In the tradition of Educated and classic memoirs such as The Glass Castle and The Liars' Club, DONOR 150 tells the story of Chrysta Bilton's own fractured childhood and coming to terms with her father, a sperm donor with a tenuous hold on reality who sired 150 children
For most of her life, Chrysta Bilton was one member in a small, if dysfunctional, family of three. Then, at the age of twenty-two, she discovered that her homeless, drug-addicted, schizophrenic father had secretly donated his sperm over 500 times in a span of eight years-all but assuring that Chrysta's family actually included 150 biological siblings.
Chrysta and her sister tucked this news in a box and pushed it under the bed, unable to deal with what it meant in relation to their own lives. But, as years wore on and Chrysta began to start a family, her curiosity about her siblings and how they might change her identity, relationships, and sense of belonging continued to intensify. What Chrysta discovered forced her to question not only the parameters by which she defined herself, but also the entire notion of what binds a family together. Of her 150 newfound sibling a vast majority were deeply creative and battled with mental illness, a large number were vegetarian, and many shared a defining dimple on their left cheek-all recognizable traits from their father.
In an age of the new, modern nuclear family, Donor 150 is the unfathomable tale of genetic testings patient zero and a fascinating case study for nature, nurture, and the debated role of our inherited traits. Chrysta's story encapsulates the wonderful complexities and philosophical question spurned by our obsession with DNA, but most importantly, it is a story about forgiveness and making peace with, where you come from.
