(Reprinted with Shirley Worthen's permission):
Shirley Worthen's review
Jul 16, 12
Book Review for: Cajun by Any Other Name: Recovering the Lost History of a Family- and a People;
by Marie Rundquist; 166 pages

Cajun by Any Other Name is a fascinating and detailed account of how a DNA test turned the author’s perception of who she was upside down. In so doing, it sent her on a quest to unearth the details of her heritage—who her ancestors were, where they lived and the journeys they had to undertake that set the course for their descendants and who they came to be. This journey in search of her roots sent the author on several different trails, and covered thousands of miles. Along the way, she immersed herself into the cultures of her heritage, trying to come to terms with the vastly important links in her genealogy that had become “lost”, albeit purposefully, in recent generations.

The author has done all of us a service in telling her story in such a compelling and well written way. This book should serve as the catalyst to spark an interest in genealogy and personal heritage in all who read it. It certainly had that effect on me! If money were no object, I would participate in a DNA test to identify my heritage at the soonest opportunity. The author heads just such an organization for those with suspected Cajun or Amerindian roots. The results are certainly not always what those participating expect nor do they always match the family-approved genealogies passed from one generation to the next. To me, that adds to the thrill of solving the mystery of just exactly what our heritage is and who our ancestors were.

Note: I would like to thank the author, the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book for review purposes.