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The Foundling

The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me

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The Foundling

Written by: Paul Joseph Fronczak, Alex Tresniowski, Paul Joseph Fronczak - introduction
Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
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This is the inspiring and “page-turning” (Booklist) true story of a man who discovered that he had been kidnapped as a baby—and how his quest to find out who he really is upturned the genealogy industry, his own family, and set in motion the second longest cold case in US history.

In 1964, a woman pretending to be a nurse kidnapped an infant boy named Paul Fronczak from a Chicago hospital.

Two years later, police found a boy abandoned outside a variety store in New Jersey. The FBI tracked down Dora Fronczak, the kidnapped infant’s mother, and she identified the abandoned boy as her son. The family spent the next fifty years believing they were whole again—but Paul was always unsure about his true identity.

Then, four years ago—spurred on by the birth of his first child, Emma Faith—Paul took a DNA test. The test revealed that he was definitely not Paul Fronczak. From that moment on, Paul has been on a tireless mission to find the man whose life he’s been living—and to discover who abandoned him, and why.

Poignant and inspiring, The Foundling is a story about a child lost and a faith found, about the permanence of families and the bloodlines that define you, and about the emotional toll of both losing your identity and rediscovering who you truly are. Entertainment & Celebrities True Crime Disappearance Celebrity Fiction Mystery Abduction
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incredible tracing of DNA history and an amazing story, I could not put it down and finished it in a day!

shocking story

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At 10, a little boy learns he had been kidnapped as a newborn. Later, he learns it was a full 2 years before he was 'found' and returned 'home'. But was he the same child? And if not, who was he? And where was the kidnapped infant? Follow this journey of discovery, from the feeling 'other' and not really part of his family, to the twists and turns that his story takes as a result of today's access to DNA and sites like Ancestry. It makes me think of the thousands of skeletons in people's closets that are never, or rarely, revealed. Fascinating stuff, and a compelling story. I hope one day more of his story will be revealed.

What a shocking and incredible story!

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What a rollercoaster of emotions. Fascinating and at times frustrating read . Paul Fronczac should have read this himself. He has a great voice in the introduction and on the video on his web site .
The narrator was a bit too sappy .
I sense this story is not over .
I developed a renewed interest in my own ancestry while reading this book and found out some disturbing facts of my own . Submitting my DNA has changed the game.

Bingeworthy reading

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It was off to a good start but I got a bit lost in the details. Also, to reference a part in the book, ethnicity and religion are not the same thing.

Interesting but a bit drawn out for me.

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