Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

I’ve read and loved all of Dani Shapiro’s memoirs, so I brought high expectations to Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity and Love. Shapiro has a firecracker of a storyline: when she whimsically submits her DNA for analysis, she finds out her deceased father is not actually her genetic father. But it’s not the plotline that had me racing through this memoir. It’s Shapiro’s skill at weaving beautiful, descriptive sentences while sharing hard-won insights with the reader. Like this line about her deceased (but not genetic!) dad: “He smiles the hard-earned smile of a wounded man who lives for pockets of joy and is still able to feel them.” Another sentence reads “Every syllable, deliberate.” Ah, yes, that’s why I read Shapiro’s memoirs. Every syllable in this book seems deliberate, and the journey she takes me on blows insight into my own life. Which is why I read Inheritance in just a few sittings, folding pages over and underlining text again and again. Readers hungry for thoughtful deliberation in memoir form, this one is for you.