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The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Uncovering Secrets, Reuniting Relatives, and Upending Who We Are
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.
a thoroughly modern genetic detective story.
294 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2020
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June 5, 2020
I finished the book. It's a mixture of stories and everything to do with commercial, personal DNA testing. The discussions on ethics were most interesting. We don't have much privacy now, what with Facebook, Twitter and Google tracking us all on every single site on the net, but DNA testing is the end to all secrets. The next era is one of complete transparency. Whether you like it or not.
Libby Copeland divides those who get a DNA test into three categories.
The first are the avid genealogists who've been members of Ancestry.com for years
The second group are those that have a reason, adoptees, people suspecting Dad isn't the sperm donor or wondering if they've inherited a gene that spells disease.
The third group are those that get a kit for Christmas, or want to find out if it is true there is a Native American ancestor.
My son falls into the third group and we did get a surprise. 64.6% came out as European. Since I am of 100% Russian Jewish ancestry, 50% of it was not a surprise. My ex husband who is Black had a Welsh grandfather so not having a major sub-Saharan African component wasn't unexpected, but the surprise was my son is 52.8% Jewish. We are wondering about the 2.8%! His maternal haplogroup turns out to be Middle-Eastern, my family go back a long way!
In the book it is said that a database of only 3 million samples will mean that everyone in the US can be searched for and found by familial DNA. I would have thought it more like 30 million because middle-class whites are over-represented and African-Americans very much don't support it. I don't blame them. DNA databases and eugenics are made for each other. Terrorist groups, whether cults, religious or racist, could mine them to evil effect.
In the near future, I am sure that babies will have their DNA tested at birth. On the one hand, traits for diseases (that they may never have got) can be known and perhaps prevented. Everyone will know who their Daddy is, not who their mother says who is the father. But equally, should the baby have a predisposition to some very dread diseases that require a lot of medical care, could that be used as an excuse to deny medical insurance or up the premiums? Would it not be used to deny them entry into the military or other organisations? Would parents be happy letting their children marry them? And what about racial profiling and intelligence (not possible yet, but I'm sure they will identify the gene for that and report on it as and when).
What will that do to educational and career prospects? Undoubtedly all this DNA will be collected by local government and used for planning resource use, as well as police databases, the Mormon Church (Ancestry.com was founded by and probably still owned by a Mormon) who will then baptise all your dead family by proxy.
CRISPR is a gene-editing technology (see She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity) which the Chinese apparently have used for the first time to produce a genetically-altered baby. If that really has happened, if that really is possible, you can see the very wealthy queuing up to get their designer baby, beautiful, intelligent, healthy and the poor becoming those that cannot afford any modifications and will end up the underclass of so many dystopian novels.
There is the thought that many more murders will be solved. Or prevented. Say there is a gene for psychopathy? SInce many murderers and other criminals are psychopaths, how does that mean the child will be treated? It isn't an illness, there isn't a cure. But then most psychopaths do not commit crimes, any mayhem they cause (I know two very well) is strictly in their personal lives. That's no different from other nasty people.
But more murders and crimes will not be solved. Criminals are a market, in prison they are a captive market, and this has led to the development of very expensive small phones they can stick up their botties, ways of smuggling drugs in (drones is one, drugs being glue or paper another) etc. There will be a market for items that protect criminals from leaving any DNA. So probably lots more minor criminals will be caught but the planners, the serial killers, the career criminals, I don't think so.
Meanwhile there will come a knock at the door from the police saying they are investigating a crime and your DNA indicates you are related, perhaps a third cousin. Refuse their questioning and a further sample of DNA, and it will be down the police station in the cruiser and you will be compelled to do so. And now you will be on the police computer for life if not actually charged with obstructing justice.
This is obviously a 5 star book. But it was hung around the story of Alice who was trying to discover who her orphaned father had been. She was convinced that both her parents were Irish (Irish-American that is) and when she found out that half her DNA was Jewish, which didn't please her overmuch to start with, she wanted to investigate how that could be. I didn't like Alice at all so I wasn't really interested and I guessed what had happened fairly early on.
It is a book worth reading but it only gives a picture of 'now'. I believe that as the internet was in, say, 1996 when 20 million Americans used it in the good old days of dial-up when it was expensive and slow and their weren't that many sites, nor people snooping on you, that is where personal, commercial DNA testing is today.
God help us all if Facebook and Google ever get hold of our DNA. But they will, you know they will.
____________________
Notes on reading 1.
Notes on reading 2
This is a very long review, it was originally a 4 star book but by the time I'd finished writing it I thought it was so thought-provoking that the annoyance of the boring Alice story really didn't spoil it. In an effort to make the review a bit more readable there is liberal use of spoilers.
Libby Copeland divides those who get a DNA test into three categories.
The first are the avid genealogists who've been members of Ancestry.com for years
The second group are those that have a reason, adoptees, people suspecting Dad isn't the sperm donor or wondering if they've inherited a gene that spells disease.
The third group are those that get a kit for Christmas, or want to find out if it is true there is a Native American ancestor.
My son falls into the third group and we did get a surprise. 64.6% came out as European. Since I am of 100% Russian Jewish ancestry, 50% of it was not a surprise. My ex husband who is Black had a Welsh grandfather so not having a major sub-Saharan African component wasn't unexpected, but the surprise was my son is 52.8% Jewish. We are wondering about the 2.8%! His maternal haplogroup turns out to be Middle-Eastern, my family go back a long way!
In the book it is said that a database of only 3 million samples will mean that everyone in the US can be searched for and found by familial DNA. I would have thought it more like 30 million because middle-class whites are over-represented and African-Americans very much don't support it. I don't blame them. DNA databases and eugenics are made for each other. Terrorist groups, whether cults, religious or racist, could mine them to evil effect.
In the near future, I am sure that babies will have their DNA tested at birth. On the one hand, traits for diseases (that they may never have got) can be known and perhaps prevented. Everyone will know who their Daddy is, not who their mother says who is the father. But equally, should the baby have a predisposition to some very dread diseases that require a lot of medical care, could that be used as an excuse to deny medical insurance or up the premiums? Would it not be used to deny them entry into the military or other organisations? Would parents be happy letting their children marry them? And what about racial profiling and intelligence (not possible yet, but I'm sure they will identify the gene for that and report on it as and when).
What will that do to educational and career prospects? Undoubtedly all this DNA will be collected by local government and used for planning resource use, as well as police databases, the Mormon Church (Ancestry.com was founded by and probably still owned by a Mormon) who will then baptise all your dead family by proxy.
CRISPR is a gene-editing technology (see She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity) which the Chinese apparently have used for the first time to produce a genetically-altered baby. If that really has happened, if that really is possible, you can see the very wealthy queuing up to get their designer baby, beautiful, intelligent, healthy and the poor becoming those that cannot afford any modifications and will end up the underclass of so many dystopian novels.
There is the thought that many more murders will be solved. Or prevented. Say there is a gene for psychopathy? SInce many murderers and other criminals are psychopaths, how does that mean the child will be treated? It isn't an illness, there isn't a cure. But then most psychopaths do not commit crimes, any mayhem they cause (I know two very well) is strictly in their personal lives. That's no different from other nasty people.
But more murders and crimes will not be solved. Criminals are a market, in prison they are a captive market, and this has led to the development of very expensive small phones they can stick up their botties, ways of smuggling drugs in (drones is one, drugs being glue or paper another) etc. There will be a market for items that protect criminals from leaving any DNA. So probably lots more minor criminals will be caught but the planners, the serial killers, the career criminals, I don't think so.
Meanwhile there will come a knock at the door from the police saying they are investigating a crime and your DNA indicates you are related, perhaps a third cousin. Refuse their questioning and a further sample of DNA, and it will be down the police station in the cruiser and you will be compelled to do so. And now you will be on the police computer for life if not actually charged with obstructing justice.
This is obviously a 5 star book. But it was hung around the story of Alice who was trying to discover who her orphaned father had been. She was convinced that both her parents were Irish (Irish-American that is) and when she found out that half her DNA was Jewish, which didn't please her overmuch to start with, she wanted to investigate how that could be. I didn't like Alice at all so I wasn't really interested and I guessed what had happened fairly early on.
It is a book worth reading but it only gives a picture of 'now'. I believe that as the internet was in, say, 1996 when 20 million Americans used it in the good old days of dial-up when it was expensive and slow and their weren't that many sites, nor people snooping on you, that is where personal, commercial DNA testing is today.
God help us all if Facebook and Google ever get hold of our DNA. But they will, you know they will.
____________________
Notes on reading 1.
Notes on reading 2
This is a very long review, it was originally a 4 star book but by the time I'd finished writing it I thought it was so thought-provoking that the annoyance of the boring Alice story really didn't spoil it. In an effort to make the review a bit more readable there is liberal use of spoilers.
June 26, 2020
The title aptly describes what you'll find in this well researched and compelling read about the world of genetics, and DNA.
Highly recommended for anyone considering a DNA test, those who have already tested, beginning, intermediate or knowledgeable genealogists, or someone looking for non-fiction with a narrative flow.
I rarely read a book more than once but there is so much to learn in these pages that I wanted to start over as soon as I reached the end. A Selected Bibliography and excellent Index are very helpful.
Highly recommended for anyone considering a DNA test, those who have already tested, beginning, intermediate or knowledgeable genealogists, or someone looking for non-fiction with a narrative flow.
I rarely read a book more than once but there is so much to learn in these pages that I wanted to start over as soon as I reached the end. A Selected Bibliography and excellent Index are very helpful.
December 12, 2019
Astounding. This is absolutely critical reading for those who have either already bought an at-home DNA testing kit or who are considering buying one. Copeland does an excellent job showing the beginnings of this relatively new industry, its promises, its pitfalls, and the numerous concerns and issues surrounding so much of it. Read this book before you buy such a kit, and carefully consider the issues Copeland discusses and whether you are truly ready to handle them if they arise. Very much recommended.
October 3, 2023
Listened to the audiobook with Simon. Genealogy is a fascinating subject. Some that go delving into their family history may get more than they bargained for! Libby Copeland keeps things moving and interesting by telling the stories of folk looking for their family of origin, or seeking confirmation of the family they are in.
I learned that "For some, genealogy was also a means of forging identity by relating to some people and excluding others. Even before the Civl War there was lineage consciousness."
Also, that "Genealogy became a vehicle for many whites to bind ancestor worship, nationalism, and racism into one big ugly package."
Favorite quote that resonated with me: "We look for ourselves in our family histories and our genes but such things alone do not make identity. We human beings are the meaning makers, each of us a product of a particular time and place with ideas about what we value and indeed, what we hope to find when we look."
23AndMe is one of the companies that provide DNA testing kits. "New York magazine described [23AndMe's] approach of charging people for access to their own genetic information as, A sleight of hand so quintessentially American that Tom Sawyer might have dreamed it up."
23AndMe focus on testing for health and ancestry, with the emphasis on testing for genetic health. They have become "the Google of personalized healthcare." With the "crowdsourced genetic data" they have collected, they have researched many different health issues such as Parkinson's, arthritis, and cholesterol.
Copeland expressed concern over the usage of customer's data and pondered if they realize how their data could be used and the long range consequences. She writes that "The vast majority of 23AndMe's customers consent to have their de-identified data used for genetic research, allowing the company to boast that 23AndMe's research platform is currently the world's largest consented re-contactable database for genetic research."
Why do people allow their genetic information to be shared? They believe that they may be helping others. Also, they may not realize what they have agreed to, after all, who reads all the fine print before signing these days?
Copeland ponders on what would happen in the incidence of a data breach, as this personal data isn't regulated by HIPAA. Could any of this genetic information be used to deny health insurance coverage?
I was also interested in the exploration on what is meant when we talk about someone's ethnicity, as it can be easily misunderstood. "There's a distinction between one's ethnicity and where one's people came from historically. Ethnicity is in good part about "culture and tradition and self identity" CeCe Moore told [Copeland] - things that you cannot measure with DNA. "Someone can have a cultural ethnicity without the corresponding scientific basis for it in their genome.""
Overall, it was a fascinating read that illuminated a subject that many of us are interested in. This book is wonderfully read by Cindy Kay.
I learned that "For some, genealogy was also a means of forging identity by relating to some people and excluding others. Even before the Civl War there was lineage consciousness."
Also, that "Genealogy became a vehicle for many whites to bind ancestor worship, nationalism, and racism into one big ugly package."
Favorite quote that resonated with me: "We look for ourselves in our family histories and our genes but such things alone do not make identity. We human beings are the meaning makers, each of us a product of a particular time and place with ideas about what we value and indeed, what we hope to find when we look."
23AndMe is one of the companies that provide DNA testing kits. "New York magazine described [23AndMe's] approach of charging people for access to their own genetic information as, A sleight of hand so quintessentially American that Tom Sawyer might have dreamed it up."
23AndMe focus on testing for health and ancestry, with the emphasis on testing for genetic health. They have become "the Google of personalized healthcare." With the "crowdsourced genetic data" they have collected, they have researched many different health issues such as Parkinson's, arthritis, and cholesterol.
Copeland expressed concern over the usage of customer's data and pondered if they realize how their data could be used and the long range consequences. She writes that "The vast majority of 23AndMe's customers consent to have their de-identified data used for genetic research, allowing the company to boast that 23AndMe's research platform is currently the world's largest consented re-contactable database for genetic research."
Why do people allow their genetic information to be shared? They believe that they may be helping others. Also, they may not realize what they have agreed to, after all, who reads all the fine print before signing these days?
Copeland ponders on what would happen in the incidence of a data breach, as this personal data isn't regulated by HIPAA. Could any of this genetic information be used to deny health insurance coverage?
I was also interested in the exploration on what is meant when we talk about someone's ethnicity, as it can be easily misunderstood. "There's a distinction between one's ethnicity and where one's people came from historically. Ethnicity is in good part about "culture and tradition and self identity" CeCe Moore told [Copeland] - things that you cannot measure with DNA. "Someone can have a cultural ethnicity without the corresponding scientific basis for it in their genome.""
Overall, it was a fascinating read that illuminated a subject that many of us are interested in. This book is wonderfully read by Cindy Kay.
February 10, 2021
At the ripe old age of 85 years, my father learned for the first time that he had two brothers. Not just two brothers but twin brothers. It was a tremendous shock to the family to say the least and we are still recovering from it. I had to read this book to discover just how other families were handling it and the steps they took to heal from the family secrets that older family members took to their graves. I thought the author, Libby Copeland, did a terrific job in explaining just how the sense of identity gets shattered when people learn, as my father did, that his beloved father, despite being a religious man, had strayed from the church and his own morals.
Also discussed in the book, is the fact that there also can be an overjoyed discovery of new relatives. Fortunately that is what happened in our family and all of us now cherish our new found cousins and want to keep them in our lives. Not all families have such happy endings.
The book mainly focuses on one woman who is determined to work her way through a long buried family secret and find her identity. The woman becomes a genetic detective and we are rooting for her to find her answers to just who she is and reunite with lost family members. Four stars.
Also discussed in the book, is the fact that there also can be an overjoyed discovery of new relatives. Fortunately that is what happened in our family and all of us now cherish our new found cousins and want to keep them in our lives. Not all families have such happy endings.
The book mainly focuses on one woman who is determined to work her way through a long buried family secret and find her identity. The woman becomes a genetic detective and we are rooting for her to find her answers to just who she is and reunite with lost family members. Four stars.
July 15, 2020
My brother gave me a 23andMe DNA kit for my 60th birthday in 2014. I didn't find anything unusual in the results but a lot of other people have with theirs. Their birthday or Christmas gift ended up causing a lot of confusion and grief instead of "fun". This book states that most direct-to-consumer DNA kits are sold in the December holiday season.
Back in 2014 I had no idea of the implications of putting my DNA "out there" for the world to see. I have no regrets about submitting my spit. If it can be helpful in medical research or finding a serial killer, I say go for it. But I never anticipated the fact that even though I have no problem with it, other family members might. They can be linked to my DNA and I never asked for their permission. The author explores these privacy issues and gives examples of families whose worlds have exploded because of DNA revelations.
Thanks to my Goodreads friend, Petra-X, for her review that brought this interesting book to my attention.
Back in 2014 I had no idea of the implications of putting my DNA "out there" for the world to see. I have no regrets about submitting my spit. If it can be helpful in medical research or finding a serial killer, I say go for it. But I never anticipated the fact that even though I have no problem with it, other family members might. They can be linked to my DNA and I never asked for their permission. The author explores these privacy issues and gives examples of families whose worlds have exploded because of DNA revelations.
Thanks to my Goodreads friend, Petra-X, for her review that brought this interesting book to my attention.
May 15, 2022
This exposé, for the lack of a better term, exposes the seedy underbelly of recreational DNA testing where in many cases family dark secrets are revealed. Adoptions, sperm donations, affairs, incest, rape, and other bad things come to light, and the traumatized families are left to deal with cleaning it up. Of course, there is the fun element in learning about your family's roots. There is a lot of genetic science explained in detail that I found a challenge to follow at times, but that's probably just me. The different "seekers'" stories are interesting as they sometimes spent years tracing back their ancestral lines. At any rate, I'll think twice before I spit into a vial from a DNA kit and mail it off to one of the popular DNA testing companies.
June 21, 2022
"One woman's genetic mystery can never be hers alone."
"A dark comedy of misattributed paternity."
This is an excellent book for anyone interested in modern DNA testing and genealogy. It is an ethical, legal and moral examination of commercial DNA testing. It also explores in depth the behaviour and fallout from its unexpected results. As an NPE myself, I found the author's method of blending individual stories with detailed statistical and scientific information particularly comforting and educational.
"A dark comedy of misattributed paternity."
This is an excellent book for anyone interested in modern DNA testing and genealogy. It is an ethical, legal and moral examination of commercial DNA testing. It also explores in depth the behaviour and fallout from its unexpected results. As an NPE myself, I found the author's method of blending individual stories with detailed statistical and scientific information particularly comforting and educational.
June 3, 2021
4.5 stars
I loved reading this book; the topic fascinates me. What is the meaning of family when the people you grew up with aren’t the people you’re biologically related to? What if you bond with long-lost relatives as an adult, only to discover that they aren’t genetically your relatives at all? How accurate are those DNA predictions about people’s ethnicity, what do they really mean, and how do people incorporate their results into their identities? How do people handle surprises about their families that come out through DNA testing? How can it be used to solve crimes, and what are the limits on the privacy of genetic information?
So this book is about all of that, and like most good journalistic nonfiction it’s a mix of individual stories and factual information, in this case about the history and science of DNA testing. One family mystery, which comes out through a DNA test, is central to the story: a cool, nerdy retiree named Alice gets an unexpected result and goes on a tireless quest to find out the truth. It’s a great story that quickly got me invested, and its end is sad, heartwarming and a brain teaser all at once. But there are a number of other human stories in the book as well: of people discovering biological relatives (or people they believe to be biological relatives) for the first time, of people finding out they’re adopted or donor-conceived or the product of an affair or that their parents lied about their ethnicity. The book also delves into some big questions: what does race mean on a genetic level? To what extent does focus on genetics cause people to be more racist or deterministic? What role does heredity play in the construction of identity? (I liked the complexities of that last discussion a lot. As one of Copeland’s interviewees points out, science is what it is but identity is social: a negotiation between how people see themselves and how others see them.)
Of course, as the book emphasizes, those ethnicity predictions you get back from DNA tests are of limited utility (though the science of relative-matching is very solid—except that in a more homogenous population, where people might be related to each other in multiple ways, it may not tell you exactly how you’re related). The science on ethnicity predictions is inexact and quickly evolving, the number of samples for comparison are much sparser for non-white groups, and all it really tells you is how similar you are genetically to people now living in a particular place. However, that doesn’t mean your ancestors actually lived in that place.
Personally, I’ve never done a DNA test, in part for reasons discussed here: what about privacy? What about future insurance companies requiring it? DNA testing is the Wild West in a lot of ways, with largely unregulated companies advertising a product people casually give one another as a gift, only to upend some users’ lives when they discover huge secrets about their families. But because we share DNA with our relatives, the more other people test, the more privacy we lose even if we don’t test ourselves.
At any rate, I found this book fascinating and devoured it pretty quickly. I wouldn’t say the writing is quite up to the 5-star level and I’ll readily admit that my love for it largely derived from my interest in the topic—though the topic is thoroughly explored from so many different angles that even those less inherently interested would likely find a lot to appreciate. Very much worth a read.
I loved reading this book; the topic fascinates me. What is the meaning of family when the people you grew up with aren’t the people you’re biologically related to? What if you bond with long-lost relatives as an adult, only to discover that they aren’t genetically your relatives at all? How accurate are those DNA predictions about people’s ethnicity, what do they really mean, and how do people incorporate their results into their identities? How do people handle surprises about their families that come out through DNA testing? How can it be used to solve crimes, and what are the limits on the privacy of genetic information?
So this book is about all of that, and like most good journalistic nonfiction it’s a mix of individual stories and factual information, in this case about the history and science of DNA testing. One family mystery, which comes out through a DNA test, is central to the story: a cool, nerdy retiree named Alice gets an unexpected result and goes on a tireless quest to find out the truth. It’s a great story that quickly got me invested, and its end is sad, heartwarming and a brain teaser all at once. But there are a number of other human stories in the book as well: of people discovering biological relatives (or people they believe to be biological relatives) for the first time, of people finding out they’re adopted or donor-conceived or the product of an affair or that their parents lied about their ethnicity. The book also delves into some big questions: what does race mean on a genetic level? To what extent does focus on genetics cause people to be more racist or deterministic? What role does heredity play in the construction of identity? (I liked the complexities of that last discussion a lot. As one of Copeland’s interviewees points out, science is what it is but identity is social: a negotiation between how people see themselves and how others see them.)
Of course, as the book emphasizes, those ethnicity predictions you get back from DNA tests are of limited utility (though the science of relative-matching is very solid—except that in a more homogenous population, where people might be related to each other in multiple ways, it may not tell you exactly how you’re related). The science on ethnicity predictions is inexact and quickly evolving, the number of samples for comparison are much sparser for non-white groups, and all it really tells you is how similar you are genetically to people now living in a particular place. However, that doesn’t mean your ancestors actually lived in that place.
Personally, I’ve never done a DNA test, in part for reasons discussed here: what about privacy? What about future insurance companies requiring it? DNA testing is the Wild West in a lot of ways, with largely unregulated companies advertising a product people casually give one another as a gift, only to upend some users’ lives when they discover huge secrets about their families. But because we share DNA with our relatives, the more other people test, the more privacy we lose even if we don’t test ourselves.
At any rate, I found this book fascinating and devoured it pretty quickly. I wouldn’t say the writing is quite up to the 5-star level and I’ll readily admit that my love for it largely derived from my interest in the topic—though the topic is thoroughly explored from so many different angles that even those less inherently interested would likely find a lot to appreciate. Very much worth a read.
April 26, 2020
Absolutely fascinating, revealing and count me as one of those folks who find it all vaguely unsettling. Libby Copeland (we worked together for years as reporters at The Washington Post's Style section) has really outdone herself with this deep dive investigation into everything we know (so far) about where DNA registry and discovery is taking us -- and not just to those happy, long-lost-relative stories you see in the news. On the one hand, we're bringing unsolvable crimes to justice (the Golden State Killer, for example); on the other, we're giving up our rights. Included in this, I think (and Libby deftly explains, through her reporting), are the sorts of secrets that women (mostly it's the women I feel sympathy pangs for) in the past kept so diligently to protect children, in a not-so-long-ago world where there were real consequences for unwed mothers and illegitimate offspring. The best part of this book is how it recognizes all the illuminating and terrifying ways the past is now very much with us. I'm unresolved about it; I am happy that so many lost souls are finally figuring out the mysteries of their own origins and lineage. This book taught me so much, and is such a compelling read. Once you're in it, it's hard to forget about.
March 6, 2020
Author Libby Copeland looks at the DNA testing business and the off-shoots (the problems) in her new book, “The Lost Family”. Is anyone these days not wanting to check their DNA and their family history. But what if you use a testing kit - and there are quite a few on the market - and you discovered you weren’t who you always thought you were, and that - maybe, say - your father might not be the Dad you always thought he was? Well, if you’re the clever sort, you use the info you’ve newly gained to look through the generations that preceded you to solve a mystery.
Copeland’s book is a bit a look at her own testing as well some others’, but she concentrates mostly on the mysterious results from the family of Jim Collins, a purported Irish-American born in 1913, in Brooklyn. Testing which began on his seven children a few years after his death, showed that Jim Collins had no Irish connection whatever. In fact, he presented as an Ashkenazi Jew.
Libby Copeland used the mysterious Jim Collins to show the reader the good and bad parts of genetic testing. She’s a good writer and keeps the scientific jargon to a minimum. It’s a good first book to read about today and tomorrow’s advances
Copeland’s book is a bit a look at her own testing as well some others’, but she concentrates mostly on the mysterious results from the family of Jim Collins, a purported Irish-American born in 1913, in Brooklyn. Testing which began on his seven children a few years after his death, showed that Jim Collins had no Irish connection whatever. In fact, he presented as an Ashkenazi Jew.
Libby Copeland used the mysterious Jim Collins to show the reader the good and bad parts of genetic testing. She’s a good writer and keeps the scientific jargon to a minimum. It’s a good first book to read about today and tomorrow’s advances
July 13, 2020
I have been a genealogist for over forty years and was an early adopter of DNA for genealogical research, so was interested to read this book. The "seeker" stories are interesting, but most have been told better in other places. The stories were so chopped up that it was hard to keep track of which one she was returning to, after the "scientific" sections. There was nothing in the book that I wasn't aware of or hadn't heard or read before, as I'm sure would be the case with most genetic genealogists. Even non-genealogists have probably heard some of the seeker stories and would almost certainly be bored to death by the science, so I'm not sure who the intended audience is. The fact that she is a reporter for the New York Times indicated what her slant would be, but I guess I expected a little more objectivity. I did, however, muddle through to the end.
March 20, 2020
This was an interesting book and raises some valuable questions. However, when the author throws in comments such as President Trump is "a race baiter", "the far right racists," etc. — the biases presented make me doubt the credibility of the author! There is no place for such bias in a book that's supposed to be based on science. The author did a great disservice by including such comments. How do I know that information in the book presented as science isn't also biased? There is probably enough good in the book to give it three stars, but that's it!
May 30, 2022
I got this Audible Audio selection with my husband in mind, because he's had a genealogy hobby for years, and many of our family members have indulged him with getting DNA testing. We listened to it in the car on several trips between April and May 2022, and it wasn't the dry bore I expected. The subtitle, which I'd apparently skimmed over, says it all: uncovering secrets, reuniting relatives, upending who we are.
Most people sending in a saliva sample for DNA testing are just expecting ethnicity reports, and many get exactly what they expect. Lots receive a kit as a gift for an occasion such as Mother's or Father's Day, and never think twice about it being a life changing event. But the book sets forth several personal stories as examples that have gotten totally unexpected revelations such as adoption, sperm donation, infidelity, and the most extreme--babies accidently swapped in the hospital at birth!! It explores the very real possibility that confidentiality promises made by sperm banks and adoption agencies are rendered moot in this new age of scientific identification. Also explored are legal ramifications of DNA testing, especially in the wake of the Golden State killer's arrest, and how far police should be able to go in using relative's voluntarily submitted DNA samples to identify a suspect. Questions arise about whose rights prevail in cases of sperm donation or adoption, the child who wants to know about their own real ancestry, or the individual who wants to give up that sample or that baby and remain anonymous? And what if you find you are the product of infidelity? How does that affect your relationship with either parent? Do you reveal that you know, and risk breaking up your whole family?
The swapped baby account was by far the most heart-wrenching, because it was a 30 year mystery that one diligent researcher eventually solved, and it affected two families immeasurably. But all the stories were interesting and thought provoking. We were both completely engaged with the book, and frequently paused it to comment and discuss their points. (And compare things from our own families.)
The narration was well done and I would definitely recommend this audible selection, with the caveat that the hard cover would probably be best. Because the book is laid out chronologically, sometimes it's confusing which case history is being discussed, and I feel I may reread a hardcover version just to revisit the stories and get them straight in my mind. For the point of being able to look back in previous chapters, an e-book wouldn't satisfy me the same way.
An interesting point brought up in the narrative is that you aren't exempt from being affected by DNA testing just because you yourself haven't sent in a sample and you aren't tracing your own family tree. Someone may be contacting you due to your name showing up as someone's relative, and you never know what your relations have been up to!
Most people sending in a saliva sample for DNA testing are just expecting ethnicity reports, and many get exactly what they expect. Lots receive a kit as a gift for an occasion such as Mother's or Father's Day, and never think twice about it being a life changing event. But the book sets forth several personal stories as examples that have gotten totally unexpected revelations such as adoption, sperm donation, infidelity, and the most extreme--babies accidently swapped in the hospital at birth!! It explores the very real possibility that confidentiality promises made by sperm banks and adoption agencies are rendered moot in this new age of scientific identification. Also explored are legal ramifications of DNA testing, especially in the wake of the Golden State killer's arrest, and how far police should be able to go in using relative's voluntarily submitted DNA samples to identify a suspect. Questions arise about whose rights prevail in cases of sperm donation or adoption, the child who wants to know about their own real ancestry, or the individual who wants to give up that sample or that baby and remain anonymous? And what if you find you are the product of infidelity? How does that affect your relationship with either parent? Do you reveal that you know, and risk breaking up your whole family?
The swapped baby account was by far the most heart-wrenching, because it was a 30 year mystery that one diligent researcher eventually solved, and it affected two families immeasurably. But all the stories were interesting and thought provoking. We were both completely engaged with the book, and frequently paused it to comment and discuss their points. (And compare things from our own families.)
The narration was well done and I would definitely recommend this audible selection, with the caveat that the hard cover would probably be best. Because the book is laid out chronologically, sometimes it's confusing which case history is being discussed, and I feel I may reread a hardcover version just to revisit the stories and get them straight in my mind. For the point of being able to look back in previous chapters, an e-book wouldn't satisfy me the same way.
An interesting point brought up in the narrative is that you aren't exempt from being affected by DNA testing just because you yourself haven't sent in a sample and you aren't tracing your own family tree. Someone may be contacting you due to your name showing up as someone's relative, and you never know what your relations have been up to!
July 16, 2020
I'm sure, for me at least, that I would have gotten more out of this if I could have read it and not listened to the audible. There's so much character, named anecdotal inputs- that that would have been easier to context, IMHO. Not to speak of all the DNA or RNA or mitochondrial specifics that don't lend themselves to description and interactions by vocal aspects alone.
Saying that, I still might have not given this more than a 3.5 star because of the width of this survey. It's all over the place too for such tangents. There are probably at least a dozen unforeseen scenarios named/ described that can and do proceed from using personal DNA ancestry or specific origin (by country or ethnic regions) saliva kits. And many of them for my particular "eye" view seem to be of the roving natures of the Wild West. So much goes on that is lawless or next to lawless and so many directions for personal relationship can be broken or bridged or just plain altered. Or cause huge worry for trying to unlearn what would have been best not to know. And often, it is not just for the individual who sent in the analysis but for others who never did this trendy enterprise at all. Like sperm donors, or long lost biological family of every degree. All manners of surprises that happen daily and for which people are always insisting are going to happen to the "other" people. It's not just about secrets either, but about trying to "unknow" something. An impossible task. And usually nothing but a negative any way you look at it.
And the sale of information and actual materials! You read that- I have thought of about 4 or 5 not even mentioned here. Fair Warning is a Connelly book I just read. That brings up one I had thought about myself previously to reading it.
This uses hours to years of information from experiences of the 4 major companies and also the Mormon registries of every level etc. etc. And all types of governmental or bureaucratic records in tangent additions. Also how obsessive the hobby of this depth information can become. And much psychology about self-identity and outcomes of dozens of other directions that do occur. Most of which were never considered or foreseen. The second half is better than the first half. But it is no more than a 3 star on the whole regardless. Also there were politico statements that didn't at all belong in a book that was supposedly defining science states.
It's also overlong with way too much redundancy, at times for the very same people and cases too. But truthfully, there may be outcome or reaction in myriad directions or afterwards for the same cases. And not only for trying to "unknow" but also for extended folk who had no idea that they would be impacted by this. Not always in positive or negative ways particularly. But still impacted. YET, there is a better way to relate this than through repetition of the entire former information about "Alice" or whomever- but just 4 chapters later.
It did give some quasi-specific answers that I had questions for though. Especially upon cousins, and other less closely connected blood relations to further degrees. If that is written in stone for degrees of connections by these tests. It's not always accurate for degree distance, it seems. But for people who want to continually look back- you should read this first before you become embedded to gifting this or developing an ancestry hobby, IMHO. I've never did any DNA kits but my 2 sons have and so have many less closely connected relations. So my profile is more or less "there" in many ways and slants already. That also raises an entire question of privacy and personal autonomy that the law or any true measure is not answering presently either.
Even with medical conditions being "more known" or tendencies? Anecdotal cases here for this absolutely being a NEGATIVE to decisions made in error. I absolutely get how that happens. I'd much prefer to look forward and own self-identity I've made, just not what I hold biologically.
Saying that, I still might have not given this more than a 3.5 star because of the width of this survey. It's all over the place too for such tangents. There are probably at least a dozen unforeseen scenarios named/ described that can and do proceed from using personal DNA ancestry or specific origin (by country or ethnic regions) saliva kits. And many of them for my particular "eye" view seem to be of the roving natures of the Wild West. So much goes on that is lawless or next to lawless and so many directions for personal relationship can be broken or bridged or just plain altered. Or cause huge worry for trying to unlearn what would have been best not to know. And often, it is not just for the individual who sent in the analysis but for others who never did this trendy enterprise at all. Like sperm donors, or long lost biological family of every degree. All manners of surprises that happen daily and for which people are always insisting are going to happen to the "other" people. It's not just about secrets either, but about trying to "unknow" something. An impossible task. And usually nothing but a negative any way you look at it.
And the sale of information and actual materials! You read that- I have thought of about 4 or 5 not even mentioned here. Fair Warning is a Connelly book I just read. That brings up one I had thought about myself previously to reading it.
This uses hours to years of information from experiences of the 4 major companies and also the Mormon registries of every level etc. etc. And all types of governmental or bureaucratic records in tangent additions. Also how obsessive the hobby of this depth information can become. And much psychology about self-identity and outcomes of dozens of other directions that do occur. Most of which were never considered or foreseen. The second half is better than the first half. But it is no more than a 3 star on the whole regardless. Also there were politico statements that didn't at all belong in a book that was supposedly defining science states.
It's also overlong with way too much redundancy, at times for the very same people and cases too. But truthfully, there may be outcome or reaction in myriad directions or afterwards for the same cases. And not only for trying to "unknow" but also for extended folk who had no idea that they would be impacted by this. Not always in positive or negative ways particularly. But still impacted. YET, there is a better way to relate this than through repetition of the entire former information about "Alice" or whomever- but just 4 chapters later.
It did give some quasi-specific answers that I had questions for though. Especially upon cousins, and other less closely connected blood relations to further degrees. If that is written in stone for degrees of connections by these tests. It's not always accurate for degree distance, it seems. But for people who want to continually look back- you should read this first before you become embedded to gifting this or developing an ancestry hobby, IMHO. I've never did any DNA kits but my 2 sons have and so have many less closely connected relations. So my profile is more or less "there" in many ways and slants already. That also raises an entire question of privacy and personal autonomy that the law or any true measure is not answering presently either.
Even with medical conditions being "more known" or tendencies? Anecdotal cases here for this absolutely being a NEGATIVE to decisions made in error. I absolutely get how that happens. I'd much prefer to look forward and own self-identity I've made, just not what I hold biologically.
March 24, 2020
Wow. Extremely engrossing, engaging, well written and researched work that combines the stories of personal family searches and revelations with the entire environment of the implications of genetic testing. Fascinating.
June 15, 2020
If you want to read a magazine article about DNA testing that is 50 times too long, get this book. If you want to find out the answer to the main story, look up Cece Moore on YouTube and she tells the whole thing in 3 minutes.
May 22, 2020
"Bioethics seems to be lagging behind the science, dumping a mess onto the mental health community." (Ricki Lewis, geneticist and science writer)
I first got interested in genetic genealogy and recreational genetics after listening to the Bear Brook podcast about a year ago. The Bear Brook case was one of the first to use genetic genealogy to identify victims that went without identities for several decades and to find their killer. It's a fascinating scientific process with both unknown/still untapped potential to make life better or, as has been well documented in numerous book and new articles, much worse. Most of what has been written about it focuses on the results, finding out your background isn't what you thought (most often in the form of NPE's = not parent expected). This book is the first definitive overview of how recreational genetics started, the companies that use it, the legal and ethical implications of results, social implications concerning race, ethnicity, and identity, criminal investigative uses, privacy concerns, medical implications, and some speculation on how it could be used in the future. If that sounds like a lot, well... it is. It's pretty easy to get bogged down in the technical information, but author Libby Copeland manages to keep in interesting with lots of real world examples that examine both the positive and negative aspects of this emerging technology. I found the sections of privacy and the section on the social implications of using genetics to "determine" race and ethnicity particularly enlightening. Until this book, I never really understood how complicated a process genetic genealogy is and how easy it is to get incorrect results. Fascinating stuff!
I have not used recreational genetics for my own analysis as I have serious trust issues concerning privacy. This book did nothin to change my mind, maybe even made me question it even more. However, I did find it a well-balanced overview, looking at both sides of each issue.
I first got interested in genetic genealogy and recreational genetics after listening to the Bear Brook podcast about a year ago. The Bear Brook case was one of the first to use genetic genealogy to identify victims that went without identities for several decades and to find their killer. It's a fascinating scientific process with both unknown/still untapped potential to make life better or, as has been well documented in numerous book and new articles, much worse. Most of what has been written about it focuses on the results, finding out your background isn't what you thought (most often in the form of NPE's = not parent expected). This book is the first definitive overview of how recreational genetics started, the companies that use it, the legal and ethical implications of results, social implications concerning race, ethnicity, and identity, criminal investigative uses, privacy concerns, medical implications, and some speculation on how it could be used in the future. If that sounds like a lot, well... it is. It's pretty easy to get bogged down in the technical information, but author Libby Copeland manages to keep in interesting with lots of real world examples that examine both the positive and negative aspects of this emerging technology. I found the sections of privacy and the section on the social implications of using genetics to "determine" race and ethnicity particularly enlightening. Until this book, I never really understood how complicated a process genetic genealogy is and how easy it is to get incorrect results. Fascinating stuff!
I have not used recreational genetics for my own analysis as I have serious trust issues concerning privacy. This book did nothin to change my mind, maybe even made me question it even more. However, I did find it a well-balanced overview, looking at both sides of each issue.
March 23, 2020
Excellent book! It's one of those rare books that I think I may want to read again, just because it was so packed with information that I think I probably missed some good stuff the first time around. I have recently (about three years) gotten into genealogy and find it's a blast, with combing through documents and newspapers, figuring out puzzles, and finding out interesting bits of history. But I have not jumped on the DNA bandwagon, because I don't think I have any questions that will be answered by DNA and I have doubts about the "ethnicity" results. The Lost Family delves into the good and bad of DNA testing, its strengths and weaknesses, with lots of real life examples to illustrate the points. Non Paternity Events (NPEs), DNA use by law enforcement, ethnicity results, who owns your results, do you have any control on what happens to your sample, and more, all addressed in fascinating detail in The Lost Family.
February 6, 2022
Very educational
March 19, 2022
Originally published on my book blog, TheBibliophage.com.
4.5 stars rounded up
Libby Copeland considers all the ways consumer DNA testing has changed our lives in The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Uncovering Secrets, Reuniting Relatives, and Upending Who We Are. She interviews scientists, career genealogists, ethicists, and lots of regular folks caught up in unexpected situations. It’s that last category that propels this book forward since test results surprise plenty of people.
Of course, DNA testing is now a staple of the adopted child seeking their birth parents. But it also turns up relationships between sperm donors and the children their donation created. And in either situation, the seeker (on either side) isn’t guaranteed a happy response. Copeland’s stories of birth parents turning away the children they put up for adoption are particularly heartbreaking.
But what if you’re just an early adopter, convinced you’re 100% Irish and take an early DNA on a lark? That’s what Alice Collins Plebuch did. To her great amazement, her DNA was 50% Irish and 50% Ashkenazi Jew. Copeland follows Alice’s unique quest for answers through nearly a decade of searching.
Because Plebuch took such an early test, her experience is different from someone who tests today. She hunted through a plethora of documents, reached out to potential cousins all over the world, and refused to give up until she solved the mystery. Today, her mystery might be solved in less than 24 hours. Copeland explains why.
Copeland also addresses the philosophical and ethical aspects of these DNA and identity journeys. These discussions are deep and thought-provoking, even if you’ve never made a family tree.
My conclusions
This is my favorite kind of nonfiction—packed with detailed information but told in a conversational, fast-paced way. And, as I’ve mentioned before, our household dinner conversations often discuss our genealogical research. So, for me, The Lost Family was a win many times over.
Copeland addresses every aspect of this trending hobby. She moves seamlessly from science to personal stories to consumer marketing practices. And she continually reminds the reader that the field of consumer DNA testing changes regularly. This is a well-rounded and fascinating conversation about an evolving field.
Of course, studying our family tree and genealogy isn’t a new hobby. I remember my childhood neighbors visiting old graveyards in Europe to make gravestone rubbings. That’s a dying hobby, as we now just consult websites where strangers post family gravestones for our perusal. This is part of Copeland’s point. Still, the desire to know ourselves through knowing our ancestors is well-rooted in the human psyche. It’s just been upended by the advent of readily accessible DNA testing.
The Lost Family is one of my favorite 2022 books, even though the year is still young. If you appreciate family history, with a strong dose of science and real-life mysteries, you will love this book. Libby Copeland builds a compelling nonfiction narrative.
Pair with a fictional story that discusses race, identity, and a little genetics, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, as I did. Or try Paula: A Memoir by Isabel Allende, which is more about family history and secrets than DNA itself.
4.5 stars rounded up
Libby Copeland considers all the ways consumer DNA testing has changed our lives in The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Uncovering Secrets, Reuniting Relatives, and Upending Who We Are. She interviews scientists, career genealogists, ethicists, and lots of regular folks caught up in unexpected situations. It’s that last category that propels this book forward since test results surprise plenty of people.
Of course, DNA testing is now a staple of the adopted child seeking their birth parents. But it also turns up relationships between sperm donors and the children their donation created. And in either situation, the seeker (on either side) isn’t guaranteed a happy response. Copeland’s stories of birth parents turning away the children they put up for adoption are particularly heartbreaking.
But what if you’re just an early adopter, convinced you’re 100% Irish and take an early DNA on a lark? That’s what Alice Collins Plebuch did. To her great amazement, her DNA was 50% Irish and 50% Ashkenazi Jew. Copeland follows Alice’s unique quest for answers through nearly a decade of searching.
Because Plebuch took such an early test, her experience is different from someone who tests today. She hunted through a plethora of documents, reached out to potential cousins all over the world, and refused to give up until she solved the mystery. Today, her mystery might be solved in less than 24 hours. Copeland explains why.
Copeland also addresses the philosophical and ethical aspects of these DNA and identity journeys. These discussions are deep and thought-provoking, even if you’ve never made a family tree.
My conclusions
This is my favorite kind of nonfiction—packed with detailed information but told in a conversational, fast-paced way. And, as I’ve mentioned before, our household dinner conversations often discuss our genealogical research. So, for me, The Lost Family was a win many times over.
Copeland addresses every aspect of this trending hobby. She moves seamlessly from science to personal stories to consumer marketing practices. And she continually reminds the reader that the field of consumer DNA testing changes regularly. This is a well-rounded and fascinating conversation about an evolving field.
Of course, studying our family tree and genealogy isn’t a new hobby. I remember my childhood neighbors visiting old graveyards in Europe to make gravestone rubbings. That’s a dying hobby, as we now just consult websites where strangers post family gravestones for our perusal. This is part of Copeland’s point. Still, the desire to know ourselves through knowing our ancestors is well-rooted in the human psyche. It’s just been upended by the advent of readily accessible DNA testing.
The Lost Family is one of my favorite 2022 books, even though the year is still young. If you appreciate family history, with a strong dose of science and real-life mysteries, you will love this book. Libby Copeland builds a compelling nonfiction narrative.
Pair with a fictional story that discusses race, identity, and a little genetics, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, as I did. Or try Paula: A Memoir by Isabel Allende, which is more about family history and secrets than DNA itself.
July 6, 2022
First - Note the subtitle: Upending Who We Are. There are good things about DNA Testing: Reuniting separated families, determining possible health risks, finding criminals. BUT.. there are issues as well-privacy compromised; surprises endured (you mean this man who brought me up is NOT my father?), and adoptee rejection.
The book was too technical at times. I skimmed through those sections. But the thoughts evoked about privacy, unwelcome surprises, and adoption were well worth the read.
Discussed at Book Club last night, the points presented were well-said and thought out. At least one person was not interested in discussing the book and opted out. Our fearless leader revealed that she had her DNA tested. Of the 7 in attendance, she was the only one. She knows she is an Ashkenazi Jew. Her revelations about her heritage made the book even more special to us.
Not everyone will appreciate this book, but if you do, it will provide much opportunity for thought and discussion.
4 stars
The book was too technical at times. I skimmed through those sections. But the thoughts evoked about privacy, unwelcome surprises, and adoption were well worth the read.
Discussed at Book Club last night, the points presented were well-said and thought out. At least one person was not interested in discussing the book and opted out. Our fearless leader revealed that she had her DNA tested. Of the 7 in attendance, she was the only one. She knows she is an Ashkenazi Jew. Her revelations about her heritage made the book even more special to us.
Not everyone will appreciate this book, but if you do, it will provide much opportunity for thought and discussion.
4 stars
May 4, 2025
I love this sort of thing. And, as the author points out, the field of "recreational DNA" has grown and changed so fast and so quickly that really there's no escaping, even if you checked the box that you didn't want to know about possible relatives. The most fascinating story is threaded throughout this account--a daughter who discovers Ashkenazi Jewish DNA in her through-and-through Irish family--is the part I was most interested in after a while because of the questions it raised. What makes us who we are? Genes, family culture, culture culture?
Anyhow, if you've ever done a DNA sampling for fun or are interested in all the ways Big Helix can hunt you down, even if you haven't, this is a good read.
Anyhow, if you've ever done a DNA sampling for fun or are interested in all the ways Big Helix can hunt you down, even if you haven't, this is a good read.
September 20, 2022
Copeland pretty much leaves no stone unturned in the field of consumer genomics, addressing everything from traditional genealogy to the potential for future gene editing. One of those books where I feel like I will be talking about it forever! Someone read it so we can discuss.
March 12, 2021
A good friend/fellow reader recommended this book to me in the strongest of ways yesterday, and said she wanted to discuss it after I'd read it.
For all manner of reasons I couldn't get to sleep last night (given that it's March of 2021, I'm probably not alone in that), so I started the book and got about three chapters in yesterday. "Adulted" for the first part of today, then finished it.
As I told R, I enjoyed it, but because I have been into genealogy for so long, and because I've read both books and long-form journalism pieces about it before, a lot of this book was repetitive for me. That said, I think if I had been relatively new to the world/s of genealogical research and/or DNA sequencing, this would definitely have merited 4 or 5 stars.
I did appreciate learning a term new to me: geophysical cultural heritage (vs ethnicity). Makes a lot of sense. I have a friend who is of Asian descent, who was adopted into an upper-middle-class, white, Catholic, and very sporty family. She said it was eye-opening when she realized that she was seeing the world through those latter lenses, whereas other people were expecting her to see it from "an Asian perspective," whatever _that_ is.
I told my husband that I am fortunate that at least one line of my heritage is laid out in such a straight and unquestionable line: I'm a Lamont down the paternal line. Can trace the immigration papers, have been to the grounds of the ancestral castle in Dunoon, Scotland, have seen in person the monument to the veritable slaughter of most of my clan by the Campbells (no offense, Campbell-line friends, still love ya!). I got super-interested in learning about such back in the 1970s when Roots was on TV, which was also around the time some of our Scotts relatives came to Alabama to visit their kin.
I wonder what all I would've found out that would have been blockbuster news to my family had I had access to 23AndMe and Ancestry.com and the like way back when. Whoo, boy! I feel MawMaw turning over in her grave right now......
I'm still a "seeker," as Libby Copeland writes about in the book. I have much to learn about pretty much everybody _but_ PawPaw and Daddy. But I have been reluctant to really research everything because I know that I will turn into one of those people who starts out looking up one thing at about 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday and comes back to reality Sunday at 5 o'clock, having gone down every wormhole imaginable.....without eating or bathing....
(I am not looking at you Anita. I'm not.)
Oh, and just in case you were wondering:
Scotland
48%
England & Northwestern Europe
38%
Wales
8%
Norway
4%
Ireland
2%
For all manner of reasons I couldn't get to sleep last night (given that it's March of 2021, I'm probably not alone in that), so I started the book and got about three chapters in yesterday. "Adulted" for the first part of today, then finished it.
As I told R, I enjoyed it, but because I have been into genealogy for so long, and because I've read both books and long-form journalism pieces about it before, a lot of this book was repetitive for me. That said, I think if I had been relatively new to the world/s of genealogical research and/or DNA sequencing, this would definitely have merited 4 or 5 stars.
I did appreciate learning a term new to me: geophysical cultural heritage (vs ethnicity). Makes a lot of sense. I have a friend who is of Asian descent, who was adopted into an upper-middle-class, white, Catholic, and very sporty family. She said it was eye-opening when she realized that she was seeing the world through those latter lenses, whereas other people were expecting her to see it from "an Asian perspective," whatever _that_ is.
I told my husband that I am fortunate that at least one line of my heritage is laid out in such a straight and unquestionable line: I'm a Lamont down the paternal line. Can trace the immigration papers, have been to the grounds of the ancestral castle in Dunoon, Scotland, have seen in person the monument to the veritable slaughter of most of my clan by the Campbells (no offense, Campbell-line friends, still love ya!). I got super-interested in learning about such back in the 1970s when Roots was on TV, which was also around the time some of our Scotts relatives came to Alabama to visit their kin.
I wonder what all I would've found out that would have been blockbuster news to my family had I had access to 23AndMe and Ancestry.com and the like way back when. Whoo, boy! I feel MawMaw turning over in her grave right now......
I'm still a "seeker," as Libby Copeland writes about in the book. I have much to learn about pretty much everybody _but_ PawPaw and Daddy. But I have been reluctant to really research everything because I know that I will turn into one of those people who starts out looking up one thing at about 6:30 p.m. on a Thursday and comes back to reality Sunday at 5 o'clock, having gone down every wormhole imaginable.....without eating or bathing....
(I am not looking at you Anita. I'm not.)
Oh, and just in case you were wondering:
Scotland
48%
England & Northwestern Europe
38%
Wales
8%
Norway
4%
Ireland
2%
April 3, 2022
I was drawn to this book after my father uncovered a family secret through a “fun”recreational test he purchased… he found out he was 98% Greek, and surprisingly, that he had a half brother. I could write my own book now with that story.
Back to The Lost Family, it covers all corners of the genetic testing realm, the facts and the feelings, controversies and celebrations. Copeland weaves in the story of Alice’s search for her genetic family, which tied in the human experience with the great investigative journalism. There are some other great stories weaved in and dozens of experts in the field sharing their varying opinions. There were times throughout the book where I felt I heard the same things twice though.
Overall, learned a lot and it helped me (mild seeker) form a better foundation for how to move forward with building my (genetic and lived) family tree and what I may come across along the way. It will be interesting to see how genetic testing is managed, governed and treated as time goes on. I think we’re just at the beginning of this era.
Back to The Lost Family, it covers all corners of the genetic testing realm, the facts and the feelings, controversies and celebrations. Copeland weaves in the story of Alice’s search for her genetic family, which tied in the human experience with the great investigative journalism. There are some other great stories weaved in and dozens of experts in the field sharing their varying opinions. There were times throughout the book where I felt I heard the same things twice though.
Overall, learned a lot and it helped me (mild seeker) form a better foundation for how to move forward with building my (genetic and lived) family tree and what I may come across along the way. It will be interesting to see how genetic testing is managed, governed and treated as time goes on. I think we’re just at the beginning of this era.
March 3, 2020
So. This entire book was fascinating. I learned so much from this book! It is filled with a ton of fascinating, useful information but also, doesn't read like an info dump (which is always appreciated!). A lot of the information presented is woven into real life stories and the entire book follows a lot of different players who had very different experiences with DNA and with the use of testing sites.
Honestly, I loved this book so much. I especially loved following the mystery of Alice and her parentage. I love that that mystery is woven throughout the entire book and a lot of the good information that comes from this book is embedded in that story. The entire thing was fascinating and having that mystery as the backdrop was a wonderful choice for this book! It helped the information presented feel more real and accessible because it was presented through the lens of a real story.
This book is also a deep dive into nature vs nurture but it also brings up a lot of things that I had never really thought about. How children created by sperm or egg donors don't really know their true DNA heritage, how DNA testing sites are even changing the way law enforcement catches violent crime perpetrators (I especially loved the section discussing how the Golden State Killer was caught; I read Michelle McNamara's wonderful book on that subject so finding the rest of that story here was a nice surprise!), and even how distantly related we can be to some of our own genetic ancestors just because so many genes are lost through generations.
So. Overall, this was an absolutely wonderful read that I'm glad I picked up. I think it helped that I was already fascinated with this subject and this book was everything I wanted it to be. It's a well written little think piece that answered questions I didn't even know I had. And it was just a wonderful picture of a fascinating subject. I highly recommend!!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Abrams Press for allowing me the chance to read and review this book!
Honestly, I loved this book so much. I especially loved following the mystery of Alice and her parentage. I love that that mystery is woven throughout the entire book and a lot of the good information that comes from this book is embedded in that story. The entire thing was fascinating and having that mystery as the backdrop was a wonderful choice for this book! It helped the information presented feel more real and accessible because it was presented through the lens of a real story.
This book is also a deep dive into nature vs nurture but it also brings up a lot of things that I had never really thought about. How children created by sperm or egg donors don't really know their true DNA heritage, how DNA testing sites are even changing the way law enforcement catches violent crime perpetrators (I especially loved the section discussing how the Golden State Killer was caught; I read Michelle McNamara's wonderful book on that subject so finding the rest of that story here was a nice surprise!), and even how distantly related we can be to some of our own genetic ancestors just because so many genes are lost through generations.
So. Overall, this was an absolutely wonderful read that I'm glad I picked up. I think it helped that I was already fascinated with this subject and this book was everything I wanted it to be. It's a well written little think piece that answered questions I didn't even know I had. And it was just a wonderful picture of a fascinating subject. I highly recommend!!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Abrams Press for allowing me the chance to read and review this book!
January 10, 2025
This book is primarily about genealogy research, but it goes way beyond that, and is completely focused on the DNA aspect.
The author notes near the end that the technology is rapidly changing and she was worried that just while researching and writing that it would be outdated by the time of publication. Maybe. And here it is now several years later. I would point out that even so, the story contained within was fascinating enough even if some of the tech becomes outdated.
The frame of the book follows a woman, Alice Collins, that discovered a strange family mystery when she took her first DNA test. It revolved around her father who turns out not to be Irish but Jewish. It takes Alice several years to resolve some of the family mysteries. Along the way she gives DNA kits to people that possibly are relatives, finds people who are thought to be cousins, turn out not to be genetically, yet still feel like family. There are several other stories like this, discovering mysteries, such as your father is not your biological father, or your family comes from a different part of the world that family lore has said.
DNA has also helped adopted children find their birth parents, or half-siblings. Sperm donor children find out who their father is. These types of stories are expanding and changing who is family.
DNA also has a way of tracking down people that other police methods had been unable, with one of the bigger cold case being solved, finding the serial killer nicknamed The Golden State Killer. Yet these police investigations also raise questions about of privacy and consent.
There is much more in this book than these notes here. I quite enjoyed the book, which I listened to an audio copy from my library. I’m considering purchasing a print copy for future rereading or referencing for my own genealogy research.
The author notes near the end that the technology is rapidly changing and she was worried that just while researching and writing that it would be outdated by the time of publication. Maybe. And here it is now several years later. I would point out that even so, the story contained within was fascinating enough even if some of the tech becomes outdated.
The frame of the book follows a woman, Alice Collins, that discovered a strange family mystery when she took her first DNA test. It revolved around her father who turns out not to be Irish but Jewish. It takes Alice several years to resolve some of the family mysteries. Along the way she gives DNA kits to people that possibly are relatives, finds people who are thought to be cousins, turn out not to be genetically, yet still feel like family. There are several other stories like this, discovering mysteries, such as your father is not your biological father, or your family comes from a different part of the world that family lore has said.
DNA has also helped adopted children find their birth parents, or half-siblings. Sperm donor children find out who their father is. These types of stories are expanding and changing who is family.
DNA also has a way of tracking down people that other police methods had been unable, with one of the bigger cold case being solved, finding the serial killer nicknamed The Golden State Killer. Yet these police investigations also raise questions about of privacy and consent.
There is much more in this book than these notes here. I quite enjoyed the book, which I listened to an audio copy from my library. I’m considering purchasing a print copy for future rereading or referencing for my own genealogy research.
October 9, 2020
Are you among the 10% of Americans who have had their DNA tested through at-home kits? Are you thinking about buying a test for you or a family member as a holiday present? Are you simply curious about what such a test might tell you?
Journalist Libby Coleman takes a look at a situation in which the technology of genetic testing seems to have outpaced the social preparedness for scenarios in which the answers received are not the ones expected. Illuminated by a number of personal stories—both heartwarming and heartbreaking—of surprise results and their aftermaths, The Lost Family describes unexpected outcomes owing to a variety of circumstances: adoption, donor-conceived children, and the relatively-not-uncommon “non-paternity events.”
Coleman sensitively investigates the world of amateur sleuths piecing together genetic and genealogical clues to determine and make meaning of their family histories and personal identities, even as she asks the hard questions about whether we have considered all the implications of sharing this most personal of information. An interesting and thought-provoking read.
Journalist Libby Coleman takes a look at a situation in which the technology of genetic testing seems to have outpaced the social preparedness for scenarios in which the answers received are not the ones expected. Illuminated by a number of personal stories—both heartwarming and heartbreaking—of surprise results and their aftermaths, The Lost Family describes unexpected outcomes owing to a variety of circumstances: adoption, donor-conceived children, and the relatively-not-uncommon “non-paternity events.”
Coleman sensitively investigates the world of amateur sleuths piecing together genetic and genealogical clues to determine and make meaning of their family histories and personal identities, even as she asks the hard questions about whether we have considered all the implications of sharing this most personal of information. An interesting and thought-provoking read.
August 27, 2021
The Lost Family is a fascinating look at the ways that DNA Testing is revealing family secrets. If you didn't tell your kid that he was adopted or conceived through artificial insemination, you'd better get to it because he will doubtless find out sooner or later whether he's trying to find out or not. That child you gave up for adoption or who you donated sperm to create, and who you thought you would never have to face, could be knocking at your door at any moment. And if one of your kids belongs to a man other than your husband, that's coming out too. It's all very unsettling and over the past decade DNA testing has exploded families even as it reunites long lost relatives and creates new relationships. You may take a DNA test from Ancestry or 23 and Me because you think it will be fun to find out if rumors of Native American blood in your family line are true, only to discover that your family (genetically speaking) is not at all what you thought it was.
Copeland does a great job of exploring questions of the ethics related to DNA testing as well as what the long term consequences of widespread adoption of DNA testing are likely to be, and she keeps it interesting by weaving stories of people who have had to deal with the unforeseen consequences these tests.
Copeland does a great job of exploring questions of the ethics related to DNA testing as well as what the long term consequences of widespread adoption of DNA testing are likely to be, and she keeps it interesting by weaving stories of people who have had to deal with the unforeseen consequences these tests.
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