Link to amazon/kindle: http://tinyurl.com/lreve2l

New! Part of Adoptee Reading Resource, hosted by Karen Pickell: http://tinyurl.com/nsvxpkn

“The Tangled Red Thread” is, simply, my life’s work. I started to write it for my daughters, and I did write it with them in mind, but it became much more than a family history. It unravels a mystery while explaining who I am.

Some favorite reviews:

“Adoption author, Elle Cuardaigh has written a detailed account of her life as an adoptee from childhood and into adulthood. Throughout the story, events unfold which shape the person she is today. The life of adopted people is often a quest along a very tangled path, where birth and adoptive relationships weave together, and The Tangled Red Thread shows that our life stories are not simple, easily explained or understood. Cuardaigh handles this well with both respect and honesty in her writings about her adoptive and birth family members. This is not always an easy task for a writer when trying to maintain authenticity in a personal story. Her eloquent descriptions and inclusion of everyone demonstrates how very much she cares about her people.”
~Paige Adams Strickland

“Elle has really outdone herself in this memoir/search and reunion thriller. I admire the honesty and tenacity of Elle as she forges ahead to uncover the secrets of her life while at the same time honoring the parents who raised her. It’s a delicate balance but Elle does it well and is an inspiration to the rest of us still searching for some information and peace about our pasts. I highly recommend this book and rate it as one of my top 5 favorite adoption books of all time.”
~Lynn Grubb, adoptee, adoptive parent, and writer

“It’s a rare thing when someone peels back the outer shell of their life, and allows you into the most intimate core. It’s an ever rarer thing when someone can translate that into written form, and yet, that is exactly what Elle does in The Tangled Red Thread. It was a gift to me that she did chose to allow us in, because I found myself learning, pondering and understanding some things I hadn’t spent much time thinking about until now. Elle lays out her life in a detailed, no nonsense fashion. There is no hype here; for which I am grateful because the story is dramatic enough on its own. She shares in a raw and real way what her own reactions and emotional responses to the events were, and then allows for the reader to have their own reactions and responses.”
~K. Showalter

“I love that Elle put her whole story down in print, not only for her children to know their history but also, for every adoptee, birth parent, and loving a-parent to know that they’re not alone – Life is a bumpy road. What Elle experiences is not exclusive to her or to adoptees, what is exclusive is how she must deal with these heart wrenching and unexpected life events BECAUSE she is adopted.”
~C. Ray “Cully”

“One of the best books I’ve read. The author’s talent at summing up even the most chaotic and stunning moments of her life by narrowing her focus to the raw emotion and impact on her soul is gift to herself and the reader. Elle’s life is packed with mundane and uncanny moments of destiny, visions and divine coincidence. Elle offers the reader a view of adoption which embraces the second family while honestly facing what the practice and laws mean for the adopted child, especially as it effects their search for identity. I am grateful to authors like this, unwilling to spare even themselves in striving for truth.”
~Kristi Speed

“Both moving and riveting. The Tangled Red Thread kept me on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend it to those in the adoption community and also the rest of the world.”
~Sandy Musser, “To Prison With Love” and “I Would Have Searched Forever”

“Right away you get the sense that Elle Cuardaigh is a no-nonsense storyteller: she sums up her adoption with the words, “I cost $400.” And yet this economy of emotion in describing some of the most traumatic experiences of her life has the power to draw you in, take hold of you, and compel you to fill in the missing anger or grief or sadness. The reader trusts Elle, wants to see her untangle the red thread; we struggle with her, root for her, and in the end admire her. If, as she says, Nordic people consider tragedy the ultimate form of literature, then Elle is the ultimate storyteller, in recalling and redeeming a life of remarkable consequence.”
~Amy Hollingsworth, “The Simple Faith of Mr Rogers” and “Gifts of Passage”

 

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