This is the part where my family research gets tricky.

I’ve now spoken extensively with members of my maternal family and received a treasure trove of photographs and drawings for my efforts.

Courtesy of the author

But the next part — my paternal family — is going to be far more difficult. Having failed many times to reach a working phone number, I now have to resort to unconventional methods to find someone. This is critical, as it’s likely the only way I’ll ever understand anything about the relationship between my mother and father.

Gathering the Branches of my Family Tree