Julie writes about finding out who you are, where you come from, and making sense of it.
Welcome to My Online Home!
I’m an author – memoirist, essayist, and columnist – who writes about finding out who you are, where you come from, and making sense of it.
On this site, you will find information about my books, media events, links to bi-monthly blog posts, and material relating to adoption. While many of my “That Girl This Life” essays focus on identity, family, and belonging, I also love to spotlight the quirky and tender moments which add color to daily life.
At 48, I was sent for a breast biopsy. This incident highlighted what closed adoption prevented my twin sister and me from knowing: our birth circumstances, family medical history, and genealogy. The subsequent search for our “personal story” consumed five years.
I chronicle the adoption search journey in my debut memoir Twice a Daughter: A Search for Family, Identity, and Belonging (She Writes Press, May 2021). The prequel, a coming-of-age story about what it was like to grow up as a twin and an adoptee, titled Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss & Sisterhood released in Feb. 2025 (She Writes Press).
My collection of essays, Belonging Matters: Conversations on Adoption, Family & Kinship (Muse Literary, Nov. 2023) is a compilation of my favorite “That Girl This Life” blog posts, essays from the monthly column I write under the same name for The Beacher Newspapers in Michiana, and other published work. Belonging Matters serves as a companion piece to both memoirs, supports the adoption community, and creates a conversation with those not touched by adoption.
Besides being an author, identical twin, and adoptee, I’m a mother, grandmother, and a recent widow. Because life has given me many roles to play, as well as experiences and challenges to champion, I plan to continue to craft material for publication that feels right to share.
My wish is that you stay here, linger, and find writing that resonates. Upon leaving this site, I hope you take with you a fresh new idea, perspective, or a topic to discuss with others.
“An engaging, endearing chronicle of a woman’s quest to find her origins.” – Kirkus Review
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New Release
RELEASE DATE: Sept 16, 2025
Published by Muse Literary
Jack and Lulu Go to the Tree Farm
By Julie Ryan McGue (and Illustrated by Mariia Stepanova)
Jack and Lulu Go to the Tree Farm is a lyrical and heartfelt tale about a boy named Jack who visits Weatherwood Walnut Farm. His great-grandfather once dreamed of planting a walnut farm as a gift for future generations—a dream carried forward by his family. Now, Jack has the chance to choose a tree of his own.
When he discovers a small oak standing proud among the saplings, Jack feels an instant connection. With a tiny surprise nestled in its branches and the weight of a legacy that takes root in him, Jack learns that family love can grow and endure like the strongest of trees.
Perfect for readers who cherish Miss Rumphius and The Giving Tree, this story celebrates growth, remembrance, and belonging across family seasons.
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That Girl, This Life
Weekly posts that focus on identity, family, and life’s quirky moments.
Sleepless in the Suburbs
When bedtime becomes a family legacy…
The Loose Ends of Love and Service
Navigating bureaucracy and grief while uncovering the quiet heroism of my late husband.
One Cake, Two Candles
Birthdays, childhood echoes, and the lifelong joy of twins.
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The audiobook for Twice the Family, A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood released on Audible (ACX) on February 4th. It’s also available on Spotify, Story Tel, Audiobooksnow, hoopla, CHIRP, and KOBO.
March 13-15, I will attend the prestigious Tucson Festival of Books as a presenting author in the Adoptee Authors Booth alongside this impressive group of adoption writers: Ken DeStefano, Ann Fessler, Dr. Abby Hasberry, Diana Kayla Hochberg, Ariel Rathbun, Emma Stevens (Linda Pevac), Jesse Scott, Diane Wheaton, and Jean Kelly Widner.
March 18, from 1:30-2:30, I will teach the second stand-alone webinar for the Author Learning Center, titled “Essays That Echo: Crafting Personal Essays That Resonate.” Join me online by registering here.
March 20, Join me at the J McLaughlin store on Longboat Key for “Sip ‘N Shop” from 2-5. Julie will be signing books, and a portion of the store’s profits will be donated to the Longboat Key Library.
April 20, from 6-7:30 PM ET, I will be at the New Buffalo Township Library in New Buffalo, Michigan conducting a workshop on how to write compelling memoir. (This is a rescheduled event.)
June 20, I look forward to connecting with fellow local authors at the Chicago Writer’s Association conference in downtown Chicago. This year’s event will be held at The Steppenwolf Theatre.
Follow Julie by visiting her website, subscribe to her bimonthly newsletters, and listen to previous podcast recordings where she discusses topics like adoption, identity, family relationships, sisterhood and belonging.
