JENNIFER

Seattle, Washington, 1990. It was a cold February day when eight-year-old Jennifer ‘Pinky’ Francis stepped on the American soil for the first time, little knowing that her life was to change forever. Her Indian passport contained no last name. Unbeknown to her poor and illiterate parents, she had been illegally trafficked into the US under the garb of adoption by the very people who had been entrusted with her care. What ensues for Jennifer from then on is life in a foreign land where she is thrust into the nightmarish world of foster care, sexual abuse, drugs and crime. But, her heartbreaking story does not end there. Two decades after her so-called adoption, Jennifer is deported to India with no money or contacts. She must start at the very bottom again, building up her life one tiny step at a time. Indeed, Jennifer is not only a representation of the millions of illegal inter-country adoptees, but also a representation of human suffering. Nandita Puri’s brilliant book is an utterly gut-wrenching and unforgettable story of courage and survival.