A Book to Read if You Are Interested in Your Family History

Ever since I’ve become a Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, I’ve had the wonderful chance to read and review phenomenal memoirs and non-fiction books. Usually, these books fall outside my comfort zone and are not ones I normally consider for my own reading choices, but thanks to my role, I have learned to embrace them as fantastic contributions to our literary world. They remind me that we all have a story to tell, each as important as the other. You also don’t have to be a celebrity or a world-renowned expert to add value to these genres.

So, lately, I had the chance to read Guns and Gods in My Genes by Neill McKee. If you have ever been curious about your own family history and ancestry, this is the book you need to add to your reading list. Like, right now. Go add it. In fact, here is the GoodReads link.

Author of the award-winning travel memoir Finding Myself in Borneo takes us on a journey through 400 years of family history that expands from Canada into the United States. He unearths unique stories and shares his own lens of examining his family history. You go step by step with him as he finds the various pieces of family history. It’s fascinating to read his insights and questions that may never get an answer.

While I’ve never seen myself as the type to pour over family history and ancestry records, author Neill McKee piqued my interest. The meditations sprinkled through the story really spoke to me. It’s when the author reflected on the various bits and pieces he learned and when he really draws close to his family ancestry. It gave me insights as to how important this journey was to the author. In one scene, he meditated alongside a river where an ancestor had been buried:

“Why did her daughter leave her here with strangers, by a river she hardly knew? I spoke to her, “Am I the only descendant son in the last 100 years who has visited your courage in this lonely place, this alien land?” But the only answer that came was the distant sound of rushing water.”

– Excerpt in Guns and Gods in My Genes by Neill McKee

This book may not be a beach read, but if you thrive off of details, and love hearing about history, you’ll love reading this book. What I love about memoirs no matter who it’s written by, is that you get the details you miss in the everyday life. That’s what I loved about Neill McKee’s book. You get the idiosyncrasies that you might miss in the day-to-day knowing of a person. You get the richness of getting close to someone’s family history.

Also, another bonus in this book is that there are pictures throughout! The author does a great job at capturing the various images of his family, important landmarks, and locations he visits.

Overall, this is a must-have book to add to your collection, especially if you love books about travel, history, genealogy, and family roots. You can buy a copy for yourself on Amazon.com or you can support your local bookstore by purchasing a copy on Bookshop.org.

I am excited to share that I’m giving away a copy of the book Guns and Gods in My Genes to one lucky reader. Enter via Rafflecopter below. Giveaway open to US Only. Ends 3/20/21.

About the Author, Neill McKee

Neill McKee is a creative nonfiction writer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His first travel memoir, Finding Myself in Borneo, won a bronze medal in the Independent Publishers Book Awards, 2020, as well as other awards. McKee holds a Bachelor’s Degree, from the University of Calgary and a Master’s Degree in Communication from Florida State University. He worked internationally for 45 years, becoming an expert in the field of communication for social change. He directed and produced a number of award-winning documentary films/videos and multimedia initiatives, and has written numerous articles and books in the field of development communication. During his international career, McKee worked for Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO); Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC); UNICEF; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Academy for Educational Development and FHI 360, Washington, DC. He worked and lived in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Uganda, and Russia for a total of 18 years and traveled to over 80 countries on short-term assignments. In 2015, he settled in New Mexico, using his varied experiences, memories, and imagination in creative writing.

Find him online at:

Author’s website: www.neillmckeeauthor.com/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/neill-mckee-b9971b65/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/McKeeNeill/

Twitter: twitter.com/MckeeNeill

NBFS: www.northborneofrodotolkien.org

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