A Broken Tree

How DNA Exposed a Family’s Secrets

By: Stephen F. Anderson

Narrated by: David Marantz

Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

All families have stories and all families have secrets. Some stories can be hidden forever. Others come out over time, or suddenly through revelation. With the advent of easy to obtain and cheap DNA kits, more and more people are stumbling across biological secrets they never suspected, sometimes with happy outcomes, but sometimes with shocking results.

In this book, the author provides a real-life example of the shocking revelations and aftermath of DNA investigation. Growing up as one of nine children, Stephen Anderson suspected from a young age that something was amiss. A chance accident, and a small crack in the history of his family broke open. More would come to be revealed as the author sets out on a journey to find answers to his questions. Any listener wondering what a DNA test might reveal will find here one extreme example of family secrets gone awry. As each member learns more about his or her own identity, new family members pop up, fade out, or pass away before relationships can be established or even revealed.

More and more people are undergoing DNA tests and seeking to find long lost relatives though ancestry searches. What they find might upturn all their shared assumptions about family, identity, belonging, and history. Join Stephen as he uncovers his own family’s secrets, the impact they’ve had on his life and his family’s, and what they are all doing now to heal fresh wounds.

©2019 Stephen F. Anderson (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

NPE like me

After finding out through DNA testing that I also have a different father than the one I have believed all my life to be, I seek out books like these. It is intriguing to me and I find comfort in others stories. Note to the author, tell your half siblings! They have a right to know just like us. It may be one of those things you end up wishing you would have done sooner or differently down the road. Good listen:)

Poor narrator

This tragic family story was narrated poorly making it difficult to delineate between poor writing and poor narration or a unique combination of both.

My Family Tree

A life story of my family I never knew. A bit disturbing but definitely an eye opener.

Compelling story of family secrets and DNA

I couldn't put it down. I would compare the impact to what I felt after reading Educated.

Interesting story

I enjoyed the story but not the narrator. Not much expression in his voice. The story was interesting.

A monotone account of a weird family

The story of the Anderson family is, to put it bluntly, weird. While it is not uncommon for a child not to be the offspring of his/her parents (i.e., not an adoption, but a “scandalous” secret), the extent of the mother’s infidelity is truly, truly amazing. I applaud the author’s investigative skills and willingness to use DNA testing to unravel the truth in this situation. Unfortunately, the story is told in a purely linear fashion, one event after another, which does not lend itself very well to suspense or drama. After the first or second reveal, it’s obvious what will occur in the rest of the story. A complicating factor in this book is the fact that the author has to continually refer to the DNA testing, which gets tedious after a while. The other downside the book has is its narration, which is downright painful. I’m honestly not sure whether I recommend this book or not.

Fascinating story, average telling

The story is interesting but the question and answer segment at the end is a bit drawn out.

Fascinating story, poorly told

The author's family story is fascinating and shows the power of genetic DNA to unravel family secrets. However, as other reviewers have noted, the monotone narration of this books is difficult to listen to for very long. I would add that the writing is extremely redundant. The author repeats the same information dozens of times and uses some phrasing over and over. This book could have benefited from a good editor. Eliminating all the repetition could have shorted the book 20% at least. That said, n the hands of a good writer this story could be a best seller or hit TV miniseries.

Be careful what you think you know

This is a story that starts out so simple and ends up proving truth is stranger than fiction. Well worth the time spent listening.

Knowledge is Power

As someone who is currently on a genealogy journey, I found this story fascinating and disturbing at the same time. I really believe there is a great deal of denial in so many families not just the Anderson family. I think you have to demand certain knowledge to grow as an individual and I believe the author should seek out those half siblings sooner than later. In regards to the authors Mother it's hard not to judge her because so much is unknown about her. What is clear is that she lived with many regrets for her choices. I applaud the author for his bravery and hope his journey continues.

Bad narration

Narrators voice is super annoying and sharp with a dreadful accent , it’s ruined what might have been a good book

Interesting story, not very well told.

The story of this family is very interesting. However, it could have been told in a short article. So much padding out was really not necessary. As someone who works with DNA for genealogy, I was disappointed the process was not explained. Maybe a better narrator would have helped.