Overview

When Michael Mewshaw receives a call from a stranger who says she has reason to believe he is her biological father, Mewshaw realizes he has been half dreading, half hoping for this to happen for over thirty years. Just like the young woman who wants to find the last piece to the puzzle of her life, he thinks it's possible that in the same process he will discover the answer to questions that have plagued him for decades. But first he has to make sure that she is who she claims to be. In this fascinating memoir, Mewhsaw confronts his own past, the chaos of his family, and complicated memories of the woman he once loved who went on to success as an ambassador, Under Secretary of State and a member of one of America's most influential families. His unusual role in the baby's birth, her adoption and, now, her search for her biological parents sets the stage for a revealing personal odyssey that offers a quest for identity and a journey of discovery, an obsession with recapturing the past and righting old wrongs, the constant potential for disappointment balanced against the possibility of redemption. As he finds his old flame and her old lover, rediscovering who he was and who he has become, he finds his life enriched in the process.

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9781932961201

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Reviews

"""[A] real bond grew between the adopted child and the man who was not her father but who became her friend. Mewshaw helped Amy patiently and compassionately in spite of his hurts and shortcomings, just as he once helped her mother. There is courage in this exercise, and there is hope. Supported by loving families in the present, these two people went looking for an uncomfortable piece of the past together. Now that they have found it, maybe they both can leave it behind.""--The Washington Post ""If You Could See Me Now is a work of art and stands shoulder to shoulder with the best memoirs of our age. Mewshaw's career is a pure wonder and If You Could See Me Now is his crowning achievement.--PAT CONROY ""Mewshaw's considerable skill as writer lends heart and spirit to his bittersweet chronicle....Mewshaw shares his memories poignantly and honestly... The results are powerful, indeed.""--Midwest Book Review ""[P]oignant...What makes the narrative distinctive is that the storyteller is not a part of the adoption triad (birthparent, adopting parent, and adoptee), yet it still illustrates the difficulties that adoptees face in researching their biological background and in locating birth parents who had been assured of anonymity...Although true, this story reads like fiction and is hard to put down once started. An excellent addition to all public libraries; highly recommended.""--Library Journal"

[A] real bond grew between the adopted child and the man who was not her father but who became her friend. Mewshaw helped Amy patiently and compassionately in spite of his hurts and shortcomings, just as he once helped her mother. There is courage in this exercise, and there is hope. Supported by loving families in the present, these two people went looking for an uncomfortable piece of the past together. Now that they have found it, maybe they both can leave it behind. --The Washington Post If You Could See Me Now is a work of art and stands shoulder to shoulder with the best memoirs of our age. Mewshaw's career is a pure wonder and If You Could See Me Now is his crowning achievement. --PAT CONROY Mewshaw's considerable skill as writer lends heart and spirit to his bittersweet chronicle....Mewshaw shares his memories poignantly and honestly... The results are powerful, indeed. --Midwest Book Review [P]oignant...What makes the narrative distinctive is that the storyteller is not a part of the adoption triad (birthparent, adopting parent, and adoptee), yet it still illustrates the difficulties that adoptees face in researching their biological background and in locating birth parents who had been assured of anonymity...Although true, this story reads like fiction and is hard to put down once started. An excellent addition to all public libraries; highly recommended. --Library Journal

If You Could See Me Now is <br>a vivid and powerful story of first <br>love, with a twist. Mewshaw's <br>deep personal involvement in the <br>story offers a rare perspective -- a <br>male point of view on pregnancy, <br>the relinquishment of a child, and <br>a woman's search for her biological <br>parents. This true story reads like <br>the best novels -- once you get into <br>it you won't be able to put it down. <br> -- JUDY BLUME

Author Information

Michael Mewshaw is the best-selling author of ten novels (Shelter from the Storm, etc) and six previous books of nonfiction (Life for Death, Ladies of the Court, etc). He has won awards for fiction, travel writing, investigative reporting and sports journalism. Hundreds of his articles and reviews have appeared in the NY Times, the Washington Post, LA Times, Playboy and other newspapers and magazines around the world. His work has been translated into a dozen languages. He and his wife Linda live in Key West in winter and in London in summer.

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