Shapiro remembers her mother saying that she “hit the jackpot” by having Dani, “as if it were a lottery.” Did finding out she had been conceived using artificial insemination help the author understand her relationship with her mother?.What ethical questions does Shapiro encounter through this experience? What did you make of how she dealt with them?.

Throughout the memoir, how does Shapiro grapple with the dark history of eugenics, as it relates to fertility science?.

How does Shapiro’s connection with her spirituality evolve?.

When Shapiro contacts her biological father, he writes in return, “I don’t have the time, energy, or interest to pursue this further.” What did you make of his response? Should sperm donors be able to expect anonymity?.

Why did this comment matter to her so deeply?

When Shapiro consults a rabbi after getting the results of her DNA test, he tells her that the father who raised her was a hero.

What clues about her own heritage does Shapiro say she ignored growing up? Do you think she was trying to avoid them?.

Shapiro tells her students that “there is no such thing as absolute truth - only the truth that is singularly their own.” How is her own truth rocked by the results of her ancestry test?.

Why do these comments about Shapiro’s appearance unnerve her?

Kushner, pointing out her blonde hair when she was a child and telling her, “You could have gotten us bread from the Nazis” because of it.

Shapiro remembers a family friend and Holocaust survivor, Mrs.WARNING: Spoiler alert on questions further down Shapiro will answer reader questions on the PBS NewsHour broadcast at the end of the month. You can also submit your own questions for Dani Shapiro on our Google form. Learn more about the book club here.īelow are questions to help guide your discussions as you read the book over the next month. Our March 2020 pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club is Dani Shapiro’s “Inheritance.” Become a member of the Now Read This book club by joining our Facebook group, or by signing up for our newsletter.

Shapiro inheritance