I absolutely love Christian fiction. Historicals hold a special appeal because of my love of history, though I enjoy a good contemporary setting as well. Certain classics also command my allegiance and the result is a bookcase with titles written by authors such as Jane Austen to Janette Oke.
But my very favorite book is a little-known non-fiction book entitled The Family Nobody Wanted, by Helen Doss. In this book, Doss tells the story of herself and minister-husband Carl, as they struggle to have a "normal" little family.
The story starts out during the latter years of the Great Depression with the news that Helen and Carl will never be able to have children of their own. After grieving over this news for a time, Helen decides that motherhood is about more than just giving birth. So she transforms their spare bedroom into a nursery, then goes to the local orphanage to pick out a baby.
What she finds is directions to an adoption agency with a waiting list a mile long. And they're looking for financially stable couples. Not a poor seminary student and his wife. Helen continues to contact adoption agencies until unexpectedly, little Donny is placed in their home. His blond hair and blue eyes make him a perfect match for Helen and Carl. Carl is content with their little family and his consuming studies, but Helen wants just one more thing...
A little girl.
But nobody wants to place a second child in their home. As one social worker states "if you knew how many financially competent homes we have waiting without even one child, you wouldn't even ask for a second." Helen is discouraged but won't give up. At one adoption agency the receptionist casually remarks, "too bad you're not Turkish or Portuguese. We have a little Turkish-Portuguese boy that we can't find a home for. That's what happens with these mixed-blood children. Nobody wants them."
That comment sticks with Helen and Carl. Waiting lists that are years long, for the perfect child to be matched with the perfect home, while all the while these so called "unadoptables" are without hope of finding a home?
Helen starts writing to adoption agencies and ends up with two baby girls that nobody else wanted. Laura is a chubby Eurasian beauty, and Susie is a sickly infant with a disfiguring birthmark. As the little family grows, Helen is worn out from living in the little parsonage on Lake Michigan while Carl spends the week on the seminary campus, only coming home on weekends. She feeds babies and cleans up after Donny's mischief around the clock, wringing out laundry in the bathtub, and keeping milk cold without a refrigerator. Still, she is content with her little family. But this time somebody else isn't happy.
Donny sees his baby sisters playing together and decides he wants a little boy "the right size of me." Helen decides to look for just one more child. Carl is reluctant but finally agrees. "Alright, but this is it. The last one. Just this one more."
Till all is said and done, the Doss family ends up adopting 12 children, most of mixed racial (often Asian) descent, a daring first in the aftermath of WWII. Each time, Donny is hopeful to find a right-sized brother and Carl keeps insisting there will be no more. But in the end, this unusual family finds they are just the right sized, and wouldn't want to be any other way.
This book is full of the honest thoughts and feelings of a real woman's heart, as well as charming anecdotes from life raising twelve youngsters under the age of 10. Add to this the fact that Helen Doss is an accomplished writer, and you have a book that elicits a full range of emotions in the reader.
I read this book at least once a year and have even read it aloud to my husband who loved it. Out of print since the early 80's, this book is now available again with a new afterward by the author. I highly recommend this book to all, and would be interested in hearing the insights from any who may have read it.
