WEBVTT - A Shock to the System

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<v Speaker 1>Let me tell you what it's like to find out

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<v Speaker 1>you were wrong, just plain wrong about who you are

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<v Speaker 1>and where you come from. To look in the mirror

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<v Speaker 1>one day and see a stranger staring back at you.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what happened to me. My name is Danny Shapiro,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is family secrets, Secrets that are kept from us,

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<v Speaker 1>secrets we keep from others, and the secrets we keep

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<v Speaker 1>from ourselves. A family secret was kept from me for

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<v Speaker 1>my entire life, the family secret which I stumbled upon

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<v Speaker 1>purely by accident, at the age of fifty four, that

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<v Speaker 1>my dad wasn't my dad. Since then, I've walked the

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<v Speaker 1>halls of my home looking at the photos and portraits

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<v Speaker 1>that hang on the walls. My father is a boy.

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<v Speaker 1>My grandmother and grandfather, great aunts and uncles, cousins from

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<v Speaker 1>the old country. My father's family was big un posterity

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<v Speaker 1>from as far back as I can remember. I was

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<v Speaker 1>told their stories, and their stories became my stories. Now

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<v Speaker 1>I stop and stare at each one of these people, who,

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<v Speaker 1>it turns out, are not my ancestors. The woman in

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<v Speaker 1>a high collared velvet blouse, her hair parted severely in

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<v Speaker 1>the center, the man in the ponce Ney wearing a suit,

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<v Speaker 1>his hand resting on a book, and further back, solemn

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<v Speaker 1>people in a dusty Polish village. Who are you to me?

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<v Speaker 1>I asked them, who are you to me? And in

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of the night I sometimes asked myself this question.

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<v Speaker 1>Who am I? Who am I? Now that I know

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<v Speaker 1>the truth? Welcome to Family Secrets, my new podcast. Each

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<v Speaker 1>week I delve deep into a family secret with a

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<v Speaker 1>very special guest. Here's an interesting fact. Not one of

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<v Speaker 1>the people I invited on the show to have a

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<v Speaker 1>very public conversation about their family secret said no, not one.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of my guests have written books or made films

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<v Speaker 1>about their discoveries. Some have never spoken of it before

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<v Speaker 1>to anyone outside their most intimate inner circle. But everyone

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<v Speaker 1>who has lived a portion of their lives in the

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<v Speaker 1>dark understands that secrets are deadly. They hold an invisible

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<v Speaker 1>power over us and shape our lives without our even

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<v Speaker 1>knowing it. But when the veil of secrecy drops, we

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<v Speaker 1>gain a new understanding, a new perspective on who we

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<v Speaker 1>really are and what has formed us. Family Secrets will

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<v Speaker 1>launch on February fourteenth. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>or on the i Heart Radio app, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to podcasts. H