An Accident of Birth is a striking retelling of a life rebuilt once long-hidden truths surface through DNA testing. Alex, our protagonist, is swept into the post–World War II Baby Scoop era, when the United States shifted infants from unwed mothers to “legitimate” couples as blank slates. He recounts growing up with distant, older adoptive parents while discovering, decades later, the vivid voices of his three biological brothers—raised together by Alex’s widowed mother. Their intertwined stories form a poignant portrait of American family life in the 1950s and ’60s. Despite the dislocation and longing that shaped his early years, Alex builds a successful career and loving family of his own, but he can’t shake the recurring sense that something is missing. His reunion brings both closure and revelation, illuminating the life that might have been. As a fellow adoptee who has known Alex for years, I read his story with an ache readers will recognize. But he’s OK now—and that’s what matters—because it was all just an accident of birth.
UNCOLLECTED PRESS: The Raw Art Review 