What if one day you discovered that the parents who raised you weren’t your parents at all? Or that the man you thought was your dad wasn’t your dad? Or that some other secret about your lineage had been kept from you? Countless adoptees and other children have gone through this emotionally difficult discovery. Whether they learn by accident, are told by relatives, or find out by virtue of today’s home DNA testing services, learning that your origins are not what you thought can shake your sense of identity and security.
What happens next depends partly on the type of person you are. Do you dig for the truth? Do you descend into bitterness and resentment? These six stories are all connected by such a discovery and the aftermath. Some are true stories, some are not. Some you may have heard of, and some you’ll be intrigued to learn more about.
Inheritance by Dani Shapiro (Knopf)
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Every day, DNA tests deliver surprising news to some about their paternity and maternity. When Shapiro’s own report came back with an ethnicity that was far off the mark from what she knew of her family’s ancestry, she compared her results with those of her half-sister, her father’s daughter by his first wife, and learned that they shared no DNA at all. “Either my father was not her father or my father was not my father,” writes Shapiro in this New York Times bestselling memoir. Sadly, neither of her parents were alive to provide the answers. Thus begins an exhausting, exhilarating journey to identify and reconnect with her biological father. Along the way, Shapiro’s search uncovers fascinating details about early protocols for artificial insemination that were designed to obscure the true paternity of a conceived child, how new technology has lifted the veil of secrecy, and how knowing where you come from may not fully bring the resolution you are seeking. Read our full review here.
The Last Day in Paradise by Kiki Denis (Gival Press)
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In this award-winning novel, a Greek teen, Sunday, has her world turned upside down when she learns that the father who raised her may not have been her biological father. In order to find the truth, we dig through the lives of Sunday, her mother, Chryssa, and others of her lineage through two lines of narrative — one told by Sunday and the other told by her mother. Along the way, we meet a colorful cast of characters, both relatives and neighbors, and the ties that both chafe and bind them. With over-the-top humor, “Greeklish” wordplay, philosophical insight, and touching drama, Denis weaves a tale of small-town Greece, intergenerational conflicts and family relationships with authenticity and verve. In the end, does it really matter if Sunday’s “Baba” isn’t her “real” father?
The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan (William Morrow)
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Serena Tucker has lived next door to the Sweeney family for most of her life. Little did she know that the three girls — Liza, Maggie and Tricia — are not just her neighbors, but also her half-sisters. Learning the truth via a DNA test kit, she keeps it a secret until the death of the girls’ father, William. An only child, she now is the oldest of the Sweeney sisters; when she reveals her identity to the other three, how will they take it, and what will be Serena’s place in this family? This novel by Dolan, a co-creator of the popular “Satellite Sisters” podcast, explores themes of sisterhood and the life narratives we create about ourselves and others. Read our full review here.
White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing by Gail Lukasik (Skyhorse)
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Gail Lukasik was always curious as to why her mother would never talk about her father (and Gail’s grandfather), Azemar Frederic. Her mother kept family photos of many relatives, but none at all of him. Unbeknownst to her mother, Lukasik decided to check the available census records to find out more about the man. It was then that she made the surprising discovery that Azemar Frederic was Black and that her mother had been “passing” as white most of her adult life. Lukasik’s memoir grapples with the feelings of shame behind her mother’s choice, how she hid her secret even from her own husband, and the price she paid for choosing whiteness. Lukasik embarks on a quest to uncover her mother’s racial lineage, tracing her family back to eighteenth-century colonial Louisiana, and in doing so, redefines her sense of self-identity.
The Number of Man by Linda Kennedy (Gatekeeper Press)
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College student Natalie Combs discovers a journal written by her deceased mother revealing that Natalie was adopted — a secret kept from her for a variety of untold reasons. Natalie’s resulting search for her biological parents leads to an unsettling discovery about her origins: she is one of the few survivors of a strange baby experiment in 1989 to test cloning technology. Worse, she is being tracked and monitored by an implanted ID chip. Her adoptive parents died under suspicious circumstances, and now, as she digs further into the organizations involved, she begins to realize that those helping her with her quest for answers may not have her best interests at heart, either. Filled with ethical and religious questions about the ability to “play God,” the novel explores emerging technologies and their possible repercussions on our lives. Read our full review here.
Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon (MIRA)
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Except for the close relationship she’s had with her adoring father, Eleanor Hardwicke grew up in a dysfunctional family, with a deceitful, selfish mother and competitive, delusional sister. So, when her father lays dying and she discovers he wasn’t her real dad after all, her disillusionment becomes a mission to connect with her biological father and regain the “normal” family life denied to her. But when her efforts are rebuffed, she turns her attention to her half-sister Victoria, who has everything Eleanor wishes for — money, success, a hunk of a husband. Eleanor’s yearning turns to obsession as she embeds herself into Victoria’s life, and things go fatally off the rails. Not only do we not know who’s been killed, we don’t know whodunit, or why they did it … until the bitter end. Read our full review here.
Inheritance by Dani Shapiro
Every day, DNA tests deliver surprising news to some about their paternity and maternity. When Shapiro’s own report came back with an ethnicity that was far off the mark from what she knew of her family’s ancestry, she compared her results with those of her half-sister, her father’s daughter by his first wife, and learned that they shared no DNA at all. “Either my father was not her father or my father was not my father,” writes Shapiro in this New York Times bestselling memoir. Sadly, neither of her parents were alive to provide the answers. Thus begins an exhausting, exhilarating journey to identify and reconnect with her biological father. Along the way, Shapiro’s search uncovers fascinating details about early protocols for artificial insemination that were designed to obscure the true paternity of a conceived child, how new technology has lifted the veil of secrecy, and how knowing where you come from may not fully bring the resolution you are seeking. Read our full review here.
The Last Day in Paradise by Kiki Denis
In this award-winning novel, a Greek teen, Sunday, has her world turned upside down when she learns that the father who raised her may not have been her biological father. In order to find the truth, we dig through the lives of Sunday, her mother, Chryssa, and others of her lineage through two lines of narrative — one told by Sunday and the other told by her mother. Along the way, we meet a colorful cast of characters, both relatives and neighbors, and the ties that both chafe and bind them. With over-the-top humor, “Greeklish” wordplay, philosophical insight, and touching drama, Denis weaves a tale of small-town Greece, intergenerational conflicts and family relationships with authenticity and verve. In the end, does it really matter if Sunday’s “Baba” isn’t her “real” father?
The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan
Serena Tucker has lived next door to the Sweeney family for most of her life. Little did she know that the three girls — Liza, Maggie and Tricia — are not just her neighbors, but also her half-sisters. Learning the truth via a DNA test kit, she keeps it a secret until the death of the girls’ father, William. An only child, she now is the oldest of the Sweeney sisters; when she reveals her identity to the other three, how will they take it, and what will be Serena’s place in this family? This novel by Dolan, a co-creator of the popular “Satellite Sisters” podcast, explores themes of sisterhood and the life narratives we create about ourselves and others. Read our full review here.
White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing by Gail Lukasik
Gail Lukasik was always curious as to why her mother would never talk about her father (and Gail’s grandfather), Azemar Frederic. Her mother kept family photos of many relatives, but none at all of him. Unbeknownst to her mother, Lukasik decided to check the available census records to find out more about the man. It was then that she made the surprising discovery that Azemar Frederic was Black and that her mother had been “passing” as white most of her adult life. Lukasik’s memoir grapples with the feelings of shame behind her mother’s choice, how she hid her secret even from her own husband, and the price she paid for choosing whiteness. Lukasik embarks on a quest to uncover her mother’s racial lineage, tracing her family back to eighteenth-century colonial Louisiana, and in doing so, redefines her sense of self-identity.
The Number of Man by Linda Kennedy
College student Natalie Combs discovers a journal written by her deceased mother revealing that Natalie was adopted — a secret kept from her for a variety of untold reasons. Natalie’s resulting search for her biological parents leads to an unsettling discovery about her origins: she is one of the few survivors of a strange baby experiment in 1989 to test cloning technology. Worse, she is being tracked and monitored by an implanted ID chip. Her adoptive parents died under suspicious circumstances, and now, as she digs further into the organizations involved, she begins to realize that those helping her with her quest for answers may not have her best interests at heart, either. Filled with ethical and religious questions about the ability to “play God,” the novel explores emerging technologies and their possible repercussions on our lives. Read our full review here.
Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon
Except for the close relationship she’s had with her adoring father, Eleanor Hardwicke grew up in a dysfunctional family, with a deceitful, selfish mother and competitive, delusional sister. So, when her father lays dying and she discovers he wasn’t her real dad after all, her disillusionment becomes a mission to connect with her biological father and regain the “normal” family life denied to her. But when her efforts are rebuffed, she turns her attention to her half-sister Victoria, who has everything Eleanor wishes for — money, success, a hunk of a husband. Eleanor’s yearning turns to obsession as she embeds herself into Victoria’s life, and things go fatally off the rails. Not only do we not know who’s been killed, we don’t know whodunit, or why they did it … until the bitter end. Read our full review here.
