Nell Carpenter’s Someday This Could Be Ordinary is a deeply personal and raw account of one family’s adoption journey, offering an unflinching yet hopeful glimpse into the realities of adoption. With honesty and heart, Carpenter takes readers through the highs and lows of bringing home her two children, an eight-year-old and a three-year-old, both shaped by trauma, chaos, and instability, and the formidable task of merging as a new family.

What sets this memoir apart is Carpenter’s candid approach. From the start, she makes it clear that she is not interested in glamorising her experience. The journey has been incredibly tough, changing her as a person, but she highlights that it’s also been the most rewarding and life-changing decision she’s ever made. Her writing makes you feel like you are right there with her, experiencing the emotional rollercoaster of forming attachments and creating a sense of family from a place of loss.

As an adoptive parent myself, with two adoptive children, Carpenter’s reflections deeply resonated with me. One of the key strengths of this book is how she balances the “grim and the beautiful.” She dives into the difficult emotions, from compassion fatigue, something many readers may not be familiar with but will quickly come to understand, to the challenging task of being present for children whose early years were marked by unpredictability. These moments of emotional rawness are juxtaposed with the joys of small breakthroughs, moments of connection, and the profound love that grows in unexpected ways.

Carpenter also touches on the importance of accepting help, a theme that is especially resonant for adopters. She emphasises that while the adoption journey requires strength, it also requires community. Friends and family play a crucial role, and learning to accept their support is part of the process. This is a powerful takeaway for any reader navigating the adoption process or similar life changes, it is okay to lean on others, and doing so doesn’t make you any less capable or loving as a parent.

Her storytelling is intimate and vivid, making the reader feel like they are walking alongside her and her family as they navigate the trials and triumphs of adoption. The book doesn’t shy away from the challenges, but it also doesn’t lose sight of the magic that comes with building a family through love, patience, and perseverance.

Someday This Could Be Ordinary is a beautifully written, honest, and inspiring account of the adoption process. Carpenter’s reflections on loss, love, and learning offer an invaluable perspective for anyone considering adoption, those already in the process, or anyone who wants to better understand the complexities of forming a family through adoption. There will be laughter and there will be tears, but this book is a testament to the resilience of both children and parents, and the extraordinary journey that can come from something that, on the surface, might seem quite ordinary.

You can purchase Someday This Could Be Ordinary… on amazon https://amzn.eu/d/bjSIRB6

Nell Carpenter’s Someday This Could Be Ordinary is a deeply personal and raw account of one family’s adoption journey, offering an unflinching yet hopeful glimpse into the realities of adoption. With honesty and heart, Carpenter takes readers through the highs and lows of bringing home her two children, an eight-year-old and a three-year-old, both shaped by trauma, chaos, and instability, and the formidable task of merging as a new family.

What sets this memoir apart is Carpenter’s candid approach. From the start, she makes it clear that she is not interested in glamorising her experience. The journey has been incredibly tough, changing her as a person, but she highlights that it’s also been the most rewarding and life-changing decision she’s ever made. Her writing makes you feel like you are right there with her, experiencing the emotional rollercoaster of forming attachments and creating a sense of family from a place of loss.

As an adoptive parent myself, with two adoptive children, Carpenter’s reflections deeply resonated with me. One of the key strengths of this book is how she balances the “grim and the beautiful.” She dives into the difficult emotions, from compassion fatigue, something many readers may not be familiar with but will quickly come to understand, to the challenging task of being present for children whose early years were marked by unpredictability. These moments of emotional rawness are juxtaposed with the joys of small breakthroughs, moments of connection, and the profound love that grows in unexpected ways.

Carpenter also touches on the importance of accepting help, a theme that is especially resonant for adopters. She emphasises that while the adoption journey requires strength, it also requires community. Friends and family play a crucial role, and learning to accept their support is part of the process. This is a powerful takeaway for any reader navigating the adoption process or similar life changes, it is okay to lean on others, and doing so doesn’t make you any less capable or loving as a parent.

Her storytelling is intimate and vivid, making the reader feel like they are walking alongside her and her family as they navigate the trials and triumphs of adoption. The book doesn’t shy away from the challenges, but it also doesn’t lose sight of the magic that comes with building a family through love, patience, and perseverance.

Someday This Could Be Ordinary is a beautifully written, honest, and inspiring account of the adoption process. Carpenter’s reflections on loss, love, and learning offer an invaluable perspective for anyone considering adoption, those already in the process, or anyone who wants to better understand the complexities of forming a family through adoption. There will be laughter and there will be tears, but this book is a testament to the resilience of both children and parents, and the extraordinary journey that can come from something that, on the surface, might seem quite ordinary.

You can purchase Someday This Could Be Ordinary… on amazon https://amzn.eu/d/bjSIRB6