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An NPR Best Book of 2022, and a recipient of the 2023 Nautilus Book Award in Journalism and Investigative Reporting.

Identical twins Isabella and Hà were born in Vietnam and raised on opposite sides of the world, each knowing little about the other’s existence, until they were reunited as teenagers, against all odds.
 
The twins were born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in 1998, where their mother struggled to care for them. Hà was taken in by their biological aunt, and grew up in a rural village, going to school, and playing outside with the neighbors. They had sporadic electricity and frequent monsoons. Hà’s twin sister, Loan, spent time in an orphanage before a wealthy, white American family adopted her and renamed her Isabella. Isabella grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, with a nonbiological sister, Olivia, also adopted from Vietnam. Isabella and Olivia attended a predominantly white Catholic school, played soccer, and prepared for college.

But when Isabella’s adoptive mother learned of Isabella’s biological twin back in Vietnam, all of their lives changed forever. Award-winning journalist Erika Hayasaki spent years and hundreds of hours interviewing each of the birth and adoptive family members and tells the girls’ incredible story from their perspectives, challenging conceptions about adoption and what it means to give a child a good life. Hayasaki contextualizes the sisters’ experiences with the fascinating and often sinister history of twin studies, the nature versus nurture debate, and intercountry and transracial adoption, as well as the latest scholarship and conversation surrounding adoption today, especially among adoptees.

Somewhere Sisters is a richly textured, moving story of sisterhood and coming-of-age, told through the remarkable lives of young women who have redefined the meaning of family for themselves.

Reviews for SOMEWHERE SISTERS:

“On the surface, this sounds like a fairy tale about long-lost family. But Somewhere Sisters is not a fairy tale – it’s the product of intensive reporting that distills the five years that journalist Erika Hayasaki spent with Isabella, Hà and their families, tracing how they came to live such divergent lives. Crucially, Hayasaki contextualizes their stories in the larger history of transracial and transnational adoption, as well as nature-nurture science, making for a nuanced portrait.” —NPR, a Best Book of 2022

“Erika Hayasaki’s Somewhere Sisters is stirring and unforgettable — a breathtaking adoption saga like no other; a provocative exploration into the ideas of family and belonging; and a deeply meaningful meditation on what makes us who we are and what connects us to one another.” —Robert Kolker, New York Times-bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road and Lost Girls

“Seamlessly weaving historical context with brilliant reportage, Hayasaki delivers an incisive and poignant exploration of the world of transracial adoption and twinship, bearing witness to the profound struggles of those caught between two worlds, trying to define themselves.” —Ly Tran, author of House of Sticks

“Hayasaki, a journalist who spent five years tracing the girls’ diverging paths, writes a sensitive, well-researched account of the years before and after their emotional reunion.” —The Washington Post

“Expertly reported, this tale of Vietnamese twins separated in infancy and raised a world apart challenges perceptions of international adoption.” —People Magazine

“Journalist Erika Hayasaki chronicles the unbelievable timeline of twin sisters Isabella and Ha…a heart-wrenching tale told with compassion.” —Buzzfeed

“Hayasaki explores the many dimensions of transracial and transnational adoption in this moving account of families torn apart.” ―New York Magazine’s The Cut

“Even-handed and balanced, Hayasaki’s book is a vivid, searing portrait of the complex realities behind the simple saviorism that is so often the impetus for foreign adoptions.” —Washington Independent Review of Books, Favorite Books of 2022

“A talented journalist, Hayasaki has meticulously reported this story, touching on complex topics such as the ethics of adoption, Asian American identity, how siblings reunite, and more.” —Shondaland

“Hayasaki offers a riveting examination of transracial and transnational adoption…A gripping and thought-provoking study of adoption, identity, and the challenging ways in which culture, politics, and economics intersect.” —Library Journal

“Fascinating and moving on its own, the sisters' complex story of growing up, both together and apart, is complemented by Hayasaki's illumination of the personal, psychological, and sociocultural realities of adoption.” —Booklist

Adoption “is often portrayed as a magical ending whereby a family is finally complete. But in Somewhere Sisters, Erika Hayasaki dispels this idea…Unwinding the narratives of our culture isn’t a fanciful pursuit: It makes space for new meanings and new ways to live.” —The Atlantic, Weekly Guide to the Best in Books

"Told in a compelling journalistic way that reads like fiction but is as far from fiction as possible…This book is ultimately a very emotional and human account of finding out what the meaning of family is.” —San Diego Union-Tribune

“Erika Hayasaki lays out what happened to both twins, and what their story can teach us about family, nature and nurture, and adoption.” ―Bustle

“This incredible true story is as fascinating as any novel... Journalist Erika Hayasaki interviewed family members extensively in order to write this nuanced tale of transracial adoption, nurture-versus-nature, and sisterhood.” ―BookBub

“Well-researched and compassionately written, Somewhere Sisters is a journey from separations to reunions, from individual lives to the history of adoption. Urgent and compelling, this book asks important questions about responsibility and ethics and will inspire all of us as we work toward a more responsible and inclusive society.” —Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, author of the international bestseller The Mountains Sing

"Deeply researched, artfully woven and lyrically written, Somewhere Sisters explores the harsh reality behind international transracial adoption. Hayasaki is a master storyteller, and her compassion for her subjects is evident on every page. Her meticulous exploration into the dark legacy of nature-nurture studies, American saviorism, and the science of attachment is a powerful addition to our understanding of the lifelong impact of adoption." —Gabrielle Glaser, author of the New York Times Notable Book American Baby

“Erika Hayasaki has produced an elegant exploration of race and nationality in Somewhere Sisters. This intimate, meticulously reported portrait of twin daughters who were separated by adoption is a not only a compelling story, but one that touches on profound questions of human identity.” —Barbara Demick, author, Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town & Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

An “empathetic study of identical twin girls born in Vietnam in 1998….Throughout, Hayasaki reveals the racial and class prejudices at the root of such adoptions without losing sight of the complexities of human emotions and family ties. This is a clear-eyed and well-grounded take on a thorny social issue.” —Publishers Weekly

 “Hayasaki weaves their reflections about belonging, heritage, and identity—gleaned from hundreds of hours of interviews with the girls and their birth and adoptive families—with a broad consideration of adoption and twin studies that aim to shed light on the extent to which genes and environment shape human behavior, personality, and development. An engaging portrait of intersected lives.” —Kirkus

When nurse and professor Norma Bowe decided to teach a course on death at a college in New Jersey, she never expected it to be popular. But year after year, students crowd into her classroom and the reason why is clear: Norma's "death class" is really about how to make the most of what poet Mary Oliver famously called our "one wild and precious life." 

Under the guise of discussions about last wills and last breaths and visits to cemeteries and crematoriums, Norma teaches her students to find grace in one another.

By following her over three years, award-winning journalist Erika Hayasaki shows how Norma steers a group of extraordinary students from their tormented families and neighborhoods toward happiness: she rescues one young woman from her suicidal mother, helps a young man manage his schizophrenic brother, and inspires another to leave his gang life behind. Through this unorthodox class on death, Norma helps kids who are barely hanging on to understand not only the value of their own lives, but also the secret of fulfillment: to throw yourself into helping others.

Hayasaki's expert reporting and literary prose bring Norma's wisdom out of the classroom, transforming it into an inspiring lesson for all. In the end, Norma's very own life — and how she lives it — is the lecture that sticks.

Reviews for THE DEATH CLASS

“[Hayasaki] skillfully weaves together difficult stories, finding unexpected connections….The book’s strength lies in the well-observed details of the lives portrayed, and in the recognition that the work Bowe and her students are doing is messy, necessary stuff. Hayasaki acknowledges this by bookending chapters with writing prompts from Bowe’s syllabus—‘Be a Ghost’—as if to encourage readers to consider the big questions on their own.” —The New York Times

“At its heart, this book spotlights a bumpy but certain road to resurrection and imparts its wisdom as it traverses a drama-filled landscape, one pocked with suicides and cold-blooded murder, abuse and addiction…‘The Death Class’ manages to glide gracefully and delicately through the parts — say, the autopsy table — where you’re sure you’ll retch, if you can even keep your eyes on the page. And for sticking with it, you’re rewarded with poetic passages and assorted revelations you’ll likely not forget….Hayasaki, through Bowe, drums in the essential lessons of how by finding purpose beyond ourselves, we infuse our lives with meaning and lessen our fear of death.” —The Chicago Tribune

“By chronicling the stories of Bowe and four of her students, Hayasaki imbues the austere topic of death with tangible narrative immediacy. It’s a book of powerful scenes.” —The Boston Globe

“Readers will come away struck by Bowe’s compassion — and by the unexpectedly life-affirming messages of courage that spring from her students’ harrowing experiences.” —Entertainment Weekly

“This is a beautiful book about courage—the courage to turn and face your own life and death, and the courage to make a difference in the lives of others. The Death Class points to a way of living fully, gratefully, and meaningfully every day.” —Elizabeth Lesser, author of Broken Open and cofounder of the Omega Institute

“Hayasaki has a reporter’s way of winnowing out the facts, the interesting stuff, small details, and tiny secrets that make us want to know more. She immerses us so well into the story of the class, students, and the professor that it’s almost easy to forget we’re reading. We become part of what’s happening, complete with triumphs, gasps, and life-affirming inspiration.” —The Times Weekly

“The Death Class is at once puncturing and redemptive, sharing humanity’s most painful, violent face while at the same time revealing a fierce optimism and stunning generosity.” —Erica Brown, author of Happier Endings: A Meditation on Life and Death

“Hayasaki offers a completely engaging look at death and the meaning of life.” —Booklist (starred review)

“...the last lesson you’d ever need on life.” —Ruth Davis Konigsberg, author of The Truth About Grief: The Myth of Its Five Stages and the New Science of Loss

“At the end of every chapter, Hayasaki includes an assignment from Bowe’s syllabus—e.g., write your own eulogy, pretend you are a ghost and record your observations, write a goodbye letter to someone or something lost. These assignments invite readers to consider the essential question of Bowe’s course—and Hayasaki’s book: How can we learn to celebrate life?” —Kirkus

“Norma Bowe “not only teaches her students about the physiology of death, its implications for all areas of life and thought; she rescues them from it. She answers calls in the middle of the night, and she answers the call to help humanity whence it comes, near or far. She is friend, counselor, aid worker, and revolutionary in the person of one woman, one “who delighted in cemeteries, the overlooked classrooms beneath our feet.” Her subject, the end, is always just beginning.” —Barnes & Noble reviews