What is the psychological impact of being adopted? Listen to Julie Ryan McGue's journey navigating life in an adoptive family to gain wisdom and inspiration for your own family. Julie Ryan McGue's Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood (releases Feb 6, 2025, She Writes Press) is a compelling prequel to her award-winning debut, Twice a Daughter. Set in the Chicago suburbs, Twice the Family is a coming-of-age memoir following Julie and her twin sister through challenges of growing up in an ever-expanding adoptive family, uncovering family secrets that ultimately test their unbreakable bond.
Julie Ryan McGue is an American writer, a domestic adoptee, and an identical twin. Her first memoir, “Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging,” released in May 2021, winning multiple awards. Her work has appeared in the Story Circle Network Journal, Brevity Nonfiction Blog, Imprint News, Adoption.com, Lifetime Adoption Adoptive Families Blog, Adoption & Beyond, and Severance Magazine. Her personal essays have appeared in several anthologies, including “Real Women Write: Seeing Through Her Eyes” (Story Circle Network) and “Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis” (She Writes Press). Her collection of essays, “Belonging Matters: Conversations on Adoption, Family, and Kinship” (Muse Literary), released in November 2023. She writes a biweekly blog and monthly column (The Beacher Newspapers), in which she explores the topics of finding out who you are, where you belong, and making sense of it. Julie splits her time between Northwest Indiana and Sarasota, Florida. “Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood” is her third book. Visit her website for more info: juliemcgueauthor.com
Trauma and attachment experts share the latest information specifically related to adoptive, foster and kinship parenting. Every month, you will find helpful insights and practical parenting tips in Help One Child's blog and podcast releases.