The Foundling

The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me

By: Paul Joseph Fronczak, Alex Tresniowski

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The Foundling tells the incredible and inspiring true story of Paul Fronczak, a man who recently discovered via a DNA test that he was not who he thought he was - and set out to solve two 50-year-old mysteries at once. Along the way he upturned the genealogy industry, unearthed his family's deepest secrets, and broke open the second longest cold case in US history, all in a desperate bid to find out who he really is.

In 1964 a woman pretending to be a nurse kidnapped an infant boy named Paul Fronczak from a Chicago hospital.

Two years later police found a boy abandoned outside a variety store in New Jersey. The FBI tracked down Dora Fronczak, the kidnapped infant's mother, and she identified the abandoned boy as her son. The family spent the next 50 years believing they were whole again - but Paul was always unsure about his true identity.

Then, four years ago - spurred on by the birth of his first child, Emma Faith - Paul took a DNA test. The test revealed definitively that he was not Paul Fronczak. From that moment on, Paul has been on a tireless mission to find the man whose life he's been living - and to discover who abandoned him and why.

This is the story of Paul's heart-wrenching and tortuous journey to solve both mysteries and finally learn the truth about his identity.

The Foundling is a touching and inspiring story about a child lost and faith found, about the permanence of families and the bloodlines that define you, and about the emotional toll of both losing your identity and rediscovering who you truly are.

©2017 Paul Joseph Fronczak and Alex Tresniowski (P)2017 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Excellent true story that keeps you guessing!

Great listen! Few newer autobiographies have this much mystery and suspense. The book kept you guessing and then searching online for the latest updates (epilogue was written in 2015).

A true story that’s easy to get into.

It’s slow, almost monotonous but good for background listening while doing other things. It’s easy to keep up while concentrating on a task. Good for drifting off to sleep. If this were fiction it would be very boring but it makes a difference that it’s true. I found it interesting. I’m glad I bought it.

The Universal Questions about Identity Many Face, Distilled by an Extreme Individual Example

Worth reading. The truth outs and then we reckon. It is possible to be compelled to know, afraid to learn, very hurt and willing to go forward.

Great, Great book!

A rollercoaster of emotions. At times sooo very heartbreaking...then the moments of light, shown bright!

Fascinating Mystery

Although this is a biography, quite a bit of the story is a true crime mystery. A baby is abducted from the hospital at one day old and three years later the mother is gven a boy and told "this is your son". But is it really? There was no DNA or other definitive proof available at the time. Paul always felt like he was an alien, he didn't belong. So as an adult, he set out to find out the answers to his question, "Am I the kidnapped baby? and if I'm not, then who am I and where is the baby?"

The story is about a man who is trying to find out who he really is. I didn't Google his name or look for any of the news shows that featured him before listening to this story. I didn't want to know how the story ended before I even heard how it started. I found the whole story well written and fascinating.

And if you are at all interested in genealogy and finding your family members, this book talks a lot about the process and gives some insight as to how sites like 23andMe work.

I loved the story, it was worth every penny.

Couldn't stop listening.

Brought me to tears several times. I became obsessed with his obsession to find the truth.

The voice of the narrator

For some reason, I did not care for the narrator's voice. He did a good job, but sometimes it just seemed the slightest bit whiney. Thankfully, it was not overwhelming and I truly enjoyed the content of the book.

Screamed inside the whole way through

Very well performed. Well enough that I couldn’t stop screaming inside myself. Every turn this guys takes is the opposite of what he should be doing. Without giving away the story the lack of courage to protect himself. Then the lack of intelligence to walk away and protect the two people most important in his life - abandoning them to find the people that didn’t care enough to love him as a baby. Life is now and what has happened - not what might have been. Who you are is not who you could have been if if if if. The future is the only thing you can influence. Seven years later, I hope you have learned to love the family you have, not the one that you never did.

Interesting Story

Although I remember this story from the news it was still a good book to read and get more detail. Like many others that have reviewed this book I agree that there was too much detail that wasn’t related to the main story. And I was disappointed in how it ended. Unlike all the other reviewers I did NOT like the narrator AT ALL. His way of reading/speaking bugged me.

Interesting

Very unusual book about finding answers about yourself and your past. Good suggestions for anyone who's been adopted, and wants to find their roots.