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The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are
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The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are
$5800
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
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Description
A deeply reported look at the rise of home genetic testing and the seismic shock it has had on individual lives
You swab your cheek or spit into a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later, you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry certain genetic risks. Or the report could reveal a long-buried family secret and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon, a lark becomes an obsession, an incessant desire to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like “Who am I?” and “Where did I come from?” Welcome to the age of home genetic testing.
In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. Copeland explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a thoroughly modern genetic detective story.
The Lost Family delves into the many lives that have been irrevocably changed by home DNA tests—a technology that represents the end of family secrets. There are the adoptees who’ve used the tests to find their birth parents; donor-conceived adults who suddenly discover they have more than fifty siblings; and hundreds of thousands of Americans who discover their fathers aren’t biologically related to them, a phenomenon so common it is known as a “non-paternity event.” Individuals are left to grapple with their conceptions of race and ethnicity when their true ancestral histories are discovered. Throughout these accounts, Copeland explores the impulse toward genetic essentialism and raises the question of how much our genes should get to tell us about who we are. With more than thirty million people having undergone home DNA testing, the answer to that question is more important than ever.
Gripping and masterfully told, The Lost Family is a spectacular book on a big, timely subject.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Libby Copeland's The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are is acclaimed for its engaging exploration of the transformative effects of DNA testing on familial and personal identities. Reviewers praise it as a well-researched and thought-provoking narrative that intricately weaves together personal stories, technical insights, and sociological discussions. The book is described as a gripping account of how genetic testing is reshaping concepts of identity, family, and the societal impacts of these technological advances.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781419747939
Publisher: Abrams
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 10 June 2021
Country: United States
Imprint: Abrams Press
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 25.0mm
Width: 143.0mm
Height: 220.0mm
Weight: 360g
Pages: 304
About the Author
Libby Copeland is an award-winning journalist who has written for the Washington Post, New York magazine, the New York Times, the Atlantic, and many other publications. Copeland was a reporter and editor at the Post for eleven years, has been a media fellow and guest lecturer, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.
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