angry or as self-protective as Andry, but like him, she was able to remember, to overcome and to thrive. I know this is not true for all adoptive children. But I can say that anyone with a big enough heart to consider making room in their life for a child not born to them will find challenge AND inspiration in reading Andry's and Pippa's story.