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summer reading
Histories, novels, memoires & more
The Psychology of Searching
By Penny Walters
Bringing a whole new perspective to family history, The Psychology of Searching invites us to examine why we pursue family history, what it is that sparks our curiosity about our roots, and why a sense of belonging and a sense of self are so fundamental to humans and our story of ourselves.
On her mission to try and pinpoint answers to this often elusive matter, Penny Walters takes a multidisciplinary approach – looking at, for instance, the etymology of the very words we use to describe our pursuit (did you know that ‘kith’ refers to friends and acquaintances, while ‘kin’ are biological relatives). She examines the ways in which demography can add to our understanding of our ancestors’ lives (a Victorian with 12 children is the norm; someone today with
