title: Baby Boat: A Memoir of Adoption
author:  Patty Dann 
description: Patty Dann's <i>The Baby Boat</i> is a poignant, evocative account of one couple's journey to adoptive parenthood. Dann's husband, Willem, is a Dutch citizen given to enchantingly incorrect speech patterns (he calls pinecones "pineapples," and, in a gesture that speaks to the depth and respect in their relationship, Dann never corrects him). "On our first date, my husband asked in his charming Dutch accent, 'Do you want to get children?'" Dann writes, explaining that Willem means "have" children. Yet Willem is inadvertently correct: after battling unsuccessful infertility treatments, the couple begins trying to adopt. Written in journal format, <i>The Baby Boat</i> chronicles the medical treatments, long episodes of waiting and delay, heartbreak when their promised daughter dies unseen, and the trip she and Willem make to Lithuania to claim their seven-month-old son. Dann's spare, understated writing style well suits this journey from emptiness to anticipation to sorrow to joy, as she and Willem finally "get" a baby. <i>--Ericka Lutz</i>
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  PRAISE FOR THE FAMILY SHIP
  
  
  “Families, like ships at sea, sometimes founder on hidden rocks and begin to
  break apart. Which is exactly what happens to the Vergennes family in Sonja
  Yoerg’s luminous The Family Ship. Only a heart of stone would be immune to the
  charm of the Vergennes children, all nine of them. Yoerg offers this large,
  disparate crew to the reader with the wisdom and compassion of a consummate
  storyteller. And she tops off the tale with one of the most exciting finales
  I’ve read in years. I recommend this book with my whole heart.”
  
  
  —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land
  
  
  “With both wit and wonder, Sonja Yoerg navigates The Family Ship through
  choppy waters. This novel is completely immersive and highlights the enduring
  power of story in both our lives and our families. Yoerg’s prose and
  imagination are the strong currents that bring this fabulous tale to life.”
  
  
  —Patti Callahan, New York Times bestselling au