Inheritance

A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

By: Dani Shapiro

Narrated by: Dani Shapiro

Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

An Instant New York Times Best Seller

A Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, and National Indie Best Seller

A Best Book of the Year According to Elle, Real Simple, and Kirkus Reviews

"Memoir gold: a profound and exquisitely rendered exploration of identity and the true meaning of family." (People Magazine)

"Beautifully written and deeply moving - it brought me to tears more than once." (Ruth Franklin, The New York Times Book Review)

From the acclaimed, best-selling memoirist, novelist - "a writer of rare talent" (Cheryl Strayed) - and host of the hit podcast Family Secrets, comes a memoir about the staggering family secret uncovered by a genealogy test: an exploration of the urgent ethical questions surrounding fertility treatments and DNA testing, and a profound inquiry of paternity, identity, and love.

What makes us who we are? What combination of memory, history, biology, experience, and that ineffable thing called the soul defines us?

In the spring of 2016, through a genealogy website to which she had whimsically submitted her DNA for analysis, Dani Shapiro received the stunning news that her father was not her biological father. She woke up one morning and her entire history - the life she had lived - crumbled beneath her.

Inheritance is an audiobook about secrets - secrets within families, kept out of shame or self-protectiveness; secrets we keep from one another in the name of love. It is the story of a woman's urgent quest to unlock the story of her own identity, a story that has been scrupulously hidden from her for more than 50 years, years she had spent writing brilliantly, and compulsively, on themes of identity and family history. It is an audiobook about the extraordinary moment we live in - a moment in which science and technology have outpaced not only medical ethics, but also the capacities of the human heart to contend with the consequences of what we discover.

©2019 Dani Shapiro (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

New York Times Editors' Choice

A Washington Post, Vulture, Bustle, Real Simple, PopSugar, and LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2019

“[An] engrossing, compassionate memoir.... As in the best writing on the self, the point is the integrity of her search.” —Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker

“The writing is that of a true storyteller who will not stop until she has bored down to the bottom of where she came from, and in this she is at her narrative best.” —Oprah Magazine

“As compulsively readable as a mystery novel, while exploring the deeper mysteries of identity and family and truth itself... a story told with great insight and honesty and heart.” —San Francisco Chronicle

Wow!

As a person who questions the fate
Of my own biological father I found this work so very interesting. The vivid and lucid descriptions of a trauma so deep is purely enjoyable and puts you in the center of the controlled chaos of having your entire existence tilled and replanted. A must- listen/read - you won’t regret it.

Wonderful!

As a product of artificial insemination I found Dani Shapiro’s memoir touching and soul searching. She is insightful, intelligent and articulate. Her words tug on your heart. Indeed, a very talented performance. If this topic has any meaning for you this is a must listen.

Excellent

A really wonderful story that is both enthralling and heart wrenching and will capture your attention so that you will not be able to quit listening to it without great effort. Narrator was excellent.

I laughed, I cried. Memorable memoir.

Short and to the point, I was totally captured by this book, by Dani’s story, by her reading and by her discoveries about herself, her family and about Life. If you are human you will enjoy this book.

Gripping book even better when read by the author

I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Her elegant language and poetic portrayal of intense emotions blew me away. I felt like I was living it with her. My favorite book from the last year.

Finding out who you are

Dani Shapiro writes a very moving and interesting story of finding out who she is through DNA testing and determination.

great subject but a tad redundant

I liked it a lot. Great subject and character building. The last few chapters seemed like the story could have ended. but it went on and on.

Excellent Writer, Excellent Listen

I have never read any of her other books, and was only a little aware of Dani Shapiro through her occasional work in the New Yorker. This book was recommended to me by a genealogist friend, and I started it with concern it would be like so many other books written about a never-ending search for elusive ancestors leading to a surprise ancestor like Charlemagne. This book isn't like that at all. First, Dani Shapiro is a superb writer. Without spoiling the the memoir, I will just say that she will absorb you immediately into her deeply personal story, and you will be grateful for every sentence and every word as you take this journey with her. She is truly a talented writer, and I will be seeking out her other work, no matter what the subject.

I love Dani

I truly loved the story. I listen to Danny's Podcast family secrets and the more she talks about her own story the more I needed to hear it. I am so grateful that I got to listen to the story it's amazing.

Could Have Been My Story

This is a deeply moving and very well written story of someone who dug deeply to uncover secrets and lies of the past. Her unbreakable bond with her dad is so parallel to mine with my dad, it brought back many thoughts and stories I had heard growing up. I loved the book and it has given me a renewed interest in my family’s history.