Book Review
A Family Apart
Craig A. Steffen
Greyden Press, Dayton, Ohio, 2014
I just finished reading, A Family Apart, by Craig Steffen. I must confess that it is one of the strangest books that I’ve ever read. The book is a journal of Steffen’s journey to find his birth family. It’s not a normal journal, though. The book is part murder mystery with a couple of “who done its” included. It is also a research document and a historical journey of discovery that equals anything on the History Channel. On another level the book is a psychological treatise that addresses the abandonment issues with which many adopted children struggle. Anger management issues and a hesitancy to establish close relationships are also investigated.
The book is well written. Steffens keeps the readers interest as he recounts his journey of discovery. What I found most interesting was Steffens face several of the issues with which orphans and adopted attempt to cope. Knowing people with this background, the book helped me better understand where they were coming from. I think people who enjoy genealogies and researching family trees will find this book fascinating. If you aren’t adopted, parents who adopted children, people whose friends were orphaned or adopted or interested in researching family trees, I’m not sure this book is for you. There are better murder mysteries and “who done it” books. If you want something different because your tired of your normal harlequin romances, science fiction, biographies, then this might be just the right book for you.