Book Review: Switched at Birth
Katie If you are fan of the ABC Family show Switched at Birth, then you know that the mother on the show, Kathryn Kennish, was writing a book about her experience with her daughter being switched at birth. Well, the folks at ABC Family have created a real book out of the story and it is now available in book stores! For some reason I am a big sucker for these kinds of books – or even books based from movies. I guess it is because I don’t have to picture my own characters.
The book is essentially a recap of the first season of the show that has aired along with some extra background information that wasn’t worked in to the show. However, I feel like there are a lot of pieces missing as well, so if you haven’t seen the show you might find yourself a little bit confused with mentions of some of the more minor characters.
The release coincides with the new episodes starting up on ABC Family. I am looking forward to watching them – Switched at Birth has quickly become one of my must see shows.
I purchased this book through Barnes & Noble on my Nook because I was interested to see what Kathryn ended up writing. The fact that she spells her name the same way as me probably helped too. I was not asked to write this review I am simply sharing my thoughts on the book to my readers because I can 😉
About the Book
As seen on the hit ABC Family series Switched at Birth
Kathryn Kennish was delivered the shock of her life when she found out that the baby girl she brought home from the hospital 16 years ago isn’t the one she gave birth to and that she has a biological daughter who she does not know. Now, for the first time, she tells her full, extraordinary, switched-at-birth story.
Kathryn Kennish seemed to have a charmed life as a stay-at-home mom in a wealthy Kansas suburb with her husband, John, a former professional baseball player, and their two teenage children. But Kathryn’s world was turned upside down when she found out that Bay, the daughter she and John have raised since birth, is actually the biological daughter of a single mother named Regina. This news is followed by the equally mind-boggling fact that Kathryn’s biological daughter, Daphne, who happens to be deaf, has been raised by Regina in a struggling neighborhood in Missouri. In her memoir, Kathryn reveals the surprising and intimate layers of her story–from the private details of the switched-at-birth revelation to all that occurs in its aftermath, including Regina and Daphne’s move into the Kennish household. In the wake of this immense shift, secrets and previously unexamined issues from Kathryn’s and her family’s past surface as they are forced to reexamine everything they assumed about what makes a family a family.
As Kathryn’s family searches for their own “normal,” she grapples with, and rejoices in, all the complications that come along with being a part of, and loving, an “unconventional” family. Her story is for all of us with not-normal families and a vicarious treat for anyone who has ever wondered what would happen if a relative was switched at birth.