--- description: Find out why "Ancestor Trouble" by Maud Newton is on TIME's list of the must-read books of the year. title: 'Ancestor Trouble' Is One of the 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2888a57b25cbf04/698a37b709208f7cff419d07/AncestorTrouble.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 14, 2022 # Ancestor Trouble by Maud Newton by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  In her captivating book, [Maud Newton](https://time.com/6165605/maud-newton-family-history-racism/ "undefined") underlines just how much trouble ancestors can be. There’s the challenge of identifying them, the uncomfortable truths they might reveal about our origins, and even the difficulties that accompany dealing with certain prickly family members. Newton grew up fixated on the stories she heard about her own—the grandfather who’d been married 13 times, the mental illness that plagued her maternal lines—and decided to research her genealogy as an adult. She captures this journey in _Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation_, which reckons with her messy family history. Along the way, she asks thought-provoking questions about identity and the impacts of intergenerational trauma. —_Annabel Gutterman_ **Buy Now**: _Ancestor Trouble_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780812997927 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3WKAQqC "undefined") **Contact us at** [letters@time.com](mailto:letters@time.com?subject=%28READER%20FEEDBACK%29%20Stay%20True&body=https%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2Fcollection-post%2F6228627%2Fstay-true%2F "undefined")**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228429/ancestor-trouble/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228429/ancestor-trouble/"},"headline":"Ancestor Trouble","datePublished":"2022-11-14T12:58:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:11:37.883Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228429/ancestor-trouble/","keywords":["Books","list","best books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2888a57b25cbf04/698a37b709208f7cff419d07/AncestorTrouble.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc2888a57b25cbf04/698a37b709208f7cff419d07/AncestorTrouble.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228429/ancestor-trouble/","name":"Ancestor Trouble"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The 100 Must-Read Books of 2022","description":"Gripping novels, transporting poetry, and timely nonfiction that asked us to look deeper.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EeIdKgaD/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2022-11-09T14:12:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EeIdKgaD.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228429/ancestor-trouble/","duration":"PT2M54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/must-read-books-2022/6228429/ancestor-trouble/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```