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Topic Guide

Family History & Genealogy - True Stories

By:

Loutit_Adults

Loutit District Library

Staff-created list

'Return from whence you came!' with these books about family heritage. Learn more about yourself while also exploring the lives of others.

By:

Loutit_Adults

Loutit District Library

21 items

21 items

Inheritance

Inheritance

A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

by Shapiro, Dani

Book - 2019

The acclaimed and beloved author of Hourglass now gives us a new memoir about identity, paternity, and family secrets--a real-time exploration of the stag...Show more The acclaimed and beloved author of Hourglass now gives us a new memoir about identity, paternity, and family secrets--a real-time exploration of the staggering discovery she made last year about her father, and her struggle to piece together the hidden the story of her own life. Show less

The acclaimed and beloved author of Hourglass now gives us a new memoir about identity, paternity, and family secrets--a real-time exploration of the stag...Show more The acclaimed and beloved author of Hourglass now gives us a new memoir about identity, paternity, and family secrets--a real-time exploration of the staggering discovery she made last year about her father, and her struggle to piece together the hidden the story of her own life. Show less

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Finding Family

Finding Family

My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA

by Hill, Richard

Book - 2017

The highly suspenseful account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including...Show more The highly suspenseful account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including the author's landmark use of DNA testing, takes readers on an exhilarating roller-coaster ride and concludes with a twist that rivals anything Hollywood has to offer. Show less

The highly suspenseful account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including...Show more The highly suspenseful account of an adoptee trying to reclaim the biological family denied him by sealed birth records. This fascinating quest, including the author's landmark use of DNA testing, takes readers on an exhilarating roller-coaster ride and concludes with a twist that rivals anything Hollywood has to offer. Show less

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True Identity

True Identity

Cracking the Oldest Kidnapping Cold Case and Finding My Missing Twin

by Fronczak, Paul Joseph

Book - 2021

A man desperate to know his true identity struggles to solve the infamous kidnapping that nearly destroyed his family--and find his twin sister, who has been missing for more than fifty years. A man desperate to know his true identity struggles to solve the infamous kidnapping that nearly destroyed his family--and find his twin sister, who has been missing for more than fifty years. Show less

A man desperate to know his true identity struggles to solve the infamous kidnapping that nearly destroyed his family--and find his twin sister, who has been missing for more than fifty years. A man desperate to know his true identity struggles to solve the infamous kidnapping that nearly destroyed his family--and find his twin sister, who has been missing for more than fifty years. Show less

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The Lost Family

The Lost Family

How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are

by Copeland, Libby

Book - 2020

You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came fr...Show more You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry certain genetic risks. Or the report could reveal long-buried family secrets and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon a lark becomes an obsession, a relentless drive to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like "Who am I?" and "Where did I come from?" Welcome to the age of home genetic testing. Show less

You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came fr...Show more You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry certain genetic risks. Or the report could reveal long-buried family secrets and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon a lark becomes an obsession, a relentless drive to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like "Who am I?" and "Where did I come from?" Welcome to the age of home genetic testing. Show less

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Futureface

Futureface

A Family Mystery, An Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging

by Wagner, Alex

Book - 2018

The daughter of a Burmese mother and a white American father, Alex Wagner grew up thinking of herself as a “futureface”—an avatar of a mixed-race future w...Show more The daughter of a Burmese mother and a white American father, Alex Wagner grew up thinking of herself as a “futureface”—an avatar of a mixed-race future when all races would merge into a brown singularity. But when one family mystery leads to another, Wagner’s post-racial ideals fray as she becomes obsessed with the specifics her own family’s racial and ethnic history. Drawn into the wild world of ancestry, she embarks upon a quest around the world—and into her own DNA—to answer the ultimate questions of who she really is and where she belongs. Show less

The daughter of a Burmese mother and a white American father, Alex Wagner grew up thinking of herself as a “futureface”—an avatar of a mixed-race future w...Show more The daughter of a Burmese mother and a white American father, Alex Wagner grew up thinking of herself as a “futureface”—an avatar of a mixed-race future when all races would merge into a brown singularity. But when one family mystery leads to another, Wagner’s post-racial ideals fray as she becomes obsessed with the specifics her own family’s racial and ethnic history. Drawn into the wild world of ancestry, she embarks upon a quest around the world—and into her own DNA—to answer the ultimate questions of who she really is and where she belongs. Show less

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Why Didn't You Tell Me?

Why Didn't You Tell Me?

A Memoir

by Wong, Carmen Rita

eBook - 2022

A former national television host, advice columnist, and professor, Carmen searches to understand who she really is as she discovers her mother’s hidden h...Show more A former national television host, advice columnist, and professor, Carmen searches to understand who she really is as she discovers her mother’s hidden history, facing the revelations that seep out. Why Didn’t You Tell Me? is a riveting and poignant story of Carmen’s experience of race and culture in America and how they shape who we think we are. Show less

A former national television host, advice columnist, and professor, Carmen searches to understand who she really is as she discovers her mother’s hidden h...Show more A former national television host, advice columnist, and professor, Carmen searches to understand who she really is as she discovers her mother’s hidden history, facing the revelations that seep out. Why Didn’t You Tell Me? is a riveting and poignant story of Carmen’s experience of race and culture in America and how they shape who we think we are. Show less

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When I Was White

When I Was White

by Valentine, Sarah

Book - 2019

Her entire family and community had conspired to maintain her white identity. The supreme discomfort her white family and community felt about addressing ...Show more Her entire family and community had conspired to maintain her white identity. The supreme discomfort her white family and community felt about addressing issues of race--her race--is a microcosm of race relationships in America. A black woman who lived her formative years identifying as white, Sarah's story is a kind of Rachel Dolezal in reverse, though her 'passing' was less intentional than conspiracy. This memoir is an examination of the cost of being black in America, and how one woman threw off the racial identity she'd grown up with, in order to embrace a new one Show less

Her entire family and community had conspired to maintain her white identity. The supreme discomfort her white family and community felt about addressing ...Show more Her entire family and community had conspired to maintain her white identity. The supreme discomfort her white family and community felt about addressing issues of race--her race--is a microcosm of race relationships in America. A black woman who lived her formative years identifying as white, Sarah's story is a kind of Rachel Dolezal in reverse, though her 'passing' was less intentional than conspiracy. This memoir is an examination of the cost of being black in America, and how one woman threw off the racial identity she'd grown up with, in order to embrace a new one Show less

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My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me

A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past

by Teege, Jennifer

Book - 2015

Teege is 38—married, with two small children—when by chance she finds a library book about her grandfather, Amon Goeth. Millions of people worldwide know ...Show more Teege is 38—married, with two small children—when by chance she finds a library book about her grandfather, Amon Goeth. Millions of people worldwide know of him through Ralph Fiennes’ chilling portrayal in Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List. Goeth was the brutal commandant of the Plaszów concentration camp—Oskar Schindler’s drinking buddy, and yet his adversary. Responsible for the deaths of thousands, Amon Goeth was hanged in 1946. Goeth’s partner Ruth, Teege’s much-loved grandmother, committed suicide in 1983. Teege is their daughter’s daughter; her father is Nigerian. Raised by foster parents, she grew up with no knowledge of the family secret. Now, it unsettles her profoundly. What can she say to her Jewish friends, or to her own children? Who is she—truly? Show less

Teege is 38—married, with two small children—when by chance she finds a library book about her grandfather, Amon Goeth. Millions of people worldwide know ...Show more Teege is 38—married, with two small children—when by chance she finds a library book about her grandfather, Amon Goeth. Millions of people worldwide know of him through Ralph Fiennes’ chilling portrayal in Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List. Goeth was the brutal commandant of the Plaszów concentration camp—Oskar Schindler’s drinking buddy, and yet his adversary. Responsible for the deaths of thousands, Amon Goeth was hanged in 1946. Goeth’s partner Ruth, Teege’s much-loved grandmother, committed suicide in 1983. Teege is their daughter’s daughter; her father is Nigerian. Raised by foster parents, she grew up with no knowledge of the family secret. Now, it unsettles her profoundly. What can she say to her Jewish friends, or to her own children? Who is she—truly? Show less

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Jefferson's Daughters

Jefferson's Daughters

Three Sisters, White and Black, in A Young America

by Kerrison, Catherine

Book - 2018

Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. In Jefferson's Daught...Show more Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. In Jefferson's Daughters, Catherine Kerrison, a scholar of early American and women's history, recounts the remarkable journey of these three women - and how their struggle to define themselves reflects both the possibilities and the limitations that resulted from the American Revolution. Show less

Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. In Jefferson's Daught...Show more Thomas Jefferson had three daughters: Martha and Maria by his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson, and Harriet by his slave Sally Hemings. In Jefferson's Daughters, Catherine Kerrison, a scholar of early American and women's history, recounts the remarkable journey of these three women - and how their struggle to define themselves reflects both the possibilities and the limitations that resulted from the American Revolution. Show less

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The Hemingses of Monticello

The Hemingses of Monticello

An American Family

by Gordon-Reed, Annette

Book - 2008

This epic work tells the story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from American history unti...Show more This epic work tells the story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from American history until very recently. Now, historian and legal scholar Annette Gordon-Reed traces the Hemings family from its origins in Virginia in the 1700s to the family’s dispersal after Jefferson’s death in 1826. Show less

This epic work tells the story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from American history unti...Show more This epic work tells the story of the Hemingses, whose close blood ties to our third president had been systematically expunged from American history until very recently. Now, historian and legal scholar Annette Gordon-Reed traces the Hemings family from its origins in Virginia in the 1700s to the family’s dispersal after Jefferson’s death in 1826. Show less

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Roots

Roots

The Saga of An American Family : the 30th Anniversary Edition

by Haley, Alex

Book - 2007

As the first black American writer to trace his origins back to their roots, Haley has told the story of 25,000,000 Americans of African descent. He has r...Show more As the first black American writer to trace his origins back to their roots, Haley has told the story of 25,000,000 Americans of African descent. He has rediscovered for an entire people a rich cultural heritage that slavery took away from them, along with their names and their identities. But Roots speaks, finally, not just to blacks, or to whites, but to all people and all races everywhere, for the story it tells is one of the most eloquent testimonials ever written to the indomitability of the human spirit. Show less

As the first black American writer to trace his origins back to their roots, Haley has told the story of 25,000,000 Americans of African descent. He has r...Show more As the first black American writer to trace his origins back to their roots, Haley has told the story of 25,000,000 Americans of African descent. He has rediscovered for an entire people a rich cultural heritage that slavery took away from them, along with their names and their identities. But Roots speaks, finally, not just to blacks, or to whites, but to all people and all races everywhere, for the story it tells is one of the most eloquent testimonials ever written to the indomitability of the human spirit. Show less

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American Ghost

American Ghost

A Family's Haunted Past in the Desert Southwest

by Nordhaus, Hannah

Book - 2015

Award-winning journalist and author of The Beekeeper's Lament attempts to discover the truth about her great-great-grandmother, Julia--whose ghost is said...Show more Award-winning journalist and author of The Beekeeper's Lament attempts to discover the truth about her great-great-grandmother, Julia--whose ghost is said to haunt an elegant hotel in Santa Fe--in this spellbinding exploration of myth, family history, and the American West. Show less

Award-winning journalist and author of The Beekeeper's Lament attempts to discover the truth about her great-great-grandmother, Julia--whose ghost is said...Show more Award-winning journalist and author of The Beekeeper's Lament attempts to discover the truth about her great-great-grandmother, Julia--whose ghost is said to haunt an elegant hotel in Santa Fe--in this spellbinding exploration of myth, family history, and the American West. Show less

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Maizy Chen's Last Chance

Maizy Chen's Last Chance

by Yee, Lisa

Book - 2023

For Youth: Eleven-year-old Maizy Chen visits her estranged grandparents, who own and run a Chinese restaurant in Last Chance, Minnesota; as her visit lengthens, she makes unexpected discoveries about her family's history and herself For Youth: Eleven-year-old Maizy Chen visits her estranged grandparents, who own and run a Chinese restaurant in Last Chance, Minnesota; as her visit lengthens, she makes unexpected discoveries about her family's history and herself Show less

For Youth: Eleven-year-old Maizy Chen visits her estranged grandparents, who own and run a Chinese restaurant in Last Chance, Minnesota; as her visit lengthens, she makes unexpected discoveries about her family's history and herself For Youth: Eleven-year-old Maizy Chen visits her estranged grandparents, who own and run a Chinese restaurant in Last Chance, Minnesota; as her visit lengthens, she makes unexpected discoveries about her family's history and herself Show less

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Annie's Ghosts

Annie's Ghosts

A Journey Into A Family Secret

by Luxenberg, Steve

eBook - 2009

Beth Luxenberg was an only child, or so her son Steve believed. But secrets have a way of working free of their keepers, as this true story reveals. Appr...Show more Beth Luxenberg was an only child, or so her son Steve believed. But secrets have a way of working free of their keepers, as this true story reveals. Approaching her 80th birthday, Steve's mother told a doctor that she had a disabled sister, without saying that she had always pretended that she was an only child. When Steve learned of his mother's slip, he was mystified. If his mom had a sibling, why had her existence been resolutely concealed for decades? Show less

Beth Luxenberg was an only child, or so her son Steve believed. But secrets have a way of working free of their keepers, as this true story reveals. Appr...Show more Beth Luxenberg was an only child, or so her son Steve believed. But secrets have a way of working free of their keepers, as this true story reveals. Approaching her 80th birthday, Steve's mother told a doctor that she had a disabled sister, without saying that she had always pretended that she was an only child. When Steve learned of his mother's slip, he was mystified. If his mom had a sibling, why had her existence been resolutely concealed for decades? Show less

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Guide to Genealogy

Guide to Genealogy

by Resler, T. J.

Book - 2018

For Youth: Presents tips and techniques for doing genealogical research, offering insight into immigration and major internal migrations throughout U.S. h...Show more For Youth: Presents tips and techniques for doing genealogical research, offering insight into immigration and major internal migrations throughout U.S. history, providing hands-on activities, and sharing advice on avoiding the problems that stump genealogists. Show less

For Youth: Presents tips and techniques for doing genealogical research, offering insight into immigration and major internal migrations throughout U.S. h...Show more For Youth: Presents tips and techniques for doing genealogical research, offering insight into immigration and major internal migrations throughout U.S. history, providing hands-on activities, and sharing advice on avoiding the problems that stump genealogists. Show less

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Don't You Ever

Don't You Ever

My Mother and Her Secret Son

by Bishop, Mary Carter

Book - 2018

From a prizewinning journalist, Mary Carter Bishop, a moving and beautifully rendered memoir about the half-brother she didn’t know existed that hauntingly explores family, class, secrets, and fate. From a prizewinning journalist, Mary Carter Bishop, a moving and beautifully rendered memoir about the half-brother she didn’t know existed that hauntingly explores family, class, secrets, and fate. Show less

From a prizewinning journalist, Mary Carter Bishop, a moving and beautifully rendered memoir about the half-brother she didn’t know existed that hauntingly explores family, class, secrets, and fate. From a prizewinning journalist, Mary Carter Bishop, a moving and beautifully rendered memoir about the half-brother she didn’t know existed that hauntingly explores family, class, secrets, and fate. Show less

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Epilogue

Epilogue

A Memoir

by Boast, Will

Book - 2014

For Will Boast, what looked like the end turned out to be a new beginning. After losing his mother and only brother, twenty-four-year-old Boast finds hims...Show more For Will Boast, what looked like the end turned out to be a new beginning. After losing his mother and only brother, twenty-four-year-old Boast finds himself absolutely alone when his father dies of alcoholism. Numbly settling the matters of his father’s estate, Boast stumbles upon documents revealing a closely guarded secret his father had meant to keep: he’d had another family entirely, a wife and two sons. Show less

For Will Boast, what looked like the end turned out to be a new beginning. After losing his mother and only brother, twenty-four-year-old Boast finds hims...Show more For Will Boast, what looked like the end turned out to be a new beginning. After losing his mother and only brother, twenty-four-year-old Boast finds himself absolutely alone when his father dies of alcoholism. Numbly settling the matters of his father’s estate, Boast stumbles upon documents revealing a closely guarded secret his father had meant to keep: he’d had another family entirely, a wife and two sons. Show less

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Do Not Disclose

Do Not Disclose

A Memoir of Family Secrets Lost and Found

by Krygier, Leora

eBook - 2021

Leora, a juvenile court judge, wife, mother, and daughter, is caught in the routine of work, taking care of her family and aging parents. But she's also a...Show more Leora, a juvenile court judge, wife, mother, and daughter, is caught in the routine of work, taking care of her family and aging parents. But she's also a second-generation Holocaust survivor. It's an identity she didn't understand was hers until she accidentally discovered a secret file of handwritten notes addressed to her father. A further discovery of a seemingly random WWII postcard in a thrift store sets her on a collision course with the past in this lyrical memoir about secrets hidden within secrets, both present-day and buried deep within wartime Europe. Show less

Leora, a juvenile court judge, wife, mother, and daughter, is caught in the routine of work, taking care of her family and aging parents. But she's also a...Show more Leora, a juvenile court judge, wife, mother, and daughter, is caught in the routine of work, taking care of her family and aging parents. But she's also a second-generation Holocaust survivor. It's an identity she didn't understand was hers until she accidentally discovered a secret file of handwritten notes addressed to her father. A further discovery of a seemingly random WWII postcard in a thrift store sets her on a collision course with the past in this lyrical memoir about secrets hidden within secrets, both present-day and buried deep within wartime Europe. Show less

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Family Memories

Family Memories

An Autobiographical Journey

by West, Rebecca

eBook - 2010

Family Memories tells the story of three families: Rebecca West's maternal line, the Mackenzies, which she traces back to Highland pipers on one side and ...Show more Family Memories tells the story of three families: Rebecca West's maternal line, the Mackenzies, which she traces back to Highland pipers on one side and wealthy textile manufacturers on the other; her paternal line, the Fairfields, a dispossessed Anglo-Irish Army family with aristocratic connections and the Maxwell Andrews, her husband's family, an exotic mixture of Lithuanian, Lancastrian and Scottish. Show less

Family Memories tells the story of three families: Rebecca West's maternal line, the Mackenzies, which she traces back to Highland pipers on one side and ...Show more Family Memories tells the story of three families: Rebecca West's maternal line, the Mackenzies, which she traces back to Highland pipers on one side and wealthy textile manufacturers on the other; her paternal line, the Fairfields, a dispossessed Anglo-Irish Army family with aristocratic connections and the Maxwell Andrews, her husband's family, an exotic mixture of Lithuanian, Lancastrian and Scottish. Show less

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Prisoners of Memory

Prisoners of Memory

by Haahr, Joan Gluckauf

eBook - 2021

Growing up in a family of Holocaust survivors, Joan Haahr was aware from an early age of the devastation wrought by the Nazis and their sympathizers on Eu...Show more Growing up in a family of Holocaust survivors, Joan Haahr was aware from an early age of the devastation wrought by the Nazis and their sympathizers on Europe's Jewish population. She also witnessed firsthand the dysfunctions that plagued many of those who had made it out alive. In Prisoners of Memory, Haahr realizes her lifelong ambition to uncover the stories behind the statistics in the Nazi records and learn as much as possible about the pre-war lives, deportations, and deaths of her grandparents and other close family members. Show less

Growing up in a family of Holocaust survivors, Joan Haahr was aware from an early age of the devastation wrought by the Nazis and their sympathizers on Eu...Show more Growing up in a family of Holocaust survivors, Joan Haahr was aware from an early age of the devastation wrought by the Nazis and their sympathizers on Europe's Jewish population. She also witnessed firsthand the dysfunctions that plagued many of those who had made it out alive. In Prisoners of Memory, Haahr realizes her lifelong ambition to uncover the stories behind the statistics in the Nazi records and learn as much as possible about the pre-war lives, deportations, and deaths of her grandparents and other close family members. Show less

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Tracing your Family History With the Whole Family

Tracing your Family History With the Whole Family

by McConnell, Robin

Book - 2022

A plethora of genealogy books primarily assume that family history research is by adults, for adults, marking family history as an 'adults only' sphere of...Show more A plethora of genealogy books primarily assume that family history research is by adults, for adults, marking family history as an 'adults only' sphere of life. This book establishes a new dimension in family history research. It is written in the belief that engaging in family history is a venture for all of the present-day family, regardless of age and, sometimes, because of age. To assist those of all ages who venture into this wider domain of family history the book is laden with practical examples. Show less

A plethora of genealogy books primarily assume that family history research is by adults, for adults, marking family history as an 'adults only' sphere of...Show more A plethora of genealogy books primarily assume that family history research is by adults, for adults, marking family history as an 'adults only' sphere of life. This book establishes a new dimension in family history research. It is written in the belief that engaging in family history is a venture for all of the present-day family, regardless of age and, sometimes, because of age. To assist those of all ages who venture into this wider domain of family history the book is laden with practical examples. Show less

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