by Bill Griffeth, 2016, New England Historic Genealogical Society

I heard about this book at one of my genealogical society lectures and thought I would pick it up as it relates to one of our family member’s situation.  The book is interesting in understanding how someone feels when he finds from a DNA test that his father was not who he thought he was but someone entirely different.

The author’s mother was still alive when he discovered that she had an affair and he is the product of that indiscretion.  Griffeth describes the torment he experienced in dealing with not only the shock of his discovery, but also how to communicate with his mother about the affair.

While the theme of the book is compelling, the book also contains a lot of family history that was no longer valid due to his newly found parentage.  The book started out as a private memoir that he was writing for his family so that explains why so much of that material is in the book.  That particular part of the book was not very interesting and reminded me of having experienced someone delving into their ancestry at a dinner or cocktail party while my eyes glazed over as I attempted to pay attention.  Nonetheless, the book relates the emotional impact of such a discovery on the person affected and it is worth reading.