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knittyreader's review against another edition
2.0
DNF at 30%
I think there have been too many memoirs I liked until now, getting my hopes up (even if I don't read them that often, I usually like them, a lot). This one seemed promising. Where you come from is kind of a big deal, right?
It didn't do it for me this time. Starting with the father asking Lindsay to find out their geneology, because of a dream, and the reaction was 'Oh well. 'Kay then,' to him finding the strange results, writing and repeating it must be a mistake. And then it wasn't, and he just told everyone and the reactions were (paraphrazed!) 'Cool,' 'I see, you have his lips. 'Kaybye.' etc. It all seemed so cold, especially for a subject like this.
Tis book might be interesting for others. I think my dad, who simply loves genealogy, would enjoy this book a lot, because he reads it from a different angle. It just wasn't for me.
I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
I think there have been too many memoirs I liked until now, getting my hopes up (even if I don't read them that often, I usually like them, a lot). This one seemed promising. Where you come from is kind of a big deal, right?
It didn't do it for me this time. Starting with the father asking Lindsay to find out their geneology, because of a dream, and the reaction was 'Oh well. 'Kay then,' to him finding the strange results, writing and repeating it must be a mistake. And then it wasn't, and he just told everyone and the reactions were (paraphrazed!) 'Cool,' 'I see, you have his lips. 'Kaybye.' etc. It all seemed so cold, especially for a subject like this.
Tis book might be interesting for others. I think my dad, who simply loves genealogy, would enjoy this book a lot, because he reads it from a different angle. It just wasn't for me.
I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
nekomeith's review against another edition
3.0
A well intentioned book telling the story of the author finding out his simple family life was a little more complicated than he thought. It’s plain to see how much the author relies upon his past experience of writing fantasy novels to explain his writing style.
It’s a nice and simple story about accepting your family members no matter who they are or where they come from. It’s not a particularly interesting read and I wouldn’t really recommend it unless you are really into family history stories and bad jokes.
It’s a nice and simple story about accepting your family members no matter who they are or where they come from. It’s not a particularly interesting read and I wouldn’t really recommend it unless you are really into family history stories and bad jokes.
katiemayveil's review against another edition
4.0
The Milkman's Son by Randy Lindsay is his personal experience with a DNA test surprise. It all starts when he sets out to do his family history, but he struggles to locate one particular ancestor's birthplace. After failing for months he decides to take a DNA test to help him narrow down what geographical areas to look into. That's when he learns that the father who raised him is not his biological father. What follows is his journey of self-doubt, discovery, realization and ultimately acceptance.
This was a very intriguing story, made even more so by the fact that it's real. I love that he included perspectives from both families, and how they came to accept and love him and the situation he found himself in. It resonated with me because I have 3 children who have a different mother. I love that he focused on love and how he didn't have to be raised with them to have a connection, also he had adopted two sons, so his story just continues to expand and affect more people.
If you are interested in true inspirational stories, family history, and good heartwarming reads, this is a wonderful book.
This was a very intriguing story, made even more so by the fact that it's real. I love that he included perspectives from both families, and how they came to accept and love him and the situation he found himself in. It resonated with me because I have 3 children who have a different mother. I love that he focused on love and how he didn't have to be raised with them to have a connection, also he had adopted two sons, so his story just continues to expand and affect more people.
If you are interested in true inspirational stories, family history, and good heartwarming reads, this is a wonderful book.
bethgiven's review against another edition
2.0
Randy Lindsay, on a quest to find his genealogy via Ancestry.com, uncovers more than he ever expected when he learns through DNA testing that his dad is not his biological father. He has half-siblings living on the other side of the country, who happily embrace him as family.
This type of memoir is bound to become abundant as DNA testing is becoming more popular; Inheritance by Dani Shapiro is a bestselling memoir with similar story, and Lindsay even mentions that most people know someone who’s discovered skeletons in the closet through DNA testing. I do think this particular story is interesting, but I wonder if it’s really interesting enough to warrant an entire book.
Lindsay’s memoir is filled with a lot of mundane details about corresponding with half-siblings via social media and email; once he discovers this second family, there really isn’t any conflict to propel the story forward (which is nice for him but not as engaging for us readers). I wish he had included more of the relationship between his Mom and this biological father, but Lindsay seems to recognize that it’s not his story to tell (however frustrating that may be for the reader).
I’m glad that the author has enjoyed such a positive relationship with his recently discovered half-siblings and his biological father. I’m not sure a book was necessary, but when such a thing happens to a writer, I guess you’re bound to get a memoir about it.
I appreciate Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy of this book.
This type of memoir is bound to become abundant as DNA testing is becoming more popular; Inheritance by Dani Shapiro is a bestselling memoir with similar story, and Lindsay even mentions that most people know someone who’s discovered skeletons in the closet through DNA testing. I do think this particular story is interesting, but I wonder if it’s really interesting enough to warrant an entire book.
Lindsay’s memoir is filled with a lot of mundane details about corresponding with half-siblings via social media and email; once he discovers this second family, there really isn’t any conflict to propel the story forward (which is nice for him but not as engaging for us readers). I wish he had included more of the relationship between his Mom and this biological father, but Lindsay seems to recognize that it’s not his story to tell (however frustrating that may be for the reader).
I’m glad that the author has enjoyed such a positive relationship with his recently discovered half-siblings and his biological father. I’m not sure a book was necessary, but when such a thing happens to a writer, I guess you’re bound to get a memoir about it.
I appreciate Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy of this book.
kappafrog's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
2.0
The story was quick and easy to read. I was invested enough to read to the end, and there were some poignant moments. However, so much of the book was boring filler. The story would have better suited an essay than an entire book. For all the padding, it was also missing crucial parts of the story. We never found out his parents' story together, and his mother was oddly absent. If he wanted to respect her privacy so much, I'm not sure why he turned this into a book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Abandonment, Chronic illness, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Grief
kannolikitten's review against another edition
3.0
I usually love memoirs and biographies because they can be written in such a personal way. In many way, this story was extremely personal, but there were a few things that kept me from fully enjoying this as a memoir.
First, I will say that Randy Lindsay is an incredibly talented writer. The way that he phrased different events and the words he used helped me to picture what was happening so much better. I could tell that his passion lies in writing fiction, and reading his memoir really made me consider adding some of his fiction books to my TBR.
On the other hand, this style made it hard for me to appreciate this story as a memoir. The pacing felt a little off, and it seemed like attention was given to such minor details that made me want speed the book up a bit. In a work of fiction, this is the exact thing I would love and appreciate. In a memoir, it can feel tedious.
Thank you for haring your story, Randy Lindsay. I hope that those who read it can connect and feel the importance of familial love.
***I was provided with an ARC of this book from Shadow Mountain Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions above are my own.***
First, I will say that Randy Lindsay is an incredibly talented writer. The way that he phrased different events and the words he used helped me to picture what was happening so much better. I could tell that his passion lies in writing fiction, and reading his memoir really made me consider adding some of his fiction books to my TBR.
On the other hand, this style made it hard for me to appreciate this story as a memoir. The pacing felt a little off, and it seemed like attention was given to such minor details that made me want speed the book up a bit. In a work of fiction, this is the exact thing I would love and appreciate. In a memoir, it can feel tedious.
Thank you for haring your story, Randy Lindsay. I hope that those who read it can connect and feel the importance of familial love.
***I was provided with an ARC of this book from Shadow Mountain Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions above are my own.***
teenage_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Plot:
Due to the different nature as a youth, and his dark hair compared to his sibling's fair hair, Randy was nicknamed “the milkman’s son” insinuating that his father was not his biological father. Being the oldest of his siblings, Randy took their jokes and mockery of him, and carried it into adulthood, never really stopping to think why he looked so different from his siblings. After all, he was no genealogist but a writer and preferred to live in his world of make-believe than to learn more about the real one. When his father asked him to start the great Lindsey Quest, trying to find out where their family came from, Randy was intrigued by this mystery, and with one click signed up for Ansestory.com. Spending hours tracking his family down, Randy spent months at this project, while doing daily life of book meetings and transportation of children. Looking at the male line, Randy did a DNA test to see which part of Europe his family is from, to narrow down his search for those with the last name Lindsay. What he was not expecting were the results he got back. Thinking there was a mistake, his DNA showed that there was no Lindsay blood in him. Getting a message from this New Jersey girl named Tammy, who claims she is his sister, Randy cannot lie that he and Mr. Petrauschke look identical, and the matching lips do not lie. His Lindsey siblings thought this was hilarious, and so does the man he grew up calling Dad. This news did not change his siblings' mind about him, as Dad said: “you are still my son” (69), Randy just has to accept that he gained more family than he could ever hope for. Gaining connections to his family in New Jersey, Randy experiences a moment that is one in a lifetime. At the ripe age of 57, he meets his father, the man he shares 50% of his DNA with, 3 siblings, and a whole bunch of cousins and nieces, that he never knew existed.
Thoughts:
Where did you come from, is perhaps one of the bigger questions people have in life. What better way to capture this monumental moment in his life, than write it in a book. Randy Lindsay, already an author, wrote this memoir of finding out his dad was not his dad after all. Taking place over a time span of just over a year, Lindsay gives us a detailed account of doing the DNA test, finding out about his father, meeting him and his New Jersey family for the first time, and telling everyone in Arizona this wild news. At age 57, with a strong sense of what family is, this news completely shocked Lindsay, despite him knowing that he did not look like any of his other siblings. Appropriately titled after his childhood nickname, Lindsay wrote this book in a personal narrative, which made it flow nicely, and timed it perfectly, as the months passed by in only a few pages. Although like most memoirs it is a slow read, and there is not a lot of “excitement” to it as you would find in a fictional novel. It must be an age thing, but it is hard to believe that his father did not care and that his mother refused to talk about it. As pointed out by his siblings, his father probably always suspected it about him, but was an amazing, caring man, calling the child that he expected was not his own and raised him as he did his blood. Why does his mom refuse to talk about it, who knows? Lindsay said he did not want to push his mother, and rock their relationship, guess it is just another cliffhanger that books (and life) leave, with the reader (and person) always questioning why. Overall, this book was a stellar example of non-fiction DNA family drama story, and how more family is never bad.
Due to the different nature as a youth, and his dark hair compared to his sibling's fair hair, Randy was nicknamed “the milkman’s son” insinuating that his father was not his biological father. Being the oldest of his siblings, Randy took their jokes and mockery of him, and carried it into adulthood, never really stopping to think why he looked so different from his siblings. After all, he was no genealogist but a writer and preferred to live in his world of make-believe than to learn more about the real one. When his father asked him to start the great Lindsey Quest, trying to find out where their family came from, Randy was intrigued by this mystery, and with one click signed up for Ansestory.com. Spending hours tracking his family down, Randy spent months at this project, while doing daily life of book meetings and transportation of children. Looking at the male line, Randy did a DNA test to see which part of Europe his family is from, to narrow down his search for those with the last name Lindsay. What he was not expecting were the results he got back. Thinking there was a mistake, his DNA showed that there was no Lindsay blood in him. Getting a message from this New Jersey girl named Tammy, who claims she is his sister, Randy cannot lie that he and Mr. Petrauschke look identical, and the matching lips do not lie. His Lindsey siblings thought this was hilarious, and so does the man he grew up calling Dad. This news did not change his siblings' mind about him, as Dad said: “you are still my son” (69), Randy just has to accept that he gained more family than he could ever hope for. Gaining connections to his family in New Jersey, Randy experiences a moment that is one in a lifetime. At the ripe age of 57, he meets his father, the man he shares 50% of his DNA with, 3 siblings, and a whole bunch of cousins and nieces, that he never knew existed.
Thoughts:
Where did you come from, is perhaps one of the bigger questions people have in life. What better way to capture this monumental moment in his life, than write it in a book. Randy Lindsay, already an author, wrote this memoir of finding out his dad was not his dad after all. Taking place over a time span of just over a year, Lindsay gives us a detailed account of doing the DNA test, finding out about his father, meeting him and his New Jersey family for the first time, and telling everyone in Arizona this wild news. At age 57, with a strong sense of what family is, this news completely shocked Lindsay, despite him knowing that he did not look like any of his other siblings. Appropriately titled after his childhood nickname, Lindsay wrote this book in a personal narrative, which made it flow nicely, and timed it perfectly, as the months passed by in only a few pages. Although like most memoirs it is a slow read, and there is not a lot of “excitement” to it as you would find in a fictional novel. It must be an age thing, but it is hard to believe that his father did not care and that his mother refused to talk about it. As pointed out by his siblings, his father probably always suspected it about him, but was an amazing, caring man, calling the child that he expected was not his own and raised him as he did his blood. Why does his mom refuse to talk about it, who knows? Lindsay said he did not want to push his mother, and rock their relationship, guess it is just another cliffhanger that books (and life) leave, with the reader (and person) always questioning why. Overall, this book was a stellar example of non-fiction DNA family drama story, and how more family is never bad.
nekomeith's review
3.0
A well intentioned book telling the story of the author finding out his simple family life was a little more complicated than he thought. It’s plain to see how much the author relies upon his past experience of writing fantasy novels to explain his writing style.
It’s a nice and simple story about accepting your family members no matter who they are or where they come from. It’s not a particularly interesting read and I wouldn’t really recommend it unless you are really into family history stories and bad jokes.
It’s a nice and simple story about accepting your family members no matter who they are or where they come from. It’s not a particularly interesting read and I wouldn’t really recommend it unless you are really into family history stories and bad jokes.
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