A book for
everyone - amazing, beautiful, January 17, 2015by Dianna
      You are visitor - |
“The first
thing I realized when I read the title
of Joe Soll’s new book is that I don’t
know much about his life. Why
would he be in danger of falling off the
Empire State Building? Was he a
daredevil, careless? What?
That incident
is just one of the many fascinating
experiences in Joe’s life. He was full of
curiosity, which led to only his first
near-death experience when he was six and
stuck a wire into a wall socket! Fear
also played a large part in Joe’s life. He
even had a Terror List. One thing that
terrified him was anyone’s finding out he
was adopted. That went on for years until
he began therapy with Mary at age 36. As is true of many adoption scenarios, Joe has had ups and downs in his experience with adoption organizations. He put on a very successful conference for the AAC in 1989 and led many marches for equal rights in Adoption. However, because adoption itself is so full of paradoxes and contradictions, it is difficult to get everyone on the same page when it comes to getting things done. One thing that never wavered for him was that he desperately wanted to find his first mother. Curiosity,
courage, and commitment played equal parts
in Joe’s life whether as an electrical
engineer, an inventor, an adoption
specialist, an avid bridge player, or a
friend. It is difficult to choose only one
or two things to focus on in his very full
life. Just trust me that his story is
truly captivating, honest, and full of
Joe’s subtle humor. I couldn’t put it
down!”
July
2014"Joe Soll’s autobiography could be a screenplay; maybe it will be. Comprehensive, authentic, the writing style steps back, like a good umpire, and lets the words and messages speak for themselves. There is poetry, but it is not gratuitous, and I found myself crying at points all through the book. I cry about the critters. Most people will cry about the human relationships. But crying is crying. It means the book is speaking truth. One could read
the book simply for its story and the action.
Visions of Steve Jobs flashed through my mind
all the way through it. For sure, Joe is
bright; his ability to abstract from examples
establishes that. But there is something more.
He is also creative. The two do not always go
together. "Intuition and will" stand out to me
as the strengths of his character. He dropped
out of college, but could have founded another
Apple with some fortuity. International travel
for his own company, television and motion
picture acting roles, stand up comedy,
singing, network debates with New York City
Mayors and other politicians, and countless
appearances with television talk hosts, as
well as a bullet to his head, bomb threats,
and hanging off of tall buildings
on single ropes, will maintain the
reader’s interest. However,
this book is not for the general audience. It
addresses the adoption community. From my
perspective, Joe Soll is the last standing
major player in what has been called the
adoption liberation movement. Today, he
probably sees the most triad members, has the
most consistent groups, and works the hardest
for the adoptee/first mother contingent. He no
longer provides communication equipment, but
rather provides communication content. So if you
are involved with adoption, knowing about Joe
will make you better informed about adoption
issues. But we are not just gathering
information; we intend to use it to guide our
lives. That becomes more tricky. “Are we there
yet” from the boy in the back seat on the
family vacation comes to mind. Is Joe’s
story now finished, whereupon he can put up
his feet and let the recent information fill
in his metaphorical empty space? I am
not so sure. But I am sure that wherever we go
from here, this book will be an important part
of the journey." |
| |
|