Hard to Place is a memoir about a family. Loss is the catalyst that sets all the action of the book in motion—but this is not a book about loss. It is a narrative that weaves together the lives of seven people—five original members of a family and the two "hard to place" adopted children who eventually become part of it. It braids together themes of risk, crisis, conflict, spirituality, transcendence and the many manifestations of love. As the adopted boys move into adulthood, the whole family joins in their quest to uncover and confront painful secrets about the past. After an almost miraculous convergence of events, exciting as a mystery story, the family is almost torn apart by what is discovered.
Weaving these strands together is the mother and narrator,whose personal odyssey of faith and doubt climaxes in conflicted emotions.The title Hard to Place reverberates within the many layers of this story about ordinary people, human experience, and the triumph of will over circumstance.
Z. Alexander on Amazon wrote:I don’t think I have ever read a book that moved me like this one has!! It was a well written by the love of an adopted mother. Being an adopted child myself I count myself so fortunate. This story brought me to tears with sorrow and joy. Thank you Catherine for telling me about it.
I couldn't recommend this book more! While the adoption of the author's two youngest children is the catalyst for this book (and is an unbelievably compelling story in its own right), the real message is one of an extremely close-knit family supporting and loving one another through the trials and tribulations of life. Many families would have crumbled under just one of the challenges this family faced, but instead the Goldsteins triumphed and became even closer as they overcame each crisis - thanks largely to the strength of the author and family matriarch. Extremely well written, it makes you feel as if you are a part of the clan. Don't start it unless you have time to finish the whole book - I read it cover to cover in one sitting!