An Unexpected Adoption: The Girl Behind The Face - Paperback

by Tina Rog Thomas (Author)

"... friends and medical professionals advised them to walk away"

- South China Morning Post

An Unexpected Adoption is one woman's unlikely personal journey to escape the crushing trauma of her past - and in the process help an abandoned child escape hers.

This uplifting memoir is one of against-the-odds courage and resilience. It is raw, powerful and compelling, filled with lump-in-the-throat honesty, humour and love.

Tina and Rog met on a film set and together dreamed of a new life in Australia. They didn't want to start a family, foster, adopt, have a child with special needs, or even stay in Hong Kong.

And then they met Mui, an explosively angry orphan baby girl with an appearance-altering disorder. They were only supposed to help out for the summer, but convinced by doctors that Mui would die in infancy, Tina and Rog went all in; for all three, it was the beginning of their lives together.

"In short, she's an inspiration"

- The Guardian

There was no plan, no support network, no money, just Tina's unstinting determination to fight fiercely for Mui, and Rog's unwavering commitment to them both.

Believed to be the fourth-oldest survivor with Harlequin Ichthyosis, Mui is now the world's first award-winning sportswoman with the disorder. She is "unfiltered, uncompromisingly forthright and unafraid to have fun".

Society hid Mui away, and broke her; cyberbullies almost killed her. The internet exploits her for clickbait. From brutal abuse and crude discrimination, to champagne with a Duchess; Mui, in her own words, shares her feelings and opinions, too, as Tina and Rog tell what really happened in this compelling, personal memoir.

But can you escape your past?