All You Can Ever Know

A Memoir

By: Nicole Chung

Narrated by: Janet Song

Nicole Chung was born severely premature, placed for adoption by her Korean parents, and raised by a white family in a sheltered Oregon town. From childhood, she heard the story of her adoption as a comforting, prepackaged myth. She believed that her biological parents had made the ultimate sacrifice in the hope of giving her a better life, that forever feeling slightly out of place was her fate as a transracial adoptee. But as Nicole grew up - facing prejudice her adoptive family couldn't see, finding her identity as an Asian American and as a writer, becoming ever more curious about where she came from - she wondered if the story she'd been told was the whole truth.

With the same warmth, candor, and startling insight that has made her a beloved voice, Nicole Chung tells of her search for the people who gave her up, which coincided with the birth of her own child. All You Can Ever Know is a profound, moving chronicle of surprising connections and the repercussions of unearthing painful family secrets - vital for anyone who has ever struggled to figure out where they belong.

©2018 Nicole Chung (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"[Narrator Janet] Song's narration is sensitive as she delivers details of subtle discrimination against Chung and her nagging questions about her biological parents.... Listeners are immersed in an emotional journey of one woman's discovery of her past as she begins her own family. This contemporary exploration of identity will resonate with many listeners." (AudioFile)

interesting look at one person's adoption story

im adopted so thought this would be interesting. i think it emphasizes how different each person's experience is. she never explains why she now uses Chung as her last name, despite her marriage, her adoption, everything. as an adoptee, i can't imagine hurting my adoptive parents like that. she never really talks about any struggle with her parents so it confuses me as to why she'd want to reject this part of them. she has such anger towards her birth mother but yet she's never really spoken to her, given her a chance to explain or apologize. she also doesn't talk about her sister Jessica much. my story is so different, yet there are shadows of similarity: trying to fit in, in a white world, trying to develop a sense of self, dealing with racism, wondering what your relatives look like. but her absolute need to feel like she wasn't rejected, that her parents shouldn't have wanted to give her up, is foreign to me. or was always fine to me.. i'd found a great family, so it didn't matter if my birth family didn't want me. i guess if i felt more rejected by my adoptive family, there might have been that, but that was not the case. the absolute hope that she could connect to her sister was interesting as well. all those pulls. just not my experience. an interesting read, none the less.

Messy family history

Loved this book, words of courage. Learning a new language takes commitment. Narration was great

A generous exploration of a mosaic of identities and stories of belonging

As an African American woman, immediately I grasped onto Nicole’s experiences with racism and being “other.” I saw some of my own existence in America mirrored, but then I learned more than I thought I would about what Asian Americans experience that while not so different is more pronounced than I thought it was or would be. Unfortunately, I don’t think I understood that someone of another race could experience the loneliness and rejection and feelings of disenfranchisement similar to what I’ve experienced as a Black person. That’s shallow, I know. Reading her personal experience was different for me than reading a history or novel, as this is not the first book by an Asian/Asian American author I’ve read. The other beautiful or connecting elements were how other themes surfaced—identity and belonging, mother-daughter/father-daughter relationship, sibling connection, childbearing and in/fertility, ethnic/cultural roots, homeland and language, and of course the nuances and complexity of adoption. A very rich story and so beautifully written and perfectly narrated by Janet Song. I enjoyed this book very much and have already recommended it to others.

insightful & Heartwarming Perspective

Hard to put down! Compelling recount about the journey of adoption & transracial adoption from the adoptee's viewpoint.

All you could ever know

A nice story about cultural identity. A little bland. But I guess that's real life!

Validating to Adoptees

As an adopted person, I feel so validated my Nicole and her story. I found myself on her pages and in her experiences. This is a must read.

A great adoption memoir

Articulated many feelings and experiences that I have had as an adult interracial adoptee. Highly recommend for adoptees and adoptive parents and anyone interested in a good story.

a moving and nuanced memoir

The negative reviews of both the writing and the reading absolutely baffle me. The narrator's voice is perfect, soothing and easy to listen to without being boring--just the right amount if expression & sincerity. And Nicole Chung's writing "voice" is clear, tender, vulnerable, unwavering. I guess people with different views of adoption may be triggered, but again, that's a sign of an important story regarding an important topic. I'm grateful this book was assigned in one of my Family & Human Services classes & can't wait for Chung's next memoir to be released this April, 2023 (The Living Remedy).

One person’s story - finding oneself

Her story is her story. While she writes from her inter-racial adoptee’s experience, it sheds light on and spoke truth to identity, racism, bullying, family, love, relationships, complex decisions, and yes “what it means to some to ‘be American’”.

interesting and affecting

Fascinating and well-written story that touches on many important themes. I was happy with the narrator.