DNA Surprises

DNA surprises can change so much in an instant. Our truths, our identities, and our relationships. One of the relationships that can be most difficult to navigate after a discovery is the one we have with our mothers. In this week’s episode, Lisa shares how she grew up knowing that she was adopted by her dad. Her biological father wasn’t in her life, and after he passed, she decided to pursue rela...

The Covid pandemic didn’t just launch 1,000 podcasts. While people were sequestered indoors with nothing to do, DNA tests were an interesting novelty. The result? Many DNA surprises.  In this week’s episode, Shari explains how she uncovered multiple DNA discoveries in her family tree. These disconnected discoveries involve two generations in her family. Shari also discusses the fallout she’s exper...

What if finding out that the parent who raised you isn’t biologically related to you is the least surprising part of your story? What if, instead, the surprise is the amount of serendipity surrounding the discovery and everything that happens after? In this week’s episode, Julie shares how she always felt that her birth certificate father was not biologically related to her. She spent years asking...

DNA surprises often begin with a search for answers. But what happens when you find them – and realize the answers don’t give you control over what happens next? Jamie wasn’t searching for herself when she uncovered her DNA surprise. She was trying to help an adoptee identify her biological family when the clues began pointing somewhere she never expected: toward Jamie’s own parentage. In this wee...

One thing we know for sure about family secrets is that they don’t always disappear when the people who kept them are gone. Sometimes, they remain hidden for decades – until a DNA test brings them into the light. Trudy had spent years researching her family history and felt confident that she knew where she came from. But when an unfamiliar close match appeared in her DNA results, she began unrave...

One of the most disorienting parts of a DNA surprise is realizing that the truth has often been there all along. Things that once seemed insignificant – the way you looked, the questions you asked, the places you felt like you belonged – can suddenly take on an entirely different meaning. Tamarra grew up knowing she looked different from the rest of her family. She asked questions about her darker...

A common theme in the DNA surprise community is coming to terms with the fact that we’ll never get answers to the many questions we carry after uncovering in the truth. In some cases, people even grow up with questions without ever expecting to get the answers. Josh was raised by his grandparents and grew up believing a man named Donald was his biological father. But as he got older, he began to q...

What happens when you spend your whole life searching for where you belong – only to discover shocking information after decades of putting the pieces together? Nichell grew up knowing she was different. Raised in an African American family, she looked different from the people around her, and from an early age, she wondered about the identity of her biological father.  Over the years, she found f...

Hey everyone! We’re still on a summer break, but I’m excited to share a bonus episode with you in the meantime. In this episode,  I am joined by Lauren Caster, the writer, director, producer, and star of the new feature film, Rhythm Is a Dancer . The film follows Roe, a young woman conceived through sperm donation, as she navigates questions of identity, family, and what it means to search for the...

***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: DNA Surprises will be taking a short summer break during July and August. I’m excited to come back in September refreshed, recharged, and with more stories from the NPE, adoptee, and donor conceived communities. Thank you for listening, sharing, and helping make this community what it is. Have a wonderful summer, and we’ll see you in September!**** DNA surprises take time....

Sometimes, DNA surprises aren’t about misattributed parentage. Sometimes, the biggest surprises are the feelings we experience as we explore biological connections. In this week’s episode, Tracy shares how she always knew was adopted, and always knew that she wanted to find her biological parents. Much to her surprise, after she reunited with both of them, she uncovered complicated feelings around...

The more, the merrier. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone involved in a DNA surprise had this mentality? While that’s unfortunately not always the case, this week’s guest has had an incredible time connecting with the family he discovered after taking a DNA test. Nick shares why growing up, learning about his paternal side never really factored into his thinking, and how a DNA test changed everythin...

Words have power. Language is how we make meaning of the things we’ve experienced. For some, having language around DNA surprises, adoption, and donor conception helps people feel less alone. And others take it even further, using the power of language to write about their experience. In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Linda Pevac, also known by her pen name, Emma Stevens. Linda has penned thre...

After a DNA surprise, it’s common to look back and reflect on moments where the truth was right there in front of you. A slip of the tongue, that eerie feeling that something just wasn’t right. But you don’t know it until you know it. In this week’s episode, Billy shares how he brushed up against the truth years before he learned the truth about his paternity. He shared what he’s learned, what rel...

For some people, one of the trickiest things about DNA surprises is that they force us to see our parents as human. It can be uncomfortable to come to terms with infidelity in a marriage, or that your parent would lie to you. In this week’s episode, Ann reveals how she uncovered four DNA surprises in her family. As the “found family” member in each surprise, Ann shares why she felt it was importan...

What are you? For those of us who are quote “ethnically ambiguous,” this question is one we hear over and over again when meeting new people.   In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Stephanie, who fielded questions about her ethnic background her entire childhood. She spent much of her early life trying to connect with others, to fit in somewhere. It wasn’t until much later that a DNA test reveale...

Papa was rollin’ stone. It’s a tale as old as time, and a phrase we’ve heard more than once on the podcast. But sometimes, there’s more to the story. Welcome to the Season 14 premiere of DNA Surprises. In this week’s episode, Patrick shares how taking a 23andme test out of curiosity led him down an unimaginable road - one that made things make sense while simultaneously upending everything he knew...

An interesting thing about DNA Surprises is how much they can rock your identity, not once, but over and over again. Every time a layer is pulled back with new information, the foundation on which you’ve built your identity shifts. In this week’s episode, Rebecca, an adoptee, shares her heartbreaking - and heartwarming - DNA discovery. She reveals how she connected with her biological mother, and...

One of the things I’ve learned from hosting DNA Surprises is that these discoveries don’t lose their impact with age. Whether someone is 25, 45, or 70, learning that the man who raised you is not your biological father can shift your understanding of your identity in an instant. In this week’s episode, Randy shares how a DNA test organized by his half-sister uncovered that truth. With both of his...

My therapist once told me, “Some of us heal out loud so others don’t have to.” I think of that almost every time I get a note from a podcast listener telling me how much the stories people share each week have helped this. In this week’s episode, I’m joined by someone who is healing out loud for the donor conceived community. Nick, host of the Inconceivably Connected podcast , shares how he discov...

It’s usually the fathers. When people open up their DNA results, it’s the dad’s side that doesn’t line up, and the DNA surprise experience begins.  But sometimes, it’s the mothers. In this week’s episode, Robin shares how she uncovered a shocking secret after taking Ancestry and 23andme tests. Her story highlights the impact of family secrets and the power of learning the truth. Thank you for shar...

Fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice? That expression doesn’t exactly translate to the DNA surprise community. As I often say, we believe what our parents tell us, and many times, our surprises are shocking even to the people who raised us. In this week’s episode, Amber shares the winding road she walked before discovering the truth about her paternity. She reveals the steps she took more than...

Surprise: an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, or thing. Yet, for many people there was always a sneaking suspicion. A wondering. The unthought known. This week’s episode is not one of those cases. When Sonya first took her DNA test, she was quickly able to make it make sense. It wasn’t until years later that she found a truth she never saw coming. Sonya shares how she found the identity of h...

Have you ever made a decision without thinking about the long-term consequences? It’s a pretty normal human experience, right? Now imagine making a decision and never being faced with the consequence for 20 years. In this week’s episode, Shaun shares how his decision to become a sperm donor in his early twenties carried a gravity he didn’t realize until much later. He reveals how he learned that h...

“ My quest to find my past would return again and again in the years to come like a lighthouse beacon that flashes bright and then fades only to return again.” This quote, written by Steve Pemberton and shared by this week’s guest, perfectly captures the hold that DNA surprises have on so many. There are periods of intense focus - on our feelings, research, and desire for connection. These are som...