About Julie McGue
OFFICIAL BIO & PRESS KIT
Julie Ryan McGue is an American writer, a domestic adoptee, and an identical twin.
Her first memoir, Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging, released in May 2021, won multiple awards.
Her work has appeared in the Story Circle Network Journal, Brevity Nonfiction Blog, Imprint News, Adoption.com, Lifetime Adoption Adoptive Families Blog, Adoption & Beyond, and Severance Magazine.
Her personal essays have appeared in several anthologies, including Real Women Write: Seeing Through Her Eyes (Story Circle Network) and Art in the Time of Unbearable Crisis (She Writes Press).
Her collection of essays, Belonging Matters: Conversations on Adoption, Family, and Kinship (Muse Literary) released in November 2023.
She writes a weekly blog and monthly column (The Beacher Newspapers), in which she explores the topics of finding out who you are, where you belong and making sense of it.
Julie splits her time between northwest Indiana and Sarasota, Florida.
MORE ABOUT ME
My twin sister and I were adopted together at three weeks old. I have always known I am adopted. For most of my life, my closed adoption prevented me from knowing my birth circumstances, family medical history, and genealogy. Then at 48, I was sent for a breast biopsy.
It was this health scare that compelled me to launch the search for my “personal story.”
For five years, I battled rigid state adoption statutes, search roadblocks, misinformation, lies and profound rejection before claiming the information most people take for granted. To access my “personal story,” I needed the help of a search angel, my adoption agency, a social worker, a confidential intermediary, a PI, and a genealogist. I chronicle this adoption search journey in my debut memoir Twice a Daughter: A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging, which comes out in May 2021 by She Writes Press (2019 Indie Publisher of the Year).
I have always loved to write. Before I crafted my quest memoir for publication, I was engrossed in writing a novel–I still plan on finishing it! I’m also a committed journaler. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been filling notebooks with reflections, reminiscences, quotes, and stories. I just love notebooks–it doesn’t matter if they’re the spiral bound variety or the Mead black-and-white composition books. Even though I spend most of my time writing on a laptop, there is a bound notepad within my reach. There’s something about squeezing thoughts into tidy black lines that sparks unexpected creativity.
My weekly That Girl, This Life blog which focuses on identity, family and life’s quirky moments is published on my website. In addition to memoir and personal essays, I write a monthly column for my local paper The Beacher. Some of my guest blogs have appeared on Brevity’s Nonfiction Blog, Dear Adoption, and Lifetime Adoption-The Adoptive Families Blog. In the spring of 2018, I was selected to read the opening chapter of my memoir at AmpLitFest in New York City.
HOW WE CAN STAY IN TOUCH
Email: julie@juliemcgueauthor.com
Author website: www.juliemcgueauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/juliemcguewrites
Twitter: @juliermcgue
Instagram: @julieryanmcgue
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/julie-mcgue-a246b841
Join me on Social Media
Follow Me
In November (14-17th), Julie will attend Story Studio’s four day writing retreat with instructors Rebecca Makkai and Vu Tran at the Guesthouse Hotel in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood. The theme for the retreat is “5,000-Word Weekend.”
On November 17th, Julie will be Pat O’Brien’s guest on the Adoptive and Foster Family Coalition of New York (AFFCNY) live radio show called “After the Kids Move In.” It airs from 6:30-7 PM ET on radio stations 1240 AM and 95.9 FM.
On November 20th, Julie will be Dawn Davenport’s guest on the Creating a Family podcast. They will discuss Julie’s adoption story and her books.
On December 5th, Julie will return to the Social Work Bubble podcast with Laura Swanson. They will discuss Julie’s forthcoming memoir, Twice the Family.
On December 6th, Michael Carlon has invited Julie back on his podcast, “Uncorking a Story.”
In December (10-13th), Julie will be a featured speaker and panelist at Shattering Stigmas: A Summit on Redefining Mental Health Narratives, co-hosted by Tammy Vincent and Jessica Kazaniwskyj. The summit’s goals include redefining mental health narratives, breaking barriers, and creating lasting change. Julie will discuss the some of the childhood traumas presented in her next book, Twice the Family.
On December 19th, Julie will be a return guest for Adult Child of Dysfunction podcast with host Tammy Vincent to discuss the childhood traumas revealed in Julie’s next book, Twice the Family. When the recording airs, the link will post here.
On February 4, 2025, Julie’s new memoir, Twice the Family: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood hits the bookshelves. It’s the long-awaited prequel to her award-winning debut, Twice a Daughter.
On February 13, 2025, Julie will be a return guest to Thriving Adoptees podcast with host Simon Benn. They will discuss Julie’s forthcoming memoir, Twice the Family.
March 14-16, 2025, Julie will attend the Tucson Festival of Books. You can find her in the Adoptee Authors booth where she will be signing her books.
On March 21, 2025, Julie will be signing and selling books to benefit the Longboat Key Library at J McLaughlins on Longboat Key. Come out and show your support at this popular “Sip ‘n Shop” event.
Follow Julie by visiting her website, subscribe to her bimonthly newsletters, and listen to previous podcast recordings where she discusses topics like adoption, identity, and belonging.
