Pembroke man pens book about being switched at birth

PEMBROKE, Mass. -- Fred George always knew he was different from the rest of his family.

He was a blond, his family filled with brunettes; he was an introvert among outgoing siblings.

"When I was a youngster, I felt kind of out of place," George said. "I didn't have the same personality as the people I was living with."

Despite George's feelings it wasn't until he was 57 years old that he found out just how different he was.

He was switched at birth with another baby named Jim Churchman at the Queen Mary Maternity Hospital.

The babies were accidently placed in the wrong bassinets by a midwife.

The switch changed his life forever and even caused his father to accuse his mother of having an affair.

"Mr. George says Fred don't look like the rest of us, and accused my mother of having an affair which was tough on her being a strong catholic," George said.

George and Churchman grew up in the same town in New Zealand and even became friends. In 2002, the pair took DNA tests and confirmed the switch they always suspected.

Now George is sharing his story in a book, "Switched at Birth."

He said the hardest part about learning of the switch is not knowing his siblings, such as his brother Owen.

"Turns out not only Owen and I look alike he's two years younger than me, we have identical traits, and we don't even know each other and we're brothers," George said.

But George says regardless of whether they're related or not, his home will always be with the family that raised him.

"Even though she's my birth mother you always think of the mother brought you up and I think most adopted children would feel the same way," George said.

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