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 familys secrets, the impact theyve had on his life and his familys, and what they are all doing now to heal fresh wounds.
Steve Anderson retired in 2016 after working for more than 26 years for FamilySearch,
International, one of the largest online family history sites in the world. The last 5 years of his work with FamilySearch, he moved to the newly formed marketing division of FamilySearch International and worked as the FamilySearch blogger, writing hundreds of articles focusing on a large variety of family history topics, including how to use genetic tools to expand the story of one’s family. Steve has given presentations at family history conferences for more than 15 years. He has given presentations focusing on using DNA tests and other genetic tools to do family history research, including a case study presentation about his own family story. He has also presented on the ethics of using DNA as a family history research tool. He has been invited on two different occasions to present his story on the syndicated radio show and podcast, Extreme Genes, hosted by Scott Fisher. Well known writer, A. J. Jacobs interviewed Steve and used his story in his latest book, It’s All Relative (Chapter 20). Steve has published a collection of oral histories for the Lindon City Historical Society. He’s also written several articles for various national and international magazines on how to do family history research and oral histories, as well as 300+ blog articles for the FamilySearch blog.
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
