“Everything I thought I knew about myself wasn’t true—and the raw emotions poured out of me like a brakeless 18-wheel diesel truck charging over Dead Man’s Curve,” writes Rich Christiansen in the opening section of BLINDSIGHTED: A Journey of Identity, Faith, and Healing. The revelation that has so disturbed him is a bombshell discovery made following his brother’s decision to take a DNA test after he had become sick of being teased that he didn’t look like the rest of the family. The test showed a discrepancy in what the brothers had always believed was their heritage. And, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, genealogy had always been vitally important.
As each brother took their own test, the results seemed to show that they were actually only half-brothers. This didn’t make sense. They imagined all kinds of scenarios to explain it away. They surreptitiously took a DNA sample from their father and had it tested. The results showed he was not the father of any of them. When confronted, he admitted to a secret that he had intended to share after death, or as he put it, “That was going to be the first order of business in the next life.”
Though the book is heralded as focusing on the repercussions of the author’s DNA discovery, it is in reality a full, in-depth family biography. The early chapters tell the life story of Christiansen’s father and mother in great detail: how his father coped with blindness to become a successful lawyer, how his mother became the first in her family to attend a university, how they met, etc. The book is about one-third over before the author is born into the story. The DNA tests come two-thirds through.
The biographical family sections are well-written, if a little over-long for a more general readership. There are, however, some lovely intimate details revealed—as will often occur on the close recounting of personal family histories. For instance, in one passage the author recalls how when he was a young child, his mother attached bells to his shoes so his blind father could track him as he roamed around. When it eventually occurs, Christiansen reels from his discovery. He writes, “I adored my father and still do, but DNA does matter, and the deception and the shame associated with my parentage had deep impacts. My identity and understanding of myself was ripped apart. And I felt so, so lost.”
With his religious upbringing, there is no surprise that Christiansen frames his trials from the perspective of a believer. In the latter part of the book, the author writes movingly of how he came to terms with his heritage. Coming from such a rich spiritual tradition, Christiansen is able to view his experiences as part of a deeply felt and continuing legacy of belonging. Something to adapt to and overcome, a trial that he will not simply survive but one that will allow him to thrive.
BLINDSIGHTED: A Journey of Identity, Faith, and Healing is a carefully constructed family history that pivots on a shock DNA revelation. Author Rich Christiansen skillfully conveys the confusion and turmoil caused and reveals hard-earned wisdom as his story evolves.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader