“Could my mother have orchestrated my conception without my father’s permission?”
Origins. Ancestors. Families. Roots. Genealogy. Isn’t it all a search for truth–to the extent ever really knowable, of course? As I read the New York Times bestseller, Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by author and memoirist Dani Shapiro, I was struck by the intensity of her search for answers surrounding her past. We all yearn to “know” what gave rise to our origins, but Shapiro was thrown into this searing search without warning. She wasn’t looking for her real father; she wasn’t intent on discovering if her parents had been fully forthcoming about her paternity. But, inadvertently, because her husband, Michael, wanted to delve into his ancestry, she tagged along.
Once the truth was unveiled, however, her shock and dismay took root. We also see how her entire life takes on a demanding–sometimes painful, sometimes rewarding–“newness” that Shapiro had no reason to anticipate. Except…on a deeper level of awareness.
Our heart glows, and secret unrest gnaws at the root of our being. Dealing with the unconscious has become a question of life for us. – Carl Jung
Written in short, crisp chapters, Shapiro indirectly challenges readers to explore the mysteries of existence: tangible or otherwise. To pay attention to the intuitive guidance we all can access. Since a young child, she sensed that something was amiss; she sensed an unspeakable incongruence within her home and psyche. But Shapiro’s innermost feelings were tenuous, seemingly unfounded, amorphous, and simply inadequate to propel her forward. Eventually, though, when the truth arrived, seemingly at the exact moment intended–when she was prepared emotionally and intellectually and spiritually to contend with its complexity and riveting impact–her intense journey to understand her origins took on a life of its own.
Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.
– Thich Nhat Hanh
A book about family secrets–how they manifest even when unspoken, unknown, and stubbornly denied–Inheritance is a far-reaching universal story of discovering first, who we are on a genetic level, secondly, who we are from a relationship and historical perspective, and thirdly, who we are on a spiritual, all-embracing dimension. What this insightful author will never know of course is how her life would have been different had she known the truth all along. That part of Shapiro’s past is destined to remain a secret: a slice of life swallowed by the unknown, by time itself. Reminded of my poem “Impermanence” (Ancients of the Earth: Poems of Time, 2017) … it’s also true that the deeper questions of identity are inherent to existence: inseparable from the past, present, or future. Living with a mind-numbing “secret,” after all, is what it means to be human.
IMPERMANENCE
Searching for myself within the
confines of letters called a name
was futile, a string of letters void
of explanation, empty of feeling,
except for what was remembered
from mornings, even entire days,
hazy with repetition, but when the
afternoon light pierced the glass of
my studio window I reached for my
paints and brushes and there, on
a canvas, I captured my ephemeral
nature in reds browns soft yellows
and a dab of blue.
Shapiro’s memoir is profoundly memorable because of its urgency, its authenticity, its portrayal of the human condition. If you’ve ever wondered who you are–at any level of existence–this highly readable book offers companionship for the journey. A story that sheds light on what truth gives and takes away–simultaneously–Inheritance is a timeless exploration of what it means to embrace the journey only to find surprising passages, sustaining joy, and threads of hope against a threatening darkness and a persistent silence. Read it!
You are not separate from the whole. You are one with the sun, the earth, the air. You don’t have a life. You are life. ― Eckhart Tolle
Blog by SUNNYROOMSTUDIO: All Rights Reserved
Thank you for visiting SunnyRoomStudio … share the light.
