Comments & Kudos

Ian Hughes: A harrowing tale told exceptionally well.

Joy Momberg Hausberger: I read your book and enjoyed it very much.

Jeanette Bateman Patsalosavis: I read your book and it was great. It came at the right time in my life.

Lydia Dekker: I never realised that being adopted has such a huge emotional impact on the person. I always thought that the birth mother is the person who is the most affected by the whole adoption process. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

Adele Hamilton (editor, Parent24):  I enjoyed the emotional veracity of it very much, and I feel that this is a topic that gets far too little air.

Rina Bowes: Your book is fantastic.

Danise Smit: Really written beautifully... had me in tears a few times. I would never have imagined how hard it must be for someone who was adopted (even if they knew from when they were little) before I read this. You can be very proud of yourself for writing this and how it will help others.

Evelyn Furter: I read your long-awaited book and couldn't put it down.Very well done and captivating. Sean, you are very special to support Aurette so much.God bless you both as well as your kids.

Jenny Nel: Just finished your book. I found it quite thought provoking and an interesting take on something that affects thousands of people. Well done on your achievement, I hope that the dark days are getting fewer and fewer and that seeing your experiences being shared with others gives you some closure.

Ansie Vicente: I honestly believe you have opened up a way for other people to experience God’s love in situations like yours.

Fred Bergh: Even though I was closely involved with Aurette and her family throughout her whole adoption experience, when I read her book I found myself eagerly turning the pages, impatient to find out what happened next.

Rob Saunders: A poignant and poetic title.

Ian Bowes: Your book has the most fantastic cover and I'm sure that the idiom: 'you can't judge a book by its cover' will be totally irrelevant in this case. Can't wait to read it!

Review by Neels de Klerk

When my copy of Someone's Daughter arrived I couldn’t wait to start reading it, and intended to read a chapter each evening before going to sleep. But once I started reading I couldn’t stop, and put all work and other things aside to read until I had finished.

Captured by Aurette's journey through this very difficult time my tears flow unashamedly. Afterwards there were so many things to think about, so many lessons I am still pondering. Why this book has such an effect on me I do not know. Perhaps it is because I know about depression, having fought against it every day of my life.

I have again become aware of the fact that there is so much pain in life of which we are unaware, many times affecting people close to us. I also know that there are so many things I have to be joyful about, so many things for which to thank the Lord.

Aurette and Sean show unbelievable courage by opening up and speaking about their journey; thank you for that. I believe with my whole heart that Someone's Daughter will help many people who are in the same position, as well as others who have to struggle through life’s journey as a result of things that happened which they did not orchestrate.

My special thanks to Sean for the last chapter. Without it, the book would have been incomplete. I have learned so much from this one chapter that I am going to read it again and again.

Why I wrote SOMEONE'S DAUGHTER

Ever since I can remember, from a young age in fact, I have wanted to write a book. Growing up, I dabbled a little in poetry, tried my hand at short story writing, and even succeeded in publishing a small snippet in Readers' Digest, but a book remained my number-one aspiration.

I started a novel several times, but for some reason always ran out of inspiration and was never able to finish. It was only when I learned of my adoption and embarked on a search for my birth-mother that I knew I had finally found the subject of my book.

Writing Someone's Daughter has been one of the most difficult projects I have ever undertaken. It was so easy to say 'I am going to write a book about my experience'; little did I know of the discipline, perseverance and emotional energy it called for.

Truthfully, I did not enjoy writing Someone's Daughter. Recalling each emotional event and transferring it to paper was extremely painful and many times I put the manuscript aside, often for weeks, until I could summon the strength to continue. Yet, despite these temporary halts, the compulsion to write and complete my book never diminished. I was driven by the knowledge that there are so many other adoptees like me who are also struggling and I wanted - indeed, needed - to share my healing experience with them. But I was glad, and not a little relieved after I had typed the closing sentence and could finally say, 'It's done'.

Has the writing experience been cathartic? Most definitely.

Would I recommend that others who have experienced similar trauma to do the same? Absolutely.


Surprisingly - for me, that is - my most healing moment has been the announcement of Someone's Daughter's publication. I like to think of it as my "coming out" declaration - holding my head up high while announcing to friends, associates and complete strangers that I'm adopted, and here's my story...

Sneak Preview

It has taken me more than seven years to write Someone’s Daughter, a time which I now refer to as my “seven lean years”. When I was first diagnosed with depression and finally decided to confront my suspicions about my birth, I began to keep a journal, recording each event and my emotional response to it as it unfolded. Sometimes this was extremely difficult to do, as most of the experiences were exceptionally painful. But over time, I began to rely more and more upon the cathartic benefits of writing down my thoughts and feelings, and soon I had a whole collection of journals, which eventually formed the basis of this book.

God uses our life experiences and the choices we make in dealing with them to fulfil His purpose for us— the promulgation of His Gospel. Thus, just as He did with the Biblical Joseph and with me, He can turn any evil event into good, provided we submit to His will and allow Him to do so in His way and His time.

“There’s healing in the telling,” my psychiatrist once said to me, and I now know that to be true, not only for me, but hopefully also for all those who come to know my story. My earnest desire is that the healing that I experienced will be beneficial to other adoptees, which is the primary reason for this book.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

About SOMEONE'S DAUGHTER

Someone's Daughter is the author's own true account of how, as an adult, she learned that she is not her parents' biological child, but was adopted by them as a baby in a closed adoption. The book tells of the profound and permanent impact this discovery had on her life and that of her family. It documents the search for her birth mother, their reunion and the development of their relationship thereafter.

Someone's Daughter relates how the author found emotional healing and learned to embrace her dual identity. Concurrently with telling her story, the author deals with the ongoing, complex dynamics that surround adoption.

Adoption is viewed by most as a happy, joyous event in which a childless couple takes an unwanted baby into their home, selflessly raises it as their own and everybody lives "happily ever after." Sadly, this perception is far removed from the truth. The very act of adoption necessitates rejection, loss and considerable emotional pain. Few people, including many adoptees, birth mothers and adoptive parents fail to realise that without rejection or loss there can be no adoption.

Someone's Daughter is primarily aimed at adoptees who are struggling to find healing from the never-ending barrage of emotional issues they encounter throughout their lives as a direct result of their adoption. The book provides them with the information they need to conduct their own legal search for their birth parents.

Birth mothers, adoptive parents, immediate families and depression sufferers will also benefit from reading Someone's Daughter. It is not a self-help book, but a deeply personal account of the author's own experience and how she came to find true healing. Whether readers decide to follow the same path is up to them.