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Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite
Illegitimately Yours: Michael and Me by Catherine Taylor is the author's story and her deeply personal account of the family history. Catherine Taylor's early years were filled with memories of playing with her brother Michael, the school holidays, summer nights, lazy days when even the simplest of things looked like an adventure. Many incidents that happened in their grandma's house remained etched in Catherine's memory, some of them bizarre and some of them raising many questions throughout her lifetime. Grandma's house was dirty and the very thought of living there with Grandma, Aunty Margaret, and Susan scared her. This memoir is about Catherine's family, which was far from endearing, her genealogical research, and a tangled web of secrets, lies, and deceit, all of which contributed to how she was shaped to be the person she grew up to be.
Catherine Taylor shares pictures and even a handwritten letter from her foster brother, Michael, and she speaks about how she slowly pieced together the secrets of her family, some of them unhappy discoveries. Illegitimately Yours: Michael and Me is also a reminder to readers about the challenges, adversities, and situations many of them have to undergo during their lifetime and how they overcome these hurdles to lead their lives as normally as possible. It requires a lot of courage to write a book that reveals family secrets and lies and exposes the details surrounding her adoption and the DNA test. There is also a chart of the family tree which will help readers to understand the family. Recalling all the memories and writing this memoir must have been a cathartic experience for the author.
