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When a stranger who turns out to be his niece receives an extra 23andMe test by mistake, it changes Alex Blum's life forever.
At the age of sixty, Alex Blum made a life-altering discovery: he was the eldest of four biological brothers he never knew existed. Born in 1955, Blum had always known he was adopted, yet the secrecy of the era kept every detail of his origins sealed. Without a court order, he spent decades without a single clue about where he came from—or why he had been given up.
Raised by a wealthy family on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Blum grew up surrounded by privilege but plagued by a deep sense of disconnection. He often felt out of place and emotionally unmoored, longing for a sense of belonging that never arrived.
Having built a career helping others tell their stories—first for brands as a commercial producer and then as a feature film producer with credits including Behind Enemy Lines and Flight of the Phoenix for 20th Century Fox—Blum finally turns the camera on himself in An Accident of Birth.
More than a memoir of adoption and reunion, An Accident of Birth explores the universal emotional landscape shared by adoptees everywhere. With candid, affecting prose, Blum examines the pressures of “adoptee gratitude,” the quiet ache of alienation, and the lifelong search for identity, connection, and home.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Adopted in 1955, T. Alex Blum’s memoir An Accident of Birth: A Story of Adoption and Identity describes a Manhattan upbringing by his adoptive parents, Nancy and John, who treat his adoption as a fact while keeping questions about his origins at a distance. At school, he learns the rules of an elite world, then sees his future rerouted after disciplinary hearings force him out of two preparatory campuses. He rebuilds his path at the University of Wisconsin, then enters advertising production, starting in Paris before returning to the United States, where commercial work opens a route toward filmmaking and shows how contracts can define a career. As his marriage to Mary Ann ends, his family life changes. An unexpected message arrives through DNA testing, pointing to a birth family story kept out of reach for decades.
T. Alex Blum’s An Accident of Birth is an intelligent, witty, and frequently heartening look at Blum's life in raw, honest detail. This is not a memoir for the pearl-clutching crowd, as instances of sexual curiosity and the lines between consent are often breached, but everything is described in a relaxed, conversational tone. I appreciate that Blum does not spend time in a 'woe-is-me' funk, instead simply stating what is as opposed to leaning into philosophical exposition. Blum has had an extraordinary life, spilling over with grit and a fair share of loss, whether it is striking out on his own with a production company when earlier ventures failed, or sitting beside his mother during her illness and reading poetry aloud to her. Yes, there is the exciting dive into a life-changing discovery and the full extent of his birth family, but the most fascinating parts are when he is doing what the average American understands, like the impact of the financial crisis and having to sell personal items to make ends meet. Overall, this is an interesting, well-written memoir. Recommended.
