Ancestor Trouble

By Maud Newton,

Book cover of Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation

Book description

“Extraordinary and wide-ranging . . . a literary feat that simultaneously builds and excavates identity.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
 
Roxane Gay’s Audacious Book Club Pick • Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize • An acclaimed writer goes searching for the truth about her…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Ancestor Trouble as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book has a lot of genealogy and spinoffs, which demonstrate all the reasons I love genealogy and, hence, love this book. Newton digs into her past and uncovers secrets and more, which leads to her knowing herself better as well as her family.

I really liked that she delved into associated topics such as kin and why they matter, epigenetics, a critique of DNA websites, spiritual practices, and connecting with and honoring one’s ancestors. I agree with what she writes, “We can see more clearly where we need to go, how we may best live if we know precisely…

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Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

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