Kinfolks: Falling Off the Family Tree

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About Kinfolks: Falling Off The Family Tree

From a New York Times–bestselling author, a blend of “history, raucous wit, genealogical sleuthing, and charming childhood memories” (Wellesley Magazine).   In a “wise, funny inquiry into the complexities of inheritance,” this acclaimed Southern author investigates her family’s hidden roots and the mysterious Melungeons (Booklist, starred review).   Lisa Alther’s mother hailed from New York, her father from Virginia. One day a babysitter told Lisa about the Melungeons: six-fingered child-snatchers who hid in caves. It wasn’t until adulthood that Lisa learned the Melungeons were actually an isolated group of dark-skinned people—often with extra thumbs—living in East Tennessee. But who were they? Descendants of Sir Walter Raleigh’s Lost Colony? Kin of shipwrecked Portuguese or Turkish sailors? Or were they the children of frontiersmen, or displaced Native Americans?   Part sidesplitting travelogue, part lesson in how (and how not) to climb your family tree, Alther’s memoir casts light on a little-known part of America’s contentious racial history; it shimmers with wit, and demonstrates just how wacky and wonderful our human family truly is.   “Filled with good humor, fine storytelling, and acute observations of small town life . . . Anyone who enjoys the humor and turn of phrase of Bill Bryson, Garrison Keillor, or Jean Shepherd should enjoy Kinfolks.” —Lodi News-Sentinel