AVAILABLE NOW!
Twice the Family
A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Sisterhood
By Julie Ryan McGue
RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2025
Published by She Writes Press
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
From the award-winning author of Twice a Daughter comes the much- anticipated prequel. In this coming-of-age memoir–set in Chicago’s western suburbs between the 1960s and 80s–adopted twins, Julie and Jenny, provide their parents with an instant family. The twins’ sisterly bond holds tight as the two strive for independence, individuality, and belonging. But as Julie’s parents continue adding children to their family, several painful and tragic experiences test family values, parental relationships, and sibling bonds.
Faced with these hurdles, Julie questions everything—who she is, how she fits in, and even her adoption circumstances. She understands her adoptive family is held together by love, faith, support, and her parents’ commitment to each other and their children.
And yet, the life her parents have constructed is not one Julie wants for herself. As she matures, she chooses her own unique path. In the process, she realizes how the experiences that formed her have provide a road map for the person and mother she wants to be.
BOOK AWARDS
Julie loves Book Clubs!
Contact Julie to chat with your Book Club about Twice the Family here.
Join me on Social Media
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) was 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.
Reviews
Forward Reviews gave “Twice the Family” 4 out of 5 Stars
“Twice the Family is a memoir about faith, family, and doing right by others.”
“The psychology of being a child given up for adoption is explored in ways both cathartic and devastating … These worries are balanced by moments that are joyful and light, upholding the book’s themes of perseverance”
“A family album of sorts that preserves moments both big and small, the book lingers over cherished memories … Its testaments to the bonds between twins are fervent, too”
And here is the link to the full review: https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/twice-the-family/
“I enjoyed McGue’s second book. This one is about her growing up in a bustling family with all the joys and sorrows. McGue writes a heartfelt memoir full of candor and caring. Her close relationship with her twin shines in every chapter as the Ryan family grows and then suffers some devastating losses. I really liked the author’s first book about her search for her biological origins. This book is equally captivating because it fills in her life during her formative years, college experience, and then as a young career woman in the early 80s. It’s a great read. Thanks @shewritespress @booksforwardpr @julieryanmcgue @netgalley for the physical and digital copies.” – @booksreadbyprairiegirl
“I’m not a big nonfiction reader but I am incredibly fascinated by the inner workings of families. Comprised of both adopted and biological family, Julie Ryan McGee, takes us through what it was like growing up as an identical twin and adoptee in the 1960s. Julie very poignantly describes life in her Irish Catholic family as they navigated their growing family, loss, growing into themselves, the bond between her and her sister and what it meant to be adopted. I read this story with ease and a growing interest in her story. Releasing February 4th, this book is definitely one to pick up. Thank you to @julieryanmcgue and @booksforwardpr for this advanced copy in exchange for my thoughts.” – @jordanriverlittlefreelibrary
“Memoir is one of my favorite genres and I absolutely love when I get so invested in the person that I cannot stop reading. This was one of those those memoirs. Julie told her story in such a captivating way and often left a cliffhanger at the end of each chapter so I just had to read one more… but it was never just one more. As a child of the 70s and 80s I loved all the details of that time period that made it feel nostalgic. This is the prequel to Julie’s first memoir TWICE A DAUGHTER, and I’ve already checked it out and can’t wait to read the rest of her story. Highly recommend!” – @noladawnreads
“Julie Ryan McGue’s memoir TWICE THE FAMILY:A MEMOIR OF LOVE, LOSS, AND SISTERHOOD publishes February 2025. It’s the prequel to her first book, Twice a Daughter:A Search for Identity, Family, and Belonging, which published in May 2021. I have read her first book, which dealt with Julie’s search for her birth parents, whereas this recent one focuses on Julie’s childhood and young adulthood as both a twin and an adoptee. When I was reading the first book, I wondered what her childhood was like, so I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read this one. I found the book to be an enjoyable read as Julie was very forthcoming with her experiences, both positive and negative. I don’t think that you need to be a twin or an adoptee to enjoy this book, as I am neither. A big thank you to @booksforwardpr and @shewritespress for my advanced reader copy.” – @brendalovemocha
“Beautiful story about adoption the struggles that children may face when trying to figure out themselves.” – @avya7x89
