Mother Teresa looked tired, doing her best to greet the swarm of people around her. Finally, it was like the sea parted and we were in her arms. I felt I had known her all my life. Her presence was so immediate, so focused. She made us feel totally welcome. She held my hand as I pled our case.
"We want to be parents," I told her. "We want this child."

Americans adopting a baby girl in India from a Missionaries of Charity orphanage is not a common occurrence. The order rarely worked with Americans, the Richesons were not Catholic, and Bonnie had been previously divorced.
Three strikes.
But Bonnie and Cliff refused to be counted out. They would struggle against every hope, even carrying their appeal to Mother Teresa herself, to bring that baby girl home as their daughter.

~ "Bonnie's story of the quest to adopt a tiny girl-child first seen tucked away in a darkened corner of an orphanage high in the Indian Himalayas gracefully weaves together many compelling threads—the lives of a young Midwest couple, their overseas adventures, a glimpse into Indian history in the time of Indira Gandhi, and the life and times of Mother Teresa. Above all this is a tale of love at first sight and the remarkable journey to make the dream of her adoption come true—well and truly against all odds."
Gretchen Liu
Architectural historian, journalist, and author of "Singapore Sketchbook"