Journey to Mei–Interview with Freddie Remza

I want to introduce to Freddie Remza’s book, Journey to Mei, a story of international adoption for kids

Ten year old Shelly is upset when she discovers that her parents plan on adopting a child. Shelly enjoys her ‘only child’ status and is not willing to give it up without a little struggle. As she becomes more aware and lets go of her selfishness, we see her evolve into a caring person anxious to become a big sister to a child far away.

What Freddie Remza says:
“This book is a valuable resource that could be given to the adopted child to read when she’s a little older. It’s also a story that could be handed to the child’s siblings, cousins, classmates, and friends. Actually, with the world getting smaller each year, “The Journey to Mei” could be read by all children to foster an understanding of another country’s traditions and culture.”

C. Stasko, mother of an adopted daughter from China says:

“The Journey to Mei” will be a valuable asset to all people adopting from China. Even though we’ve spoken about some of the issues of adoption when our child was younger, it’s nice to see it in a story and to read and discuss it together. The book explains so much and does so very simply, clearly and delicately.

I asked Freddie how she came to write about the adoption of a Chinese baby girl into an American family? Here’s what she said.

It was really a fluke as to how all that happened. First of all, a friend’s daughter was visiting me one day. She had adopted domestically and her child was about 8 years old at the time. She suggested that I consider writing a story for kids about adoption. She mentioned how very little was out there for the older child, but lots for younger kids. I listened but really didn’t think that I would be interested in doing the project. The next day a friend called me up and wanted to know if I would like to go to China. She was looking for someone to go with and knew I loved to travel. China wasn’t high on my priority list so I told her I would think about it. A couple of hours later I was in front of my house when my neighbor’s twelve year old daughter walked by. Well, this child was adopted as a baby from China. All of this came together as one big thunderbolt and the research was on. The rest is history.

Her reviews are 5 stars. Here’s what one reviewer said: “IT IS AN EASY READ FOR CHILDREN OF THESE FAMILIES WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH FEELINGS ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THEIR FAMILY IF A NEW BABY COMES. MS REMZA HAS A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR AND MANY OF HER PERSONAL TOUCHES MAKE THE BOOK DELIGHTFUL.”

Journey to Mei is now available to buy.

Freddie will be back. She has more to tell us about herself and her writing.