Book Review: Hello, I Love You

Hello, I Love You: Adventures in Adoptive Fatherhood is the most recent book from award-winning author Ted Kluck. Ted and his wife Kristin have adopted two sons from Ukraine, and this book is a memoir of their experiences dealing with the highs and lows of international adoption.

Full disclosure here: I know Ted and I like Ted. We’re friends. Maybe not the closest of pals, but certainly more than just facebook friends. I admit, my opinion may not quite reach the standard of complete objectivity. But I not only know and like Ted, I also know and like his writing style, his sense of humor and his heart. Having enjoyed his work as an author before ever having had the opportunity to meet him, this is not merely the effect of bias. As such, I’m convinced that even if I didn’t know and like Ted, I would definitely like this book. This sense was buoyed when my wife read Hello, I Love You. She’s never met Ted, but she enjoyed the book very much as well.

It’s a funny book as Ted’s ironic sense of humor is on full display. It’s a painful book as Ted openly and honestly talks about his own sinful attitudes (specifically lack of trust in God) as he and his wife dealt with the struggles of infertility and international adoption. It’s a convicting book, causing me to recognize my own lack of gratefulness for all of the blessings that God has poured out upon me. But most of all, it is a good book, a memoir in which he manages to somehow seamlessly weave together deep theological truths with the occasional reference to the classic film, ¡Three Amigos!

Those who have gone through infertility or adoption will no doubt find this book compelling. I would recommend it though, whether or not you’ve ever dealt with either of these, as Ted’s treatment of them stands to teach us all a number of lessons. Among these are the beauty of our adoption as children of God, how very much God has blessed us as such, and the glory of the gospel.