Skip to main content

Inheritance


⭐⭐⭐/5

New York Times best seller 
“A gripping genetic detective story, and a meditation on the meaning of parenthood and family.” (Jennifer Egan, author of Manhattan Beach)
A Washington Post, Vulture, Bustle, Real Simple, PopSugar, and LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2019 and an Apple Books Best of January 2019
From the acclaimed, best-selling memoirist and novelist - “a writer of rare talent” (Cheryl Strayed) - a memoir about the staggering family secret uncovered by a genealogy test: an exploration of the urgent ethical questions surrounding fertility treatments and DNA testing, and a profound inquiry of paternity, identity, and love. 
What makes us who we are? What combination of memory, history, biology, experience, and that ineffable thing called the soul defines us?
In the spring of 2016, through a genealogy website to which she had whimsically submitted her DNA for analysis, Dani Shapiro received the stunning news that her father was not her biological father. She woke up one morning and her entire history - the life she had lived - crumbled beneath her.
Inheritance is an audiobook about secrets - secrets within families, kept out of shame or self-protectiveness; secrets we keep from one another in the name of love. It is the story of a woman's urgent quest to unlock the story of her own identity, a story that has been scrupulously hidden from her for more than 50 years, years she had spent writing brilliantly, and compulsively, on themes of identity and family history. It is an audiobook about the extraordinary moment we live in - a moment in which science and technology have outpaced not only medical ethics, but also the capacities of the human heart to contend with the consequences of what we discover."

I had the pleasure of listening to this one twice.  Once solo during walks and car commutes and once with my husband on a car trip to Florida for Spring Break vacation.  Ms. Shapiro tells a heartbreaking story that caused me such pause to wonder what i would have done, how I would have felt should I have encountered the same circumstances.  She writes beautifully of how she arrives at her coming to terms with the truth of the story and how she finds place for both her father and her biological father.  Her husband Michael is the grounding force needed in each of our lives as we go through emotions of our family.  So much of how she perceives her family took place long before they were together, yet he so gently allows her to feel without wallow in the outcome.  Beautifully done!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Books That Help Me Through

  Today I'm recreating my version of Oprah's "Books That Help Me Through" with a stack of my own version. These amazing books are each part of my growing stack of 'helpers'. Each came into my life at a different time and helped me through what I was going through at the time. Now is one of those times in our country, with our family and friends that we need to finish the year strong. Here's my stack: 10% Happier - Dan Harris Leaving the Enchanted Forest - Liana Beckett Learning to Breathe - Priscilla Warner Rising Strong - Brene Brown Real Happiness - Sharon Salzberg A Year by the Sea - Joan Anderson A Woman's Journey to God - Joan Borysenko Tell Me More - Kelly Corrigan I'm also in gratitude for my awesome new t-shirt from Jocelyn who makes the most amazing products. She designed my graphic and also a really great raising mental health awareness water bottle! She's fantastic. Please visit her Etsy shop Marked by Jo. There's a link on home ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Last Romantics

⭐⭐⭐⭐ What a story ..and four star because five don't come that easily to me! Family drama, abandonment, love, loss and forgiveness fill this story that should not be remembered by the title.  Which was only the name of a blog written by an anonymous author.  This family grew apart and then in threads found a way back.  But like any cloth that's been severed, it was never the same strength, feel or look than the original.  Or was the original never that strong.
Post a Comment
Read more

Hello, Sunshine

⭐⭐⭐ Audio book. I thoroughly enjoyed Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave.  When I moved on the First Husband I thought, 'meh.'  And when I read Hello, Sunshine I was glad I found it on audio as it made for an entertaining listen.  Abeit light, it did entertain.  Loved the picturesque setting in the Hamptons and the summer lifestyle with hints of New York City.  Two books in a row for me where someone else's child had a profound impact on the protagonist.  Story of love, forgiveness, regret, friendship and acceptance. light as air, bright as sunshine!
Post a Comment
Read more