A woman from California, United States, discovered that she may have more than 100 half-siblings. This shocking fact was revealed by her mother, suggesting that she might be dating her own half-sister.
Chrysta Bilton shares wild anecdotes in her new memoir, A Normal Family: The Surprising Truth About My Crazy Childhood (and How I Discovered 35 New Siblings), which documents how she ended up connecting with dozens of her "lost siblings," the New York Post reported Wednesday. , August 10, 2022.
Chrysta and her younger sister, Kaitlyn, were raised in Los Angeles by their mother, Debra, who is a lesbian. He told them that their father was a friend of his partner. When Chrysta was 23 years old, Debra struck a chord, telling her two daughters that their biological father was one of the most prolific sperm donors in California.
Debra revealed that their father's name was Jeffrey Harrison, a man known for decades as "Donor 150." In 2005, the New York Times published an article by a woman claiming to be the daughter of "Donor 150," in which she begged him to reveal her identity.
The article prompted Harrison to come forward and later told the Times that he had spent much of the 1980s making a twice-weekly sperm deposit in a California cryobank. He believes that he may have fathered more than 100 children.
It eventually led Chrysta to a horrifying realization about a love affair when she was 22 years old. "It turned out that the man I was dating at the time, for over a year, was most likely my half-brother," she wrote.
Significant Problem
However, Chrysta did not explain for sure whether she was really dating her stepbrother. She told BBC Radio's "Woman's Hour" that it opened her eyes to significant problems.
"That's what I think happens when sperm donation isn't regulated and you have a lot of half-siblings," he said. "I've overcome that, which took me 10 years."
Chrysta said her mother's confession gave her the "shock of a lifetime" and prompted her to contact her biological father and eventually connect with her half-siblings.
"Turns out a lot of the stories my mother told me about my education were lies, which is her soft word to bend the truth," she told NPR in a recent interview promoting her new book. "This moment when he revealed (the truth) … really made me start investigating my life story."
Chrysta described sperm donation in the 1980s as "truly the Wild West," explaining that a man can donate as much as he can in a week and that his biological father did it for almost a decade.
Reluctant at first
Chrysta was initially reluctant to find out about her siblings, revealing that she "hadn't wanted anything to do with them for almost 10 years." However, his attitude changed after speaking with one of his half-siblings, who contacted him via social media.
"He has an enthusiastic view of all of this," Chrysta explained. "It changed my attitude and it made me realize that the way I view this larger biological family is largely a choice and that at any moment I can be enthusiastic and see the beauty in it."
In the years since, he has met more than 35 of his half-siblings, but admits there may be dozens more out there. The author also revealed that he and his siblings share some genetic similarities.
"Most of us have the same big toe. We have the same dimple on our left cheek. A lot of us share ADD as something we strive for. We all have the same laugh. So the resemblance is really wild," he admits. .
Turbulent Childhood
Chrysta also revealed that she now sees her father several times each year, describing the experience as "a very positive thing." In her memoirs, Chrysta also writes in detail about a turbulent childhood with her mother, who was reportedly involved in pyramid schemes and cults.
Her mother's pursuit left the family teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, leaving young Chrysta with deep feelings of insecurity. Now, she has started a much more conventional family on her own, raising two children with her husband, Nick Bilton, a Vanity Fair journalist.
The mother-of-two says she now enjoys the stability she found on her own as an adult. "One of the lessons, I think, from an unexpected childhood is that if you can get out of it, you just feel so grateful for everything," he told NPR. kindle and hardcover.