Secret Sister

The author was raised as an only child with adoptive parents. Her parents shared all the information they had about her birth parents. She knew both of her birth parents’ names and that they were from the island of Jersey, but little more than that at first. After the death of her adoptive father, the author started looking for her birth parents. She had limited success in finding family members, but there were still gaps in her knowledge after 30 years of searching. With her daughter’s help, the author reached out to the television program Long Lost Family. The program’s researchers were able to find a family member that the author had spent decades looking for, as well as more surprises about the author’s family.

The author is show more an average person, not a genealogist or researcher. She writes from the heart in unsophisticated language. Although I don’t believe it’s marketed as such, it fits the high interest low level mold. I passed my copy on to extended family members for whom English is a second language. Family history researchers might glean insight in how to approach (or how not to approach) living relatives of adoptees. show less

This book was not very exciting. There are a couple of possible exciting books in there: the birth mother whose stories of her life are full of lies and inconsistencies, who must have been quite the narcissist or grifter in her youth, the older sister who knows the other half of the stories and remembers the horrific Nazi occupation of Jersey. But the author had a life of relative normalcy, and even the discovery of her sister's whereabouts was done by a British television show. Interesting read, but not one I'll revisit in future.

Apparently there is a British TV series called Long Lost Family. The author contacted them for help. She had been searching for her birth parents and had found them but needed help in finding a her sister. The lengthy title tells you quite a bit about the time-frame. I didn't find this book terribly well written although the author's angst was palpable. It would be interesting to anyone who is into genealogical research or who has an interest in family reconciliation.