A Question of Paternity

"David Tereshchuk is one of the great reporters of our era, covering global conflicts and the leaders who have initiated them, from patriots to despots. Now, using the skills he has honed as an investigative journalist, he may have found his most important subject yet: the real story of what happened in his own young life. Tereshchuk’s quest for truth, about both his immediate family and the stories he’s covered around the world, resonates through the pages of A Question of Paternity, an exceptional memoir that is at once moving, shocking and undeniably heroic."

-- Carl Bernstein, investigative reporter and co-author, All the President's Men

"The compelling, often heart-breaking story of one man’s search for the stories behind the world’s conflicts and for the dark secret of his own birth. He recalls and reflects on many scenes of horror, but the connecting thread is one of haunting suspense. It’s his never-ending effort to find out who made his fifteen-year-old mother pregnant and became his secret father." 

-- Neal Ascherson, journalist and author

"Tereshchuk’s vivid writing lands you smack in the middle of a fascinating and heart-rending quest."

-- Cary Barbor, Host, National Public Radio Book Club (WGCU Radio)

"David Tereshchuk spent the past half-century chasing through every hot spot and hellhole in the world. Now he’s written a memoir and it’s everything I’d hoped it would be—and here’s the surprise: the richest story of many in it is his very own."

-- Lawrence Block, crime novelist

"Even-handed and reportorial but also deeply moving, complex and very sad. Tereshchuk is committed to the truth even when the truth is challenging. It’s refreshing to read a work so knowing, so honest, so wise."

-- Rick Moody, novelist

"A harrowing journey, rich in detail, shaped by transcendent longing. I found myself engrossed by the account of Bloody Sunday."

-- David W. Dunlap, newspaper historian and au