Autumn Leaves: A DNA Memoir

What if your search to discover your roots unearthed a secret buried for over sixty years—one that would not only rewrite your family’s story forever, but shatter the heart of someone closest to you?​

At just twenty-two, Sharon Beth embarked on a journey to learn about her family’s heritage. Over time, she became the family’s historian, carefully documenting generations of stories, photographs, and shared memories.

​Then, seventeen years later, a DNA test revealed a shocking truth that left Sharon questioning all she thought she’d known, and she was faced with one of the toughest decisions of her life: to reveal the truth and risk upending the life of someone dear to her, or keep this secret to herself?

​This raw and honest narrative follows Sharon’s journey to uncover the truth and discover a family she’s never met. Through tales of love across social and religious divides, Autumn Leaves takes readers from the 1950s tenements of New York’s Lower East Side to a glittering hotel in Connecticut and the world of burlesque, and on to present-day California—all woven together by a diamond necklace and a haunting song of lament.

​For fans of Margo Reilly’s When You Shake the Family Tree and Inheritance by Dani Shapiro, Autumn Leaves is a testament to the power of faith, love, and forgiveness, which heals the hardest truths.