The Stranger in My Genes: A Memoir

The Stranger in My Genes: A Memoir
Bill Griffeth (author)

Published by NEHGS: September 2016
6″ x 9″ Hardcover: 196 pages, illustrated

Overview

Bill Griffeth, longtime genealogy buff, takes a DNA test that has an unexpected outcome: “If the results were correct, it meant that the family I had spent years documenting was not my own.” Bill undertakes a quest to solve the mystery of his origins, a quest which will shake his sense of identity. As he takes us on his journey, we learn about choices made by his ancestors, parents, and others–and we see Bill measure and weigh his own difficult choices as he confronts the past.

About the Author

Bill Griffeth is one of the country’s longest serving and most respected financial journalists on TV. He began covering Wall Street in 1981 on the Financial News Network (FNN). In 1991 he joined CNBC where he has anchored a number of programs, most recently Closing Bell from the New York Stock Exchange. Since 2003, his hobby has been genealogy, and he has traveled tens of thousands of miles in the U.S. and Europe researching his and his wife’s family histories. He currently serves as a Trustee of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. Bill and his wife, Cindy, have two grown children.  

Reviews

“A seemingly routine genetic test launched television journalist Bill Griffeth on a fascinating, often harrowing quest to discover the truth about his parentage. Both a memoir and a mystery story, The Stranger in My Genes is a riveting page-turner.” – Nathaniel Philbrick, Author of Mayflower and Valiant Ambition

“I cannot stop talking about The Stranger in My Genes! . . . [It] reads like an epic episode of This American Life. But it is Bill’s honest description of his struggle with his genetic blow that gives the book its strength. I couldn’t wait to get back to it during lunch breaks or at the end of the day, yet at the same time I worriedly watched the page numbers pass, knowing I was closing in on the end. My only complaint? I wish it were double the length. Sure to be my staff pick this fall.” – Molly Gillespie, Joseph-Beth Booksellers

“A courageous personal account, The Stranger in My Genes brings science and genealogy together in a powerful story of family secrets. Bill Griffeth has infused his passion for the unfettered truth into his riveting revelation. I couldn’t put it down.”  – Mary Tedesco, Co-Host of Genealogy Roadshow, PBS