Journey to the East Summary

Karin begins by describing the countryside of the Pearl River Delta area in southern China as viewed from the window of a bus, as she and her husband ride toward the city of Guangzhou in 1997. Karin and Mark are on the last stretch of an arduously long journey encompassing two years of paperwork and international diplomacy to reach the orphanage where they will meet their daughter.

Karin and Mark's quest for adoption begins in January 1996, when they are met with stacks of paperwork and unending questions about their personal lives to determine their ability to be good parents. The couple, in their forties, realizes that they are starting their family later than most. Earlier in her life, Karin had had a baby boy, who did not live, and her instincts to become a mother seem to be...