DNA Surprises

At the end of every episode, I ask my guests two questions. The first question is advice for parents who may be keeping a DNA surprise from their children. Most of the time, like 99% of the time, the advice is to tell. To tell because people have the right to know. To tell because trust in your parents is important. To tell because eventually, maybe generations down the line, the truth will come o...

Dad. Bio dad. Genetic father. Father. After people connect with their newfound biological fathers, they often struggle with what to call them. And what about the dads we grew up with? Raised dad. Step-dad. Birth-certificate dad. Then there’s the well-meaning but perpetually frustrating phrase, “your dad is still your dad.” Love that one. Many of us do continue calling the dads we grew up with dad....

The truth will set you free. That’s the hope, right? In this week’s episode, Joe shares how taking a test for fun led to him uncovering the truth about his paternity, which relieved him of the guilt and burden of maintaining a relationship with his birth certificate father. He also discusses how he’s connected with newfound family and what it means to him. Thank you for sharing your story, Joe. Su...

Much like life, DNA surprises are rarely tied up in a perfect bow. We don’t get answers to all of the questions we have, and it’s up to us to make peace with that…or keep digging. In this week’s episode, Angie shares how she uncovered that she has a different biological father than her four sisters. She details her effort to find the truth when most of the people with answers have passed, and how...

Welcome to season 12 of DNA Surprises. This season marks nearly four years of sharing these stories. And while each story is unique, the threads that tie our stories together remain strong. For example, there are many ways that people uncover their discoveries. Sometimes, people learn about their parentage through who they connect to - a new cousin, an aunt, a parent. Others are more shocked by wh...

Who would I have been if I’d known the truth about my identity? This is a question people in the DNA surprise community often ask themselves. Where would I have lived? What choices would I have made? What about my life would be different from how it is today? In the season 11 finale of DNA Surprises, Lori shares how much of her childhood, and who she is today, was shaped by her parents’ efforts to...

Hands down the best part of hosting this podcast is the relationships I’ve been able to build with people in this community. From keeping in touch with guests turned friends, to hosting the DNA surprise retreat, to the special group of folks who join our Third Thursday meetups , I’m so grateful for the connections I’ve formed here.  In this week’s special episode, I’m joined by Jill, who first app...

Oftentimes with DNA surprises, there is so much left unsaid. So many unasked questions. So many feelings are unspoken. In this week’s episode, Jennifer shares what life was like for her growing up without a father figure in her life, a fact she never really questioned throughout her childhood and adolescence. After her mother passed, she decided to start asking questions. The first path to answeri...

A picture is worth a thousand words - and sometimes, it's the first clue in solving a DNA mystery. In this week’s episode, Kelly shares how a surprising detail in an old photograph of her parents sparked questions about her paternity. Nearly four decades later, Kelly learned the truth about her paternity and her ethnicity. She shares what happened after she made her discovery, how her surprise...

How often do we hear on this show that people never felt like they fit in with their families growing up? This week’s guest, John, reveals that he felt the same way, and even held onto some guilt around his feelings. Fast forward to a little over two years ago, when his daughter took a DNA test and unearthed a surprise for the entire family: John wasn’t biologically related to any of the family he...

Everyone has the right to know where they come from. They deserve to know their family history, stories and traditions. They have the right to know where their features come from and who else shares their aptitudes and interests. And just as importantly, or may most importantly of all, they have the right to know their medical history.  In this week’s episode, Courtney shares why her discovery was...

DNA surprises are often devastating to the people who uncover them, but imagine if the truth was a relief? Danielle grew up believing that her mother had four children by four different men, making all of her siblings half-siblings. After taking a DNA test, Danielle learned that she actually shared a father with her younger sister. This news was more than welcomed by Danielle, who had fond memorie...

At the end of every DNA Surprises episode, I ask my guests two questions. I ask for advice for people in our community, and I ask for advice for parents keeping a DNA surprise from their child. Time and time again, guests implore parents to tell the truth. But when is the right time to tell? And are the ramifications different than when a DNA surprise is uncovered with a DNA test? In this week’s e...

Hindsight is 20/20. After experiencing a DNA surprise, it’s easy to look back at moments throughout our childhoods and realize that the truth was there all along.  Growing up in Indiana, Brittany always felt like an outsider. Her parents were divorced, and when she asked her dad if she could go live with him, he revealed that he wasn’t her biological father, which her mother denied. Years later, B...

This is part 3 of a 3-part series. If you haven’t listened to parts 1 and 2, be sure to go back and listen before starting this episode. In Part 3 of Elizabeth’s story, we find out what happened after she visited her family and met her biological father for the first time ever. She shares what those first moments felt like and where things stand after her whirlwind trip. She also gives an update o...

So what happened after Elizabeth sent off those letters to her siblings? In Part 2 of Elizabeth’s DNA surprise story, she reveals how she was able to make contact with several of her newfound siblings - and her biological father.  I loved this conversation because we get a glimpse into the other side of the DNA surprise equation - the found family’s point of view. I reconnected with Elizabeth in J...

Welcome to a new season of DNA Surprises. We’re kicking this season off with a triple-episode premiere as we follow Elizabeth on her DNA surprise journey. Elizabeth grew up knowing that the man she called “Dad” wasn’t her biological father, but she also grew up believing that the man she believed was, didn’t want to be part of her life. Her childhood was fraught with abuse and neglect and by the t...

Welcome to the season 10 finale of DNA Surprises. Buy one, get two. No, this isn’t an ad for the latest testing kit sale. In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Dave and Denise, a married couple who discovered that they were both NPEs after their grandson took a DNA test. Before you listen to this episode, I want to take a moment to remind listeners that family secrets like these don’t stay hidden...

When someone uncovers a DNA surprise, their family tree changes. That sounds simple, but the reality is that our roots, so many of the things that make us, us, come from generations before us. In this week’s episode Melissa shares her profound journey after discovering that the man who raised her is not her biological father.  From uncovering clues in her late grandmother's writings to learnin...

If we don’t laugh, we’ll cry. DNA surprises can be gut-wrenching and difficult experiences, but some of us can find humor in almost any situation. In this week’s laughter-filled episode, Lauren LoGuidice tells the story of how she learned she was donor conceived.  Lauren discusses how she never fit in with her raised family but was regularly dismissed and gaslit when she questioned why she looked...

When someone opens up their DNA test results, the outcome isn’t always an explosive surprise. Sometimes, it takes a while of pulling at a thread before a truth is unraveled. In this week’s episode, Christine shares how her curiosity about one of her ethnicity results led to her shocking discovery that her dad isn’t her biological father. But in another twist, even after finding out the truth about...

Imagine uncovering your DNA surprise, experiencing the shock and devastation that comes with it, and then learning that the surprise wasn’t a total surprise after all? Earlier this season, we heard a story like this, and in this week’s episode, you’ll hear another. When Tamara confronted her mom about her DNA surprise, she was shocked to learn that they’d already discussed it when she was younger....

After a DNA surprise is uncovered, many moments from the past come into focus. Especially moments that, in hindsight, were missed opportunities for parents to tell the truth. In this week’s episode, Christina shares how she uncovered her DNA surprise and how she’s feeling about seven months into her discovery. She  discusses how she’s struggling with feelings of anger at her mother, especially whe...

As we’ve heard earlier this season, many people within the DNA surprise community saw their test results as mere confirmation of something they’d long suspected. But as heard in this week’s episode, not everyone was able to put their finger on just why they felt different. Chaya never felt like she fit in with her family. She found solace in music and the friendships she formed in the metal scene...

After three years of making this podcast and speaking to people who’ve experienced life-altering DNA surprises, I’ve noticed several trends. One trend is that oftentimes, the biological father is someone a guest knew from childhood. Another trend is a tumultuous relationship with the mother. In this week’s episode, Kim shares her emotional journey after discovering a family secret through genealog...