A Wealth of Family: An Adopted Son's International Quest for Heritage, Reunion, and Enrichment

... Show More
Compelling True Story Shows How to Cross Cultural Barriers This inspiring account of adoption, reunion, and heritage from Thomas Brooks provides a timely and provocative perspective on multicultural families and powerful insights on overcoming racism and poverty. Brooks grew up as the only child of a struggling single mother in inner-city Pittsburgh. He was battling racial stereotypes at school and searching for a place among his peers. Then he was told at age eleven that he was adopted. He did not know it at the time, but Brooks had actually been born to a white biological mother who descended from Lithuanian Jews and a black Kenyan foreign student father. Years after that stunning revelation, Brooks escaped the ghetto and traveled to search for his heritage. He found his biological mother in London with his previously unknown British siblings. He then located his biological father and extended family in Nairobi. His international search and the resulting reunions have profoundly affected three families in the United States, England, and Kenya.

250 pages, Paperback

First published August 1,2006

Literary awards

About the author

... Show More
Thomas Brooks earned his B.S. Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and his MBA from the University of Maryland. The award-winning author has published several articles, and has been featured frequently on the radio and on television. In 1998, Brooks won a national award from the Career Communications Group in the category of Technical Sales and Marketing for his work in corporate America.

Brooks was formerly a Director of Marketing at Lucent Technologies. Since 2002 the entrepreneur has served as the Founder and Managing Director of Alpha Multimedia, Inc., a marketing, public relations and publishing firm. His bestselling book, A Wealth of Family: An Adopted Son's International Quest for Heritage, Reunion, and Enrichment, was named a Best Books Award Winner by USA Book News.

Brooks is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and also the National Black MBA Association. He enjoys public speaking, snow skiing, and running. He lives with his wife and children near Houston, Texas, USA.


A Wealth of Family Book Description: Heartwarming and Inspirational True Story Shows the Power of Love

This compelling, bestselling account of adoption, reunion and heritage provides a timely and provocative perspective on multicultural families and powerful insights on overcoming racism and poverty.

Brooks grew up as the only child of a struggling single mother in inner-city Pittsburgh. He was battling racial stereotypes at school and searching for a place among his peers. Then he was told at age eleven that he had been adopted as an infant. He did not know it at the time, but Brooks had actually been born to a white biological mother who descended from Lithuanian Jews and a black Kenyan foreign student father.

Years after that stunning revelation, Brooks escaped the ghetto and traveled to search for his heritage. He found his biological mother in London with his previously unknown British siblings. He then located his biological father and extended family in Nairobi. His international search and the resulting reunions have profoundly affected three families in the United States, England, and Kenya.
Thomas Brooks earned his B.S. Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and his MBA from the University of Maryland. The award-winning author has published several articles, and has been featured frequently on the radio and on television. In 1998, Brooks won a national award from the Career Communications Group in the category of Technical Sales and Marketing for his work in corporate America.

Brooks was formerly a Director of Marketing at Lucent Technologies. Since 2002 the entrepreneur has served as the Founder and Managing Director of Alpha Multimedia, Inc., a marketing, public relations and publishing firm. His bestselling book, A Wealth of Family: An Adopted Son's International Quest for Heritage, Reunion, and Enrichment, was named a Best Books Award Winner by USA Book News.

Brooks is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and also the National Black MBA Association. He enjoys public speaking, snow skiing, and running. He lives with his wife and children near Houston, Texas, USA.


A Wealth of Family Book Description: Heartwarming and Inspirational True Story Shows the Power of Love

This compelling, bestselling account of adoption, reunion and heritage provides a timely and provocative perspective on multicultural families and powerful insights on overcoming racism and poverty.

Brooks grew up as the only child of a struggling single mother in inner-city Pittsburgh. He was battling racial stereotypes at school and searching for a place among his peers. Then he was told at age eleven that he had been adopted as an infant. He did not know it at the time, but Brooks had actually been born to a white biological mother who descended from Lithuanian Jews and a black Kenyan foreign student father.

Years after that stunning revelation, Brooks escaped the ghetto and traveled to s

Community Reviews

Rating(3 / 5.0, 1 votes)
5 stars
0(0%)
4 stars
0(0%)
3 stars
1(100%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
0(0%)
1 reviews All reviews
April 26,2025
... Show More
This book was a "hand-me-down"- one of many books mailed to us from my father-in-law in Houston. It's a signed copy. We didn't keep too many of the books sent to us, but this one seemed like something I might enjoy. It also qualifies for some of the tasks of Book Riot's 2023 Read Harder Challenge (#9 & #14).

If you like books that are a story of what I call a "crooked path to parenthood", aka adoption, etc., you may like this. Thomas was born to a white American woman and a black Kenyan father, then adopted by a black American woman. As an adult he decides to attempt to search for his biological parents/family. His memoir tells this tale and much more in between and beyond. It was a little slow for me at times, but generally an interesting and pretty smooth read.
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.