Journalist Finds Missing Child in a Real-Life Family History Mystery
The Missing Child: The Life She Lived and the Life She Missed by Paul T. O’Connor tells the story of how he and his sister ignored his mom’s wishes and discovered her fascinating truth. They grew up knowing their mom Charlotte was adopted, but when they found an envelope marked “burn without opening” among her personal papers, they did exactly what I would have done – they opened it and spend years following clues to her past secret life, and their own family history.
Charlotte’s story was not an uncommon one. She faced prejudice, hard luck, and poverty, yet managed to succeed through her own perseverance. I saw many correlations to my own family’s story – while the location and specifics differed, some of the experiences were quite similar. While this is the story of an individual and her family, the book also includes snapshots of American history that shows how much has changed in the last century. The author tells the story of this real-life mystery in a sensitive but honest manner, from a modern perspective that lacks the judgey attitudes of the time in which it occurred (and which were likely behind his mother’s desire to hide the truth).
As a journalist and hobby genealogist, I was intrigued by the story and appreciate O’Connor’s explanations of how he found answers and came to conclusions. While some might be outraged thathis dead mother’s wishes were ignored, I would have done the same thing (though I’m sure my mother would encourage this venture rather than forbid it). I enjoyed reading this book and am encouraged that I may eventually ferret out a family history of my own.
Note: Though an advance digital copy of this book was provided free of charge, no compensation was made for this review and the opinions are exclusively mine. KY