Every family has one, but certain people choose to preserve said history through heirlooms.

u/Haylming’s great-grandma, for instance, created a cookbook that was later passed down to her grandmother, who gave it to her late mother, who gifted it to them. The Redditor treasures the book and wants to keep it private – however, their half sister refuses to let it go. 

16-year-old gets flak from relatives for refusing to share great-grandma’s cookbook with their half sister

The youngster claims that they want to keep it private as it came from their late mom’s side of the family

“AITA for refusing to share my family’s cookbook with my half sister?” – this internet user took to one of Reddit’s most philosophical communities to ask its members if they’re indeed a jerk for not wanting to share their family’s cookbook with a half sibling. The post managed to garner nearly 15K upvotes as well as 3.1K comments discussing the situation.

The thing about life is that nothing is permanent – yet, once we’ve all departed, one thing has the potential to live on, at least for a couple of generations, if not more, and that’s our history. 

The original poster, who goes by the handle u/Haylming, started their story off by sharing that their late mother’s grandmother was the one who created the cookbook. 

As time went by, the cookbook was passed down to the author’s grandmother, who then gave it to their mother, who gave it to the OP when she got sick. Before their mother’s death, the woman instructed her then-7-year-old offspring to be careful with it as it was very special to the family. 

A couple of years later, after the loss of their mom, the post’s creator discovered that their father had cheated on their mother with his now-wife and that their half sister was the product of the affair and was born before the divorce was finalized. 

Naturally, the netizen was too young to realize what was going on in their parents’ relationship – however, once they learned about their dad’s infidelity, it began to be really hard to be around him. But now, everything made sense, and the OP realized why their mother was sad so often.

They later get dubbed “cruel” and are told that their mother isn’t alive to care if their half sister gets part of the book or not

The Redditor then went on to explain how they found out about their father’s fling. It turns out, they eavesdropped on a fight between him, their uncle, and their aunt (mom’s sibling); the OP heard it all, including her dad telling them how much he hated how “boring” their mom was, so it’s not hard to understand why the author remained distant from him and his new family.

Now, onto the cookbook part of the story. 

The OP’s father decided to tell the oldest of their half siblings about the cookbook. He mentioned how much they treasured it and whatnot. Understandably, the sibling grew curious and wanted to share it with them, use it to prepare meals, and write in it like they would in the future. The half sister would constantly pester the author about the book, but they would always refuse. 

For some strange reason, the girl’s parents also wouldn’t stop telling her more about the heirloom and stoking her interest, which (surprise, surprise) eventually led to her being upset over being told ‘no.’ The post’s creator then told their sibling that it was something special from their mom’s side and that they wanted to keep it private until they had their own children – however, the half sister didn’t budge and argued that they’re family too.

One thing led to another, and the whole family was now involved. The netizen’s father and his wife were angry, and his parents also told the OP that they should share the cookbook with their sister, as their mom “isn’t alive to care if the child born from the affair gets part of the book or not” – yet, it could bring the two closer. 

The Redditor then revealed that they couldn’t care less about their dad’s or his wife’s opinions, but they’ve always gotten along with their grandparents, so it got them thinking. 

Many online community members advised u/Haylming to do what their heart tells them to and hide the cookbook, make copies, or give it to their maternal family for safekeeping. What do you think about this situation?

Fellow online community members shared their thoughts and opinions on the situation