A Broken Tree

How DNA Exposed a Family's Secrets

Stephen F. Anderson

All families have stories and all families have secrets. Some stories can be hidden forever. Others come out over time, or suddenly through revelation. With the advent of easy to obtain and cheap DNA kits, more and more people are stumbling across biological secrets they never suspected, sometimes with happy outcomes, but sometimes with shocking results.

In this book, the author provides a real-life example of the shocking revelations and aftermath of DNA investigation. Growing up as one of nine children, Stephen Anderson suspected from a young age that something was amiss. A chance accident, and a small crack in the history of his family broke open. More would come to be revealed as the author sets out on a journey to find answers to his questions. Any reader wondering what a DNA test might reveal will find here one extreme example of family secrets gone awry. As each member learns more about his or her own identity, new family members pop up, fade out, or pass away before relationships can be established or even revealed.

More and more people are undergoing DNA tests and seeking to find long lost relatives though ancestry searches. What they find might upturn all their shared assumptions about family, identity, belonging, and history. Join Stephen as he uncovers his own family’s secrets, the impact they’ve had on his life and his family’s, and what they are all doing now to heal fresh wounds.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 210 • Trim: 5¾ x 9

978-1-5381-2742-1 • Hardback • September 2019 • $38.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-8541-4 • Paperback • August 2023 • $22.00 • (£16.99)

978-1-5381-2743-8 • eBook • September 2019 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs, Science / Life Sciences / Genetics & Genomics, Family & Relationships / Dysfunctional Families

A Broken Tree

How DNA Exposed a Family's Secrets

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

All families have stories and all families have secrets. Some stories can be hidden forever. Others come out over time, or suddenly through revelation. With the advent of easy to obtain and cheap DNA kits, more and more people are stumbling across biological secrets they never suspected, sometimes with happy outcomes, but sometimes with shocking results.

In this book, the author provides a real-life example of the shocking revelations and aftermath of DNA investigation. Growing up as one of nine children, Stephen Anderson suspected from a young age that something was amiss. A chance accident, and a small crack in the history of his family broke open. More would come to be revealed as the author sets out on a journey to find answers to his questions. Any reader wondering what a DNA test might reveal will find here one extreme example of family secrets gone awry. As each member learns more about his or her own identity, new family members pop up, fade out, or pass away before relationships can be established or even revealed.

More and more people are undergoing DNA tests and seeking to find long lost relatives though ancestry searches. What they find might upturn all their shared assumptions about family, identity, belonging, and history. Join Stephen as he uncovers his own family’s secrets, the impact they’ve had on his life and his family’s, and what they are all doing now to heal fresh wounds.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 210 • Trim: 5¾ x 9

978-1-5381-2742-1 • Hardback • September 2019 • $38.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-8541-4 • Paperback • August 2023 • $22.00 • (£16.99)

978-1-5381-2743-8 • eBook • September 2019 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs, Science / Life Sciences / Genetics & Genomics, Family & Relationships / Dysfunctional Families

Author

Stephen Anderson retired in 2016 after working 26 years for FamilySearch, International, one of the largest online family history sites in the world. His has published a collection of oral histories from many of the long-time residents in his community. He gives presentations and has appeared on the syndicated radio show and podcast, Extreme Genes, hosted by Scott Fisher. He currently lives in Lindon, Utah and continues to work gathering stories from a wide audience of people he finds fascinating.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

SECTION 1: THE STORIES

1 My Family

2 The Stories

3 Creating the Standard

4 Surprise! Dealing with the Results

5 Finding the Answers

6 Adding Clarity to the Picture

SECTION 2: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

7 Questions and Answers

8 Where to from Here?

Family Tree

Notes

About the Author

Reviews

I’ve spent well over 35 years reading genealogy-related books and articles. A Broken Tree, by Steve Anderson, is the most fascinating “read” of my entire career. It would be trite and understated to say that it reads like a novel. The book is beyond that. The words pull you in and dare you to read more, as every paragraph makes this family’s story one that the reader must see through to the end. This story couldn’t have been written a decade ago. The advent and social acceptance of inexpensive DNA testing by millions of individuals allows family history to expand beyond the traditional nuclear family to include those whom we would never have considered in times past. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in family history, DNA testing, and a good scandal. I doubt that many families could top this one.
— Leland Meitzler, GenealogyBlog.com

“A Broken Tree” offers the reader a glimpse into the emotional impact family secrets have on innocent children, even when they are already strong, secure adults. This story offers the humanity of the situation, offering an intimate glimpse into the life of the author and his family. My hope is that with this story, our society’s culture will change with respect to family secrecy and the walls will disintegrate leaving families no other option than to be transparent and honest and truthful – especially when it comes to one’s own identity and self-worth. Anderson offers us the beauty of the human spirit shining through adversity. Bravo!
— Catherine St Clair, President, NPE Friends Fellowship, Inc.