FINDING FAMILY

In this debut memoir, one man embarks on a nearly three-decade quest to find his biological family.

Hill details his extensive journey of self-discovery, and he tries to uncover the identity of his biological parents. When Hill was 18, he accidentally learned that he was adopted. Many years later, his adoptive father, on his deathbed, revealed some startling facts about Hill's biological family. The news didn’t unnerve Hill, but instead sparked his curiosity. He began investigating his true identity, with the hope of finding living blood relatives—a search that would last 26 years. His adopted mother had done her best to erase the adoption’s paper trail, and the author’s task was filled with dead ends, wrong turns and tedium. His research even stagnates for long periods in his life. But with the help of friends and advocates, he eventually uncovers his birth mother’s identity, and then his father’s. Hill’s objective was simply “to know the truth about my birth and I didn’t want to hurt anybody.” Although both his biological parents were deceased, Hill did find new family members, including a brother, a sister and multiple cousins, with whom he built long-lasting relationships. He also grew to have a newfound appreciation for the love his adopted parents gave him. Hill’s prose is clear and straightforward throughout, marked by a methodological tone that reflects his careers in science and marketing. Seamlessly and descriptively, he folds a decades-long process into a comprehensible narrative. His years of meticulous note taking translate into an inspiring story about his dedicated search for the truth.

An engaging, page-turning memoir that thoughtfully puts together the pieces of a family puzzle.