Kat with a K

Review: Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other

Baby, We Were Meant for Each Other by Scott Simon
Genre: Memoir, adoption
Year: 2010
Rating: 8.3

Scott Simon's new book about adoption falls somewhere between "memoir" and "book-length NPR story," and I mean that in the best way possible. He weaves together his own story (Simon and his wife adopted their two daughters from China) and personal stories of other families who have adopted with more journalistic information about adoption in the U.S. and around the world. Honestly, I was a little wary when I saw that Simon was going to tell the stories of his friends - those sorts of anecdotes can get tedious - but then I realized that he's Scott Simon, so his friends are people like Frank Deford. In his own story, Simon manages to hit just the right balance - it's personal enough to be interesting, but doesn't feel exploitative or like he's invading his daughters' privacy. My overwhelming reaction to this book was less anything new about adoption, although Simon certainly did well with that subject, and more that I wanted to be friends with Simon and his wife and daughters because they seem like such interesting people. I guess I'll have to settle for that private message I got from him on Twitter that one time. (A highlight of my tweeting experience? Yes, of course.)