Hush: A memoir unravelling the unintended legacy of family secrets

Do we need an acceptable identity label to be validated? What makes us who we are? What will our legacy be? What defines us? In 2016, as the sun rose, Michelle Scheibner was struck by a realisation: her identity story hadn't begun the day she was born. The death of a significant love triggered a deep systemic grief, for Michelle it was complicated: she was single, childless, voiceless, alone and family-less. An adult orphan with a gaping absence of story. Unspoken truths hushed, shame and loss silenced, attributing to the inaccuracies of the past and family secrets. Secrets leave traces. Research introduced epigenetics, science confirmed Jewish blood-her paternal grandparents marked by the holocaust, her father's persecution by Nazi detainees, and a hidden brother with Down Syndrome institutionalised. These discoveries identified to Michelle the unconscious themes intergenerational trauma passes down through generations. Hush is a book about the intersection of history, culture, beliefs and genetics to reveal where identity begins. It reveals how our family history silently influences our choices by stealth and life doesn't turn out as expected. Once patterns become visible, a restored future is possible. This book encourages the reader to look for traces in their own story, to heal and inhabit a coherent identity.