I love this book! "The Girl I Am, Was, and Never Will Be" is everything I hoped it would be... Part powerfully moving memoir of a transracial adoptee, part nerdy sci-fi exploration and speculative fiction, and part non-fiction must-read guide for current and would-be adoptive parents who wish to deeply understand their children’s yearning to know and be known, especially in the case of transracial adoptees.This memoir takes the reader on a journey as Ms. Gibney searches for who she is, was, and never will be. I was completely pulled into her world, emotionally riding along with her. I felt her heartache and deep longing as well as her confusion and frustration. It is touching, powerful, sweet and sad all at once.As part of the story, Ms. Gibney makes clear the impacts without being preachy, as she explores the additional challenges in the case of transracial adoptions. She notes that many birth parents talk about "stability and security" as part of the wish for their relinquished children... yet providing that stability and security for Black children MUST include having parents who have a solid understanding of racism and Black racial identity, as well as a real connection to local Black communities. I'm not sure if this is widely known yet. This book is an important update to the story.And although I am not an adoptive parent, I am a mother of a donor conceived child, and this book adds greatly to my understanding of the longing experienced by those being raised without connection to some or all of their biological relatives. I felt humbled reading it and honored that Ms. Gibney is willing to be so vulnerable to share her experiences and reflections with us.I also love that the book includes so many primary sources, and it's helpful that the handwritten letters are also included in type. I loved seeing the handwriting and was so glad I didn't have to miss out on what was written due to difficulty deciphering. There are some very beautiful photographs along with the many adoption related documents and letters, and I was struck by the vulnerability and intimacy of including them in this book. It makes it real for the reader that these documents were - in some cases - the only connection Ms. Gibney has to her past. Their inclusion touched me deeply.I highly recommend this book. It is powerful, reparative and important. Please get it and share it with others!