Digging to America

Two families, who would otherwise never have come together, meet by chance at the Baltimore airport, each anticipating the arrival of an adopted infant daughter from Korea. Brad and Bitsy Donaldson, all-American suburbanites, and their gift-laden clan resemble a gigantic baby shower with their flotilla of silvery balloons and pink ribbons. Iranian-born matriarch Maryam Yazdan stands unobtrusively in the back of the waiting area with her fully assimilated son, Sami, and his attractive Iranian American wife, Ziba. When Bitsy invites the Yazdans to an “arrival party” at the Donaldson home, an improbably friendship begins, and the occasion evolves into an annual tradition. Over the years, as the parents, children, and grand-parents become more deeply entwined, cultures clash, values are challenged, and the American way is seen from the beguiling perspectives of both those who are born here and hose who are struggling to fit in.
–back cover