Lori Erickson finds tracing her family history helped her discover the ancestral spirits guiding her today

While reading Iowa City writer Lori Erickson’s beguiling new book, “The Soul of the Family Tree,” I thought of what George Bernard Shaw once said about genealogy: “If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you might as well make it dance.”

In fact, Dancing with Skeletons would make a good subtitle for Erickson’s book, which comes at a good time for all those newly hatched genealogy buffs who have used the pandemic to research their family trees. It also appeals to longtime genealogists who may be surprised by how Erickson adds new layers of meaning to their hobby.

Lori Erickson, Iowa City author of “The Soul of the Family Tree.”

“The Soul of the Family Tree” (Westminster John Knox Press, 220 pages) goes way beyond the begats with its deep dive into how the spirit of a family endures from generation to generation. Erickson poses a provocative question: “In the end, which is more…