Dani Shapiro

Dani Shapiro is the author, narrator, and main character of Inheritance and the book is written from her perspective. Dani is a successful fifty-four-year-old writer, mother, wife, and teacher when she learns that her father is not her biological parent, and that she was conceived with a sperm donor. Dani was the only child of older parents, who are both deceased at the time of the book. Dani had a complicated relationship with her mother, who was narcissistic to a damaging degree. As a child, Dani always felt a sense of otherness in her family and had the feeling that her parents were withholding big secrets. She imagined herself in other families; though she loved her father and was close to him, her mother was particularly difficult. After learning the truth about her parentage, Dani begins to understand the sense of disconnect and longing she always...