Book Review: “Who’s Your Daddy Baby?” by Lisa Pell

 

About the Author

While the provocative title of her first novel, “Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?,” could evoke images of a person employed in what some have termed the world’s oldest profession, Lisa Pell hails from a grounding in what many might consider a more socially acceptable career path.
An award-winning former newspaper, network television affiliate, and radio journalist, Lisa has spent most of her career in the communications business. Born in North Carolina, she was raised in Virginia, is a graduate of George Mason University, and attended Harvard Business School. Currently she serves as a communications and program management consultant for an agency of the U.S. government.  Lisa has strong roots in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia, and has lived in Tennessee and West Virginia, where she also regularly covered news events in nearby Kentucky and southern Ohio.

Connoisseurs of well-told stories, Rock ‘n’ Roll music, impressionist art, golf, oysters, and fun people, Lisa and her husband, the self-styled Agent Provocateur, JonRe Pell, live in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Lisa also has produced several videos in connection with the “Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?” project. “The Ballad of Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?” features kids performing to a bluesy rocker co-written by Lisa and friends, performed by professional musicians. Another music video, “Nothin’ But a Mutt,” features puppies and kittens interpreting “Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?” It’s another lively, bluesy original composition. In addition, Lisa has produced video reading excerpts for three chapters of “Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?” Check them out on YouTube, coming July 24. For more information about Lisa and “Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?,” see her website, www.lisapell.com.

 

Sylvia’s Review

Inspired by her own personal experiences, Lisa Pell, author of, ”Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?” shares her life through a fictional character and alter ego, Lori Pomay, whose name is what she calls a “mutt-a-zation” of the French word for clueless.  Lori is a career woman and in her mid-40s. She and husband reside in Washington DC.  Life is normal but one thing is missing… a baby! Yes, Lori wants to have a baby. They decide on in vitro fertilization.  So, she starts treatment and testing at a fertility clinic.  In the midst of testing, she is told some news that will shake her world.  The results reveal that the father she has known all her life is not her biological dad.

Can you imagine how she must’ve felt?  Consider being raised by a man you look up to and believe is your dad only to find out that he isn’t your biological father?

So, her journey for the truth begins!  With very little information; she relies on old yearbooks; questioning friends and relatives of her late mother; discuss old stories that she has heard; and rely on the friends of her potential biological fathers.  In addition, she is armed with old letters of her late mother.  The hunt for her biological father was all but simple. It was adventurous; it was one of varied emotions… from humorous to downright unpleasant at times.  Throughout her venture, she discovers much about fertility; the unreliability of half-sibling ship DNA testing; and the impact of several genetic mutations.

“Who’s Your Daddy, Baby?” story line is very entertaining and easy to read.  Though fictionalized, it is a real life issue facing many people.  Everyone should know their heritage; it is what defines our being.   

I enjoyed reading this book. It is an awesome read about a woman and her quest in finding out who her father is… topped with a lively but peculiar cast of characters.

Lisa Pell is an amazing and talented writer with a gift in developing characters. I enjoyed interviewing her and reviewing her book.

Lisa’s Author Interview