Content Warning: The source material contains depictions of sexual assault, infertility issues, and disordered eating and exercise.

In the book’s front matter, before the Prologue, Kerry Washington openly explains her goal in writing Thicker Than Water: “This book is the result of my attempts to make sense of myself and my family and to accept the truth about who we are” (i). This statement establishes that the book explores only the contributing details in Kerry’s life that helped her understand herself better. She tracks her time as a kid when she felt like her parents hid something from her, the effect such secrecy had on her, and her ability to stand on her own and find herself.

Kerry always sensed a barrier between herself and her family and “longed for an authentic connection with my parents” (31). Until she learned that her biological father was an anonymous sperm donor, however, she was unaware of what was causing that disconnect, even if “[s]omething was missing, something felt wrong” (31). This feeling was not rooted in her being biologically unrelated to her father (though it was possible that she still was since her parents had had sex the night her mom conceived) but rather in the fact that her parents had kept it from her.