A FATAL INHERITANCE
Reviews
"Poignant. . . Stirring. . . Deeply reported. . . Readers will be rewarded with a detailed look
at the high ― and all-too-human ― stakes of cancer research." Washington Post
"An evocative tribute...As the lone survivor in a family beset by hereditary cancer, Mr. Ingrassia has known
an intensified version of human existence, one in which the fragility of life is amplified,
relationships are tightly clasped, and the difficulty of endurance is conspicuously on display." The Wall Street Journal
"Testament to the power of scientific research, but also a stark reminder of how frustratingly incomplete our understanding of cancer remains, and of the very human costs of that incomplete knowledge....(Ingrassia's) journalistic chops are evident through not just the book’s extensive research...but its brisk pace and clear exposition." The New Republic
"A riveting scientific detective story...Ingrassia’s account is at its most wrenching when he recalls his own loss—all three
of his siblings have succumbed to the disease..an evocative look at a pivotal episode in the history of cancer research." Publishers Weekly
"An impressive, deeply researched contribution to popular studies of epidemiology and oncology." Kirkus Reviews, starred review *
and Best Nonfiction Books of the Year, Kirkus Reviews
"An emotionally charged narrative about... scientific discovery, hope, loss, grief, and, especially, familial love." Booklist
"A braided narrative in which Ingrassia charts the loss of his family as well as the tale of the scientists who turned cancer from an obscure yet burgeoning public health issue into one of the most-studied diseases of our time....Ingrassia’s feelings are palpable. It’s clear that he feels grief that advances in cancer treatments didn’t come soon enough to save his family; guilt for not learning about Li-Fraumeni Syndrome sooner; melancholy over his siblings’ deaths; and a responsibility to capture them on the page before he’s gone, too." Undark
"Compelling and thought-provoking."
"A must read for any who has suffered any loss in their family."
"Fascinating and compulsively readable....at times reads like fiction."
"Interesting, informative, and heartbreaking at the same time."
"Moved me to tears...Amazingly well researched."
"Highly recommended. Bravo!!"
"For anyone who has had cancer in their family....this will be a book you will want to read."
"A must read for anyone affected by this terrible disease and, at times reads more like a medical thriller than a memoir."
"An incredibly engrossing cancer/epidemiology book."
Goodreads reviews
Events and Podcasts
Belmont Books, Belmont, MA, 7 p.m., May 16, 2024, in conversation with Ron Suskind
NPR Weekend Edition with Scott Simon, May 18, 2024
Full Disclosure podcast with Roben Farzad, May 22, 2024
Town Hall Seattle, 6:30 p.m. May 22, 2024, in conversation with Robert Merry
Invitation Bookshop, Gig Harbor, WA, 6:30 p.m., May 23, 2024
What's Bugging Me podcast with Dennis Kneale, May 23, 2024
MSNBC Morning Joe, May 24, 2024
FAN Family Action Network in conversation with Joanne Lipman, Zoom virtual event, 7 p.m. Central Time, May 28, 2024
27th Letter Books, Detroit, MI, 7 p.m., May 30, 2024, in conversation with John Stoll
National Cancer Institute seminar, video of presentation, "A difficult and inspiring journey of discovery," Rockville, MD, June 13, 2024
Politics and Prose in conversation with Dan Balz, Washington, D.C., June 15, 2024
C-SPAN After Words in conversation with Amy Dockser Marcus, June 21, 2024,
Raising Health, a16z podcast, Andreessen Horowitz, July 16, 2024
McKinsey & Co. Author Talks, July 18, 2024
Radio New Zealand, Afternoons with Jesse Mulligan, August 14, 2024
Harvard Book Store in conversation with Jill Abramson, Cambridge, MA, 7 p.m. September 12, 2024
Facing a Fatal Inheritance, STAT Summit talk, Boston, MA, October 17, 2024
Fatal Inheritance: Talking with author Larry Ingrassia, The San Francisco Experience podcast, November 26, 2024
Princeton (NJ) Public Library, Lawrence Ingrassia in conversation with Arnold Levine, March 12, 2025
Tucson Festival of Books, March 15, 2025, on "Medical Mysteries" with Sebastian Junger & Dr. Allan Hamilton
and March 16, 2025, on "It's All Relative" with Guy Trebay & David Martinez
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, University of Southern California, April 26-27
Excerpts and coverage
"Solving the Cancer Mystery That Devastated My Family," The Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2024
Apple News+ audio recording by Lawrence Ingrassia of WSJ excerpt
"As cancer haunted my family, we discovered a fatal inheritance," Washington Post, May 14, 2024
"I lost my mom, three siblings and nephew to early-onset cancer." Daily Mail.com, June 16, 2024
"Amid His Family's Fatal Cancers, an Author Finds Genetics, Grief and Hope," Cancer Health magazine, September 9, 2024
"Solving a Medical Mystery," Cancer Today magazine, December 18, 2024
Billion Dollar Brand Club
- No. 2 on Inc. magazine's list of "10 Best New Business Books of 2020": "With tumbleweeds blowing across the retail landscape, direct-to-consumer brands are among the few winners of 2020. Ingrassia, a business journalist, recounts the stories and strategies of some of the most successful; explores their appeal to funders and fans; and describes the false steps of the legacy brands that never saw them coming."
- "Editors' Choice: New Books We Recommend," The New York Times: "A vivid illustration of the direct-to-consumer revolution, pitting legacy brands against the hungry newcomers who outsmarted them."
- Chosen as one of "The 20 Best Business Books of 2020" by Entrepreneur's Handbook: "The startups discussed are the kind of sexy stories many people hope their company will become. Yet we also see overhyped companies and what brought them down. For people who love case studies, this is a no brainer."
- Selected for "Best in Business Book Awards" shortlist for 2020. SABEW Best in Business
EXCERPTS and COVERAGE
New York Times excerpt, Sunday Business, Jan. 26, 2020, "They Took on Giants, And Changed How You Shop"
The Information, Jan. 24, 2020, "The Secret to Success in the Direct-to-Consumer Market"
New York Times book review, Jan. 28, 2020, "Buying a Mattress in an Actual Store? That's So 2010"
CNBC-TV, Jan. 31, 2020, "Journalist Larry Ingrassia releases book about direct-to-consumer revolution disrupting big brands"
Fox Business News, Jan. 30, 2020, "Author explains how startups can compete with giants"
Vanity Fair podcast, Into the Hive with Nick Bilton, Jan. 31, 2020, "The Economic Armageddon Ravaging America"
Wall Street Journal book review, Feb. 4, 2020, "Billion Dollar Brand Club Review: Clicking the 'Disrupt' Button"
Fast Company excerpt, Feb. 5, 2020, "How Warby Parker emerged from the pack to become the 'it' online eyeglass startup"
Bloomberg Opinion, Feb. 6, 2020, "Casper Was Ill-Prepared to Leave Unicorn Realm for Real World"
Recode Decode podcast, Feb. 11, 2020, "Larry Ingrassia: How Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club and other disruptors became billion-dollar companies"
RetailGeek, Feb. 12, 2020, "Jason & Scot Show Episode 207, Billion Dollar Brand Club author Lawrence Ingrassia"
Talks at Google, Feb. 5, 2020, "Larry Ingrassia: Billion Dollar Brand Club"
Medium excerpt, Feb. 13, 2020, "Meet the Investor Who Bet Early on Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club and Glossier"
Inc. magazine, March/April 2020 issue, "Inside the Success of Dollar Shave Club and Why DTC Changed the Retail Landscape"
Contagious.com, March 6, 2020, "Dissecting the DTC brands disrupting razors, mattresses and much more"
LifeSelfMastery podcast, April 10, 2020, "Larry Ingrassia, Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy"
Punk Rock HR podcast, May 4, 2020, "Billion Dollar Brand Club with Larry Ingrassia"
Monday Morning Radio podcast, June 1, 2020, "You'll Definitely Want Membership in This Elite Club"
ReadMoreCO, Author Interview, "Q&A With Lawrence Ingrassia," Billion Dollar Brand Club
EVENTS
Jan. 31: 92nd St. Y, New York, 7 p.m., "Disrupting Business with the Billion Dollar Brand Club," a conversation with author Charles Duhigg and Quip founder Simon Enever
Feb. 3: WORD Bookstore, Jersey City, 6 p.m.
Feb. 5: Book Passage, Ferry Building, San Francisco, 7 p.m.
Feb. 6: Books Inc., Mountain View, CA, 7 p.m.
Invited to appear, canceled due to coronavirus
March 14: Tucson Festival of Books, 2:30 p.m., "How We Buy Things," a conversation with authors Mike Isaac and Adam Minter
Invited to appear, canceled due to coronavirus
March 15: Tucson Festival of Books, 11:30 a.m., "The Disruptors of Silicon Valley," a conversation with authors Julian Guthrie and Mike Isaac
Invited to appear, canceled due to coronavirus
April 18-19: Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
- No. 2 on Inc. magazine's list of "10 Best New Business Books of 2020": "With tumbleweeds blowing across the retail landscape, direct-to-consumer brands are among the few winners of 2020. Ingrassia, a business journalist, recounts the stories and strategies of some of the most successful; explores their appeal to funders and fans; and describes the false steps of the legacy brands that never saw them coming."
- "Editors' Choice: New Books We Recommend," The New York Times: "A vivid illustration of the direct-to-consumer revolution, pitting legacy brands against the hungry newcomers who outsmarted them."
- Chosen as one of "The 20 Best Business Books of 2020" by Entrepreneur's Handbook: "The startups discussed are the kind of sexy stories many people hope their company will become. Yet we also see overhyped companies and what brought them down. For people who love case studies, this is a no brainer."
- Selected for "Best in Business Book Awards" shortlist for 2020. SABEW Best in Business
EXCERPTS and COVERAGE
New York Times excerpt, Sunday Business, Jan. 26, 2020, "They Took on Giants, And Changed How You Shop"
The Information, Jan. 24, 2020, "The Secret to Success in the Direct-to-Consumer Market"
New York Times book review, Jan. 28, 2020, "Buying a Mattress in an Actual Store? That's So 2010"
CNBC-TV, Jan. 31, 2020, "Journalist Larry Ingrassia releases book about direct-to-consumer revolution disrupting big brands"
Fox Business News, Jan. 30, 2020, "Author explains how startups can compete with giants"
Vanity Fair podcast, Into the Hive with Nick Bilton, Jan. 31, 2020, "The Economic Armageddon Ravaging America"
Wall Street Journal book review, Feb. 4, 2020, "Billion Dollar Brand Club Review: Clicking the 'Disrupt' Button"
Fast Company excerpt, Feb. 5, 2020, "How Warby Parker emerged from the pack to become the 'it' online eyeglass startup"
Bloomberg Opinion, Feb. 6, 2020, "Casper Was Ill-Prepared to Leave Unicorn Realm for Real World"
Recode Decode podcast, Feb. 11, 2020, "Larry Ingrassia: How Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club and other disruptors became billion-dollar companies"
RetailGeek, Feb. 12, 2020, "Jason & Scot Show Episode 207, Billion Dollar Brand Club author Lawrence Ingrassia"
Talks at Google, Feb. 5, 2020, "Larry Ingrassia: Billion Dollar Brand Club"
Medium excerpt, Feb. 13, 2020, "Meet the Investor Who Bet Early on Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club and Glossier"
Inc. magazine, March/April 2020 issue, "Inside the Success of Dollar Shave Club and Why DTC Changed the Retail Landscape"
Contagious.com, March 6, 2020, "Dissecting the DTC brands disrupting razors, mattresses and much more"
LifeSelfMastery podcast, April 10, 2020, "Larry Ingrassia, Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy"
Punk Rock HR podcast, May 4, 2020, "Billion Dollar Brand Club with Larry Ingrassia"
Monday Morning Radio podcast, June 1, 2020, "You'll Definitely Want Membership in This Elite Club"
ReadMoreCO, Author Interview, "Q&A With Lawrence Ingrassia," Billion Dollar Brand Club
EVENTS
Jan. 31: 92nd St. Y, New York, 7 p.m., "Disrupting Business with the Billion Dollar Brand Club," a conversation with author Charles Duhigg and Quip founder Simon Enever
Feb. 3: WORD Bookstore, Jersey City, 6 p.m.
Feb. 5: Book Passage, Ferry Building, San Francisco, 7 p.m.
Feb. 6: Books Inc., Mountain View, CA, 7 p.m.
Invited to appear, canceled due to coronavirus
March 14: Tucson Festival of Books, 2:30 p.m., "How We Buy Things," a conversation with authors Mike Isaac and Adam Minter
Invited to appear, canceled due to coronavirus
March 15: Tucson Festival of Books, 11:30 a.m., "The Disruptors of Silicon Valley," a conversation with authors Julian Guthrie and Mike Isaac
Invited to appear, canceled due to coronavirus
April 18-19: Los Angeles Times Festival of Books