Interview with Julie Ryan McGue

Hello Everyone,

We have something special for you all on Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything today. We have award-winning author Julie Ryan McGue on today. She is the author of the new book Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood. You can see my interview with her down below.

Emily: What was the catalyst for writing this memoir, specifically as a prequel to your book Twice the Daughter?

Julie: The idea to write Twice the Family rose out of readers expressing that they wanted to know more about what it was like to grow up as a twin and an adoptee. Twice a Daughter had a specific timeline; it focused on the events surrounding my adoption search. Twice the Family has a longer timeline: twenty-seven years. It is the essential backstory to my first memoir.

Emily: Since this book details your life in a household consisting of adopted and biological children, what advice would you give to those navigating blended family dynamics?

Julie: Such an important question. Because my adoption experience was rooted in the closed adoption era––absolutely no information was exchanged between adoptive and birth families––I always had a curiosity about my roots. I accepted my fate, aware that rigid state adoption laws prevented me from accessing information. Nowadays, open adoption is the norm. There is an exchange of information, and a contact plan is put in place between the adoptee, adoptive and birth parents. Navigating this tricky situation–two sets of parents and possibly birth siblings––is something parents should seek advice from experts in how best to handle. Parents should always support their adopted child if they express interest in connecting with first families.

Emily: You often express gratitude for having an identical twin sister, Jenny. How did she help you steer through the obstacles your family endured?

Julie: As an adoptee, being raised with a full sibling is a tremendous blessing, an advantage that most other adoptees are not given. I never had to wonder who I looked like, who I took after regarding looks, traits, and interests. Those are curiosities most adoptees admit to having. She and I have been an instant pack since the day we were born, aligned in so many ways. That buffer, that support system, is something I have benefitted from at every stage of life.

Emily: How did your parents and siblings react to this memoir and Twice the Daughter?

Julie: When I wrote Twice a Daughter, I gave selected chapters to the family members involved. This effort enabled people––all characters in the book––to weigh in on events and details that concerned them before it published. In some cases, I withheld or changed identifying information to protect privacy concerns. My adoptive mom and I discussed sensitive chapters in which her character provided necessary conflict, and we agreed that most mother-daughter relationship undergo challenges. Because growth and healing occurred on the other end of the story arc, she was satisfied with my telling it the way I did.

Because the events in Twice the Family occurred a long time ago, I collaborated with my twin sister and mother to achieve clarity on essential facts in key chapters. My children have said this new book provides important family history for everyone involved.

Emily: Twice the Family is the second book in a planned trilogy. What can readers expect from the third and final installment?

Julie: My husband is a character that appears in the opening scene of Twice a Daughter. I credit him with the adoption search and my attaining vital family background information. If he hadn’t insisted that I tackle the project, I’m uncertain if I would have embarked on that journey. In Twice the Family, the story closes with my meeting him, falling in love, and beginning our family. Three years ago, he passed away after a long battle with cancer. My journey as a new widow has launched me into a new stage of life. I am still becoming, reinventing myself, and grappling with issues of identity and belonging. A third book in the “Twice” trilogy will reveal more about the characters from the first two works, as well as sharing about my widow journey through grief and personal transformation.

Emily: There have been plenty of books that discuss family dynamics, identity, and belonging. How does your memoir fit into the wider conversation?

Julie: Because my situation is unique––I’m an identical twin, an adoptee, raised in a family comprised of adoptees and biological kids––the stories I share add a different perspective to the whole identity, family, and belonging paradigm. Very few can offer the perspective of twin identity within the context of adoption. A recent review of my work by Patricia Meyer of My Adopted Life offers this: At its core “Twice the Family” offers readers a deeper understanding of how relinquishment shapes our quest for identity and belonging. Together with “Twice a Daughter” and “Belonging Matters,” it is an invaluable contribution to the literature centered on adoption, family, and self-discovery.

Emily: I understand that you believe storytelling can heal and that this memoir can serve as a pathway for people facing similar challenges. Can you elaborate?

Julie: Since my tween years, I have been an avid journaler. I discovered that by putting a pen to paper, I learned what issues and conflicts my inner self was mulling over. Often, I do not know exactly what I think about something until I sit down to write. This spilling over of the subconscious mind, allows me to recognize and name issues I need to overcome and/or to seek help in tackling. So, yes writing is an essential tool toward healing from disappointment, loss, and trauma.

Emily: At the end of the book, there’s a set of reader discussion questions. I’ll have you answer one. Was there something you felt you should have left out or expanded upon? What aspect of your story interested you most, inspired reflection, or caused a shift in perspective?

Julie: There were several chapters I had to cut to keep the book length reasonable. Those chapters showed more about the personalities, sensibilities, and creativity of my sister and me. I wish that I didn’t have to eliminate them. With respect to the story arc, I learned things I hadn’t known about before when I collaborated with family members. This outcome taught me something important: ask more questions than you are normally inclined to ask. There is always more to a story than you realize. For me, because of my husband’s recent passing, the chapters about him were difficult to write. I went slow with them, honored that beautiful time of falling in love, and the result are memories that my children now have of their father and me.

Emily: I run the “Adapt Me Podcast,” where a guest and I talk about books that have never been adapted and how we would go about it. Who would you cast as your family in a possible adaptation?

Julie: If Twice a Daughter were to be adapted, I would love to see Meryl Streep and Olivia Colman play my mothers. I think Mandy Moore might love the challenge of playing adult identical twins, and I’d love to see Tim Matheson play my adopted father. For Twice the Family, I think Saiorse Ronan would be excellent as the younger version of the Ryan Twins.

Emily: What are some projects that you are working on now?

Julie: An award-winning essay that I wrote called “When a Tree Grows” is being adapted into a children’s book. I’m in discussion with my publisher about a series. Life continues to provide rich material for essays, blogs, and my column at my hometown paper, The Beacher Newspaper. I don’t plan to retire anytime soon.

Emily: Where can people find you?

Julie: My website: www.juliemcgueauthor.com is the best place or on my socials.

FB @juliemcguewrites
IG @julieryanmcgue
twitter @juliermcgue

Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood by Julie Ryan McGue is out now. You can get it wherever you get your books.

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!