Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe - Softcover

“Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe is the story of one woman's search for her mother, but more than that it's the story of what we all long for, the feeling of belonging to a family and knowing how safe we are there, how protected and loved. Lori Jakiela's memoir is filled with heart-wrenching scenes and moments of transcendence. It doesn't look away from the ugly, but it always finds the light that rises above it. To read this book is to experience our lives and their complicated arrangement of disappointment, sadness, wonder, and joy. I won't soon forget it; neither should you.”--Lee Martin, author of Such a Life and From Our House “I am a big fan of Jakiela's writing, and Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe has all of her gifts on full display. This memoir is sharp, insightful, sad, and often darkly funny. Her prose is honed to perfection, sure, but it really is her big heart and her wisdom about the stupid, terribly imperfect, and beautiful world that makes me want to read anything she writes.”--Greg Bottoms, author of Angelhead and Pitiful Criminals “Adoptees look out at the world from the eyes of what was lost. We can't help it, but we can transform it. Lori Jakiela's new memoir--Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe--is a beautifully written journey into one woman's process of letting go of what was lost, and the messy dignity of human transformation. Her story is one of life, of reaching for life. With a deep gift for storytelling and unsparing, beautifully gritty self-examination, she brings the reader on the harrowing journey with her. It's an important ride, and an important book.”--singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier “Brilliant, heartbreaking and fiercely honest. In Belief Is Its Own Kind of Truth, Maybe, adoptee Lori Jakiela tells a story of losing her birth family twice, yet creating abiding connection and love with the family she creates. A powerful, essential read.”--Linda Carroll, author of Her Mother's Daughter and Love Cycles “'What is the nature of your search?' asks the Catholic Charities counselor at the beginning of Lori Jakiela's memoir. There is no simple answer. It is a search full of pain, vividly remembered or imagined details, and laughter—not all of it from trying not to cry. Jakiela leads the reader through her search for her birth family, the rejections, the struggles to understand, and the victories, and intertwines this with her memories of the sometimes uncomprehending parents who raised her, her discoveries about their wounds, and her day-to-day struggles as a parent to much-loved small children. No part of her life is easy—nor are the lives of any of her families. But Jakiela's spirit and voice and sense of the absurd keep the reader involved. I couldn't put the book down.”--Marianne Novy, author of Reading Adoption: Family and Difference

Lori Jakiela is the author of the memoirs, The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious and Miss New York Has Everything, as well as the poetry collection, Spot the Terrorist!, and several limited-edition poetry chapbooks. Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and elsewhere. She's worked as a bingo-hall waitress and a journalist, and spent nearly seven years as a New York City-based flight attendant for Delta Air Lines. She now teaches in the writing programs at The University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg and Chatham University, and lives in Pittsburgh with her husband/author Dave Newman and their two children.