The author of this book is the grandson of Pertev Naili Boratav. Boratav went into voluntary exile because of Turkey's long-standing policy against freedom of thought, and lived there for the rest of his life, conducting his academic work in Paris as a respected professor. His wife and the son he took with him to France got married there, started a new family and had children. Author David Boratav is one of those children.

Born and raised in France, David Boratav realized that his grandfather was an important scientist and shaped Aile with his curiosity about his grandfather's work, Turkey and the branches of the family in Turkey. The Family is the story of the author's journey through this curiosity, woven with memories.