Please Stand Up

As millions of people have set out to "discover their roots," Keith Mason's family-discovery story is the oddest of all. He unexpectedly finds his unknown father on a video of the classic TV quiz show "To Tell the Truth" from 1961.

In a one-of-a-kind (and completely true) excursion through offbeat chapters of the American parade, Mason's journey brings him through his father's arguably sociopathic life. There were seven marriages that provided the author with eight "new" brothers and sisters. An unknown grandfather - a crusading reporter - was killed by a corrupt sheriff in a dusty Texas town in 1949, in a press-freedom case that continues to resonate.

Emotions collide with each revelation, as the author's lifelong defensive wall collapses and he finally has to take a chance on how he'll be received by every relative he contacts. It's a race against the clock to connect with an older sibling whose mental health might separate them for good. With his father's eventual appearance, Mason's deeply-held feelings about anger and forgiveness are tested.

Rich with historic detail and sardonic humor as it delves into the unusual lives of a deep-sea salvage diver, an old-school reporter and an Ohio homicide detective, "Please Stand Up" is a walk through four generations of an American family who often didn't know each other, either by choice or tragic chance.