ABOUT AL ISAACS
I've Had a Few Careers.
Finding Myself Was the Unexpected One.
Author • Comedian • Voice Artist • Drummer • Accidental Genealogist
Al Isaacs is an award-winning author, comedian, voice artist, drummer and longtime performer. After decades spent telling stories on stages, behind microphones and in print, he discovered at age 52 that one story had been kept from him his entire life: his own.
Comedian
Before the Family Mystery,
There Were a Few Thousand Audiences.
Long before Finding Mary Smith, Al Isaacs spent years making people laugh—as a stand-up comedian, improv performer and teacher. Twice named Long Island's Best Comedian by the Long Island Press, he performed at comedy clubs, theaters, resorts and corporate events, while teaching improv at venues including Hofstra University and The Brokerage Comedy Club.
Turns out, years of standing in front of strangers and hoping they laugh is surprisingly good preparation for becoming an author.
The Storyteller
Somewhere Along the Way,
I Started Writing Things Down.
Comedy wasn't Al's only way of telling stories. Over the years, he wrote about professional wrestling, created and developed original entertainment projects, worked behind the microphone as a voice artist and audiobook narrator, and eventually discovered that the most unlikely story he'd ever tell would be his own.
There were wrestling columns, screenplays, comedy projects, voice-over sessions and more than a few ideas that probably seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. Each one, in its own strange way, was preparation for what came next.
THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED
At 52, I Found Out
My Life Had a Missing Chapter.
In 2022, while both of his parents were struggling with dementia, Al received an unexpected phone call from his mother's oncologist. During the conversation, the doctor casually referred to the fact that Al had been adopted.
There was just one problem…
Al didn't know.
At 52, he suddenly learned that everyone in his family had known the truth except him. What followed was a search through false documents, consumer DNA, genealogy, Search Angels and a decades-old music mystery that would eventually lead across the Atlantic—and to the mother he had never known.
THE SEARCH LED TO HER
Finding Mary
DNA gave Al clues, but the breakthrough came from somewhere far less expected: an obscure 1968 talent competition and the name of a teenage folk singer.
Her name was Mary Smith.
More than five decades after giving up her baby in New York, Mary was living thousands of miles away in Dorset, England. At 54, Al finally found the woman he'd spent two years searching for—and discovered a sister who had been searching for him for nearly twenty years.
The search, the secrets and the extraordinary reunion eventually became Finding Mary Smith, Al's memoir about identity, family, forgiveness and what happens when the story you've always believed about yourself suddenly changes.
Today
Turns Out, the Story
Was Just Getting Started.
Today, Al is the GOLD Medal-winning author of Finding Mary Smith, sharing his story with readers and audiences through author events, podcasts, radio, television and speaking appearances.
He continues to write, perform, work behind the microphone and occasionally make people laugh—sometimes even intentionally.
Mostly, he's learned that the most interesting chapters in life have a habit of showing up when you think the story has already been written.
