Book: Reclaiming Lily

Reclaiming Lily

A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Dallas hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer...or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?

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I read An Irish Washerwoman's Tale a few years back and it's one that's stuck with me so when I saw Patti Lacy had a new novel out I wanted to read it.  It did not disappoint.

As I was telling my husband, I would probably qualify this as "women's fiction" because while there is some small element of romance it's incidental to the story for the most part.  I really LOVE books like this.  In fact, I read this one all in one day, I couldn't put it down!

One thing that's misleading about the synopsis... this story is really more about Kai than either Gloria or Lily.  It's an amazing story (with flashbacks) of how she came from revolutionary China to become a doctor in the US and her dealing with cultural differences as well as this family disease.

The story is told in altering points of view between Gloria and Kai, but for the most part Kai is the main character.

I really know so little about China and it's history so this added something to the book for me as I felt like I was learning as well as enjoying the story.  Although it's not exactly a pleasant story it's so well written that you are just pulled in.  Think of it as a drama movie rather than a chick flick.

I highly recommend it!

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If you would like to read the first chapter of reclaiming Lily, go HERE.

Patti Lacy, Baylor graduate, taught community college humanities until God called her to span seas and secrets in her novels, An Irishwoman's Tale and What the Bayou Saw.

The secrets women keep and why they keep them continue to enliven Patti's gray matter. A third book, The Rhythm of Secrets, released in January of 2011. Patti's, Reclaiming Lily, documents a tug-of-war between a Harvard-educated doctor and an American pastor and his wife for a precious child and explores adoption issues, China's "One Child" policy, and both Christian and secular views of sacrifice.

Patti also facilitates writing seminars in schools, libraries, and at conferences and has been called to present her testimony, "All the Broken Pieces," at women's retreats. She also leads a Beth Moore Bible study at her beloved Grace Church and has had a blast planning the September 2009 wedding of her firstborn, Sarah.

Patti and her husband Alan, an Illinois State faculty member, live in Normal with their handsome son Thomas, who attends Heartland Community College. On sunny evenings, you can catch the three strolling the streets of Normal with their dog Laura, whom they've dubbed a "Worcestershire Terrier" for her "little dab of this breed, a little dab of that breed."