Brendan Dowling Author Archive
Email: bdowling@ala.org
“I’m Wedded To The Truth” – David Tereshchuk On His Heart-Rending Memoir
David Tereshchuk’s astonishing career in journalism took him around the world, memorably covering stories in Northern Ireland, Uganda, and Bangladesh as well as interviewing multiple world leaders. Yet despite an acclaimed work life, Tereshchuk was haunted by one question for which he had no answer: the identity of his father. As a young child, Tereshchuk grew up in Scotland with his mother, older brothers, and “sister,” Hilda. Eventually he learned that Hilda was, in fact, his mother, and he moved away to Manchester, England with her when she married. Despite his and Hilda’s closeness, the one topic that both avoided for most of her life was his origin. After Hilda’s death, Tereschuk embarked on a journey to uncover his father’s identity, an investigation that took him back to the village where he was born and ultimately relied on the assistance of the police, the Catholic Church, Red Cross, and the British military. His memoir, A Question of Paternity: My Life As An Unaffiliated Reporter, is a compassionate examination of the people who raised him, an unflinching look at the darker passages of his own life, and a riveting behind-the-scenes glimpse in to Tereschuk’s career as a journalist.
