(17)Inheritance by Dani Shapiro

Sunday, March 1, 2020


Author Dani Shapiro's entire identity has centered around her Jewish heritage.  Her father comes from a long line of Orthodox Jews and that lineage includes several Rabbis. So when Dani's half-sister suggests that they take one of the popular commercial DNA tests, she doesn't expect any surprises. But she gets a really big one, Dani has no DNA in common with her half-sister. The sister who looks just like their father.  The results of one simple DNA test alters Dani's life and sends her on a path of discovery and examination. Who is her biological father if not the man she called "Daddy" her entire life? Will the man who donated his sperm welcome her into his life and provide the answers that she so desperately seeks?

My husband and I took a quick road trip and needed an audiobook to listen to for the trip.  We selected Inheritance because my husband recently made his own discovery on 23&Me.  We went down the same path of furiously googling and even found a YouTube video of the woman we believe is his birth-mother. My husband was adopted, so he always knew he had "people" out there.  The book stirred a lot of conversation between the two of us, though.  Neither one of us felt the kind of connection to our past that the author felt.  She was gutted by her discovery, but neither one of us think we would feel that kind of pain.  Definitely not my husband who is adopted and has known so since he was a young boy. I come from a family of "steps" and "halves" and firmly believe that "family" does not have to share your bloodline in order to be considered family.  In the end, Dani Shapiro got the kind of closure that she was craving, but she also got to learn a lot about herself in the process. 

Bottom Line - Inheritance was a good choice for a "road trip read."  Not only because it was a good book, but because we kept pausing the book so we could talk and discuss the book.  I love books that can spark that kind of conversation. 

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