×
Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date.
For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now.

Hardcover
Members save with free shipping everyday!
See details
See details
24.5
In Stock
Overview
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; 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”; and individuals who 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.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9781419743009 |
---|---|
Publisher: | ABRAMS |
Publication date: | 03/03/2020 |
Pages: | 304 |
Sales rank: | 134,268 |
Product dimensions: | 6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d) |
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.
Customer Reviews
Related Searches
Explore More Items
With thick pages cut into the shape of each letter, children and parents will enjoy ...
With thick pages cut into the shape of each letter, children and parents will enjoy
this peek-through guessing game around the letterform itself. Sprinkles, hot fudge, and cherries hint at I’s ice cream sundae, while aquarium accessories hint at F’s ...
B Is for Babar takes readers through an alphabet of fun with Babar and his ...
B Is for Babar takes readers through an alphabet of fun with Babar and his
family. Arthur plays the accordion, Flora feeds the fish, and more! Young children will love this bite-size adaptation of the classic picture book Babar’s ABC.Praise ...
This fascinating, interactive autobiography presents Chuck Close’s story, his art, and a discussion of the ...
This fascinating, interactive autobiography presents Chuck Close’s story, his art, and a discussion of the
many processes he uses in the studio. The question-and-answer format is based on real kids’ inquiries about Close’s life and work, and his answers to ...
It’s a busy day on the construction site, and these industrious mice are up to
something big! But what are they working on? Bold, colorful illustrations and recognizable vehicles with moving parts add to the fun, with hidden clues for ...
One beautiful autumn day, Art sets out with his mother and grandfather for a fishing ...
One beautiful autumn day, Art sets out with his mother and grandfather for a fishing
trip. Fishing days are Art’s favorite. He loves learning the ropes from Grandpa—the different kinds of flies and tackle and the trout that frequent their ...
Praised by Lev Grossman as “stunning…raw, real, smart, very thrilling and very, very wicked,” The ...
Praised by Lev Grossman as “stunning…raw, real, smart, very thrilling and very, very wicked,” The
Circle, the first book in the internationally bestselling Engelsfors Trilogy, introduced a group of high school girls with special powers who became the Chosen Ones. ...
Hearst Ranch offers readers an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the stunningly beautiful 82,000-acre cattle ...
Hearst Ranch offers readers an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the stunningly beautiful 82,000-acre cattle
ranch surrounding William Randolph Hearst’s legendary Hearst Castle. Much of this spectacular landscape is still privately owned and has never been seenbut this book changes ...
Celebrate the wonder and excitement of waiting for a new sibling to arrive in this ...
Celebrate the wonder and excitement of waiting for a new sibling to arrive in this
charming picture book from the bestselling creators of In My Heart Part of the Growing Hearts series! A sister-to-be is so eager to step into ...