The 50-Year Secret

By: Julie MacNeil

Narrated by: Christina Betz

Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

Julie MacNeil is 6'4," and although she is neither a WNBA athlete nor a famous model, she has a remarkable story to tell. As an adopted child, she always wondered about the parents who gave her up. After overcoming a challenging childhood and surviving two tumultuous marriages, a chance DNA test revealed an incredibly rare and life-threatening liver-lung disease called alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Julie then embarked on a difficult journey to find her birth family. Her goal was to warn them about the disease, which is highly genetic and often undiagnosed. What followed was a miraculous sequence of events and a remarkable homecoming.

©2018 Julie MacNeil (P)2021 Julie MacNeil

A Must-Read!

I loved listening to the story of Julie MacNeil on Audible. It was engaging and I found myself pressing "play" at any spare moment throughout my day! I was never bored and even laughed out loud while listening. Julie's story was inspiring and I loved learning more about alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency in an interesting way. I would highly recommend this book!

Loved Julie's story on so many levels.

This book made me think about my own life and how my experiences shaped who I am today. We each come to the planet with a personality and yet our families and the other people in our lives greatly influence us.

I loved the humor filled - tell it like it - is way Julie shared her story. I've been waiting for this book to come out for about a year now and was not disappointed.

We all have different challenges and triumphs in our lives. When we share our experiences openly like Julie does, it reminds us how connected we are.

The people in her life that were unexpectedly kind when she really needed it, the things that happened just at the right time, the chances she took that she might be rejected, and rewards from being brave in the face of the unknown are things we can all relate to.

If you're looking for a true story that's both entertaining and thought provoking you'll enjoy this book !

A true story close to my heart that made me cry

I am a fellow Alpha, as if my wife, our son and daughter. Our son was diagnosed at 4 weeks old, we had no idea what Alpha was and we were terrified not knowing what was wrong with his damaged liver. The doctors kept doing different tests and then passed us to another hospital for further tests. Nobody knew why his liver had issues and how to fix it. We were eventually told he had Alpha-1.

Julie's story is such a good read. She is an inspiration and somebody to look up to. She faced so many trials and she always pushed through, trying her best to keep smiling. The book is so well written that by the end, I felt that I personally knew Julie and I was there in the shadows by her side. I am so happy for Julie and for how things have turned out for her in the end.