Book Club Pick for MAY Explores Personal and Social Impacts of Genetic Testing
“A riveting mystery combined with a beautiful meditation on family and identity.”
– Monica Hesse
Our UUCY Book Club takes up a non-fiction narrative for our May 9, 2024, discussion. Susan Kaphammer will have eight library copies of The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland to distribute on a first come, first serve basis the first week of April at Wednesday Coffee and at Sunday Church Service. Additional copies in book and electronic formats are available at Yakima Valley Libraries, or purchase it at Inklings with a Book Club discount.
Join the friendly group at our Book Club meeting, Thursday, May 9, 2024, 3:00 PM at our church home at 407 N 1st Street, Suite 3. Everyone is welcome.
The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland. 2021. 304 pages.
A deeply reported look at home genetic testing and the seismic shock it has had on our culture and on individual lives.
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 a long-buried family secret that upends 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.
In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. She explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a thoroughly modern genetic detective story. Gripping and masterfully told, The Lost Family is a spectacular book on a big, timely subject.
“[The Lost Family] wrestles with some of the biggest questions in life: Who are we? What is family? Are we defined by nature, nurture or both?” — The Washington Post
“Up-to-the-minute science meets the philosophy of identity in a poignant, engaging debut.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Susan Kaphammer has 8 book club copies; additional copies in book and electronic formats are available at Yakima Valley Libraries, or purchase it at Inklings with a Book Club discount.
Book description and reviews excerpted from Inklings Bookshop website.