Daughters of the Bamboo Grove Audiobook By Barbara Demick cover art

Daughters of the Bamboo Grove

From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins

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Daughters of the Bamboo Grove

By: Barbara Demick
Narrated by: Joy Osmanski
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NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE • The heartrending story of twin sisters torn apart by China’s one-child policy and the rise of international adoption—from the author of the National Book Award finalist Nothing to Envy

“Remarkable . . . Barbara Demick movingly traces this history of overseas Chinese adoptions and their ripple effects on both sides of the Pacific.”—The Wall Street Journal

On a warm day in September 2000, a woman named Zanhua gave birth to twin girls in a small hut behind her brother’s home in China’s Hunan province. The twins, Fangfang and Shuangjie, were welcome additions to her family but also not her first children. Living under the shadow of China’s notorious one-child policy, Zanhua and her husband decided to leave one twin in the care of relatives, hoping each toddler on their own might stay under the radar. But, in 2002, Fangfang was violently snatched away. The family worried they would never see her again, but they didn’t imagine she could be sent as far as the United States. She might as well have been sent to another world.

Following stories she wrote as the Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Barbara Demick embarks on a journey that encompasses the origins, shocking cruelty, and long-term impact of China’s one-child rule; the rise of international adoption and the religious currents that buoyed it; and the exceedingly rare phenomenon of twin separation. Today, Esther—formerly Fangfang—lives in Texas, and Demick brings to vivid life the Christian family that felt called to adopt her, unaware that she had been kidnapped. Through Demick’s indefatigable reporting, will the long-lost sisters finally reunite—and will they feel whole again?

A remarkable window into the volatile, constantly changing China of the last half century and the long-reaching legacy of the country’s most infamous law, Daughters of the Bamboo Grove is also the moving story of two sisters torn apart by the forces of history and brought together again by their families’ determination and one reporter’s dogged work.

“Excellent . . . entrancing and disturbing . . . [Demick] is one of our finest chroniclers of East Asia. . . . [Her] characters are richly drawn, and her stories, often reported over a span of years, deliver a rare emotional wallop.”—The New York Times©2025 Barbara Demick (P)2025 Random House Audio Adoption & Fostering Asian American Studies Parenting & Families Relationships Social Sciences Specific Demographics China Adoption Heartfelt Disappearance

Critic reviews

“Remarkable . . . Other authors have written about the one-child policy, or the experience of adopting a Chinese daughter; Ms. Demick’s skill shines through in her synthesis of the two stories.”—Wall Street Journal

“Excellent . . . entrancing and disturbing . . . [Barbara Demick] is one of our finest chroniclers of East Asia. [Her] characters are richly drawn, and her stories, often reported over a span of years, deliver a rare emotional wallop.”—The New York Times (Editor's Choice)

“A bittersweet but engrossing narrative of how one family was compelled by Beijing’s ‘one-child policy’ to give an ‘unauthorized’ child up for adoption to American parents.”—Orville Schell, co-author of Wealth and Power

“A story of heartbreak, shame, separation, and irreparable damage—but, most of all, love.”—Tania Branigan, author of Red Memory
All stars
Most relevant  
Well researched and written. I found the writing a bit simplistic and the reader annoying (she says China just like Trump does). Worth a listen.

Engrossing Story

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This book started out slowly and I wasn’t sure I would keep listening. I hung in there and was rewarded with a captivating, well told nonfiction story. I really enjoyed it!

This is a great book.

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The author brings to life the trauma of China’s misguided one-child policy and the ripple effects it had on both Chinese families and international adoptions.

Enlightening and Entertaining

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The narrative explains so much about the recent history of foreign adoption. It drags with too much detail about lesser characters, but fact driven.

Fact driven

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Honesty of a difficult subject matter where children were stolen from their families. Laws like these were short sited as now China most likely will not be able to sustain population growth

Awful Political mistakes at the cost of humanity

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Well researched which is imperative in this kind of a book. I listened very carefully and took notes in places.

Very informative. My daughter is from a Korean “orphanage” so I listened attentively.

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Fascinating story on so many levels. Once I started I couldn’t stop listening! A unique look into China, its people and a policy that tore families apart. And the dogged work of one journalist to reunite one such family.

Brilliant!

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Heart wrenching and fascinating real life stories about a country and its government’s intrusion into the very essence of people’s lives-the family. Chilling insight into an authoritarian regime and the consequences of full control of a society and culture.

Pertinent and timely.

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