DNA Discoveries

What happens when the story you've been told about your origins isn't the whole story? And what happens when someone reaches out and suddenly changes everything you thought you knew about your family? In this episode of DNA Discoveries, I talk with Maryssa, who has written a memoir about her resilient life, including her journey of discovering her biological family. Maryssa shares the challenges of growing up without knowing her full family history, the reality of closed adoptions, and what happened when someone unexpectedly reached out with information about her mother's family. She describes the experience of seeing a photograph of someone she was related to, reaching out to her biological mother, and discovering a paternal family that welcomed her. We also talk about the eight-and-a-half-hour drive she made to meet her newfound relatives. What was going through her mind during that journey? How do you go from being complete strangers to becoming family? Maryssa also shares why she decided to put her life story into a memoir, what early readers are saying about her book, and the advice she has for others beginning their own DNA discovery journey. It's a conversation about identity, family, resilience, and the unexpected ways our lives can change when we discover where we come from. Purchase Maryssa's memoir on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/One-Left-Here-Motherhood-Finding-ebook/dp/B0HMYN7LN6/

In this deeply moving episode of DNA Discoveries, we unpack an incredible story of childhood trauma, resilience, and unexpected family reunions. Our guest grew up with an absent father, a struggling single mother, and no siblings—always “bracing for impact.” But everything changed in 2019 when his daughters uncovered long-lost siblings in minutes. Through DNA testing, cyber-sleuthing, and a chance encounter at a wedding, he took the leap to connect with his biological family. What started as a search for identity became a powerful love story—one that is healing not just him, but his father, his siblings, and generations of family wounds. This episode explores the impact of childhood neglect, attachment wounds, and the power of vulnerability in the healing journey. Tune in for an unforgettable conversation about loss, love, and the surprising ways family can find us when we least expect it. E-mail: [email protected] Facebook: facebook.com/dnadiscoveriespod Host site: [dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm ](dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm)

Many decades ago, unwed mothers were sent away to boarding homes and hospitals and ultimately would give their child up for adoption. Duane knew that his biological mother was one of those unwed mothers. In this episode of DNA Discoveries, Duane shares how he went about finding her, the reactions of his adoptive family, and other discoveries he found along the way. Contact Edward and express your interest in sharing your story on an episode: E-mail: [email protected] Facebook: facebook.com/dnadiscoveriespod Host site: [dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm ](dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm)

In this episode, Lisa shares her story of how she came to know about a new family member, and how she went about searching and finding information. She figured it out and has been in touch with the new found family and was able to confirm all the facts surrounding the story.

Barbara has a story that you won't believe. Her mother abandoned her and her sibling in their house. Child services became involved, and several of the children were separated from each other. In her memoir "Broken Water" she shares how she searched for her ten sisters and in this episode she shares many details of her life story. It's a story of finding family! Buy her book: https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Water-Extraordinary-True-Story/dp/B0BYVFQTCR/ Share your story by emailing [email protected] or visiting https://dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm/contact Follow the podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DNADiscoveriesPod/

Robin Schepper grew up not knowing who her biological father was, though her mother wanted her to lie and tell people her step-father was. Different names circulated as to who her brith father was, from the name of the birth certificate to another name suggested by her grandmother. Robin shares her story of identifying her biological father on this episode of DNA Discoveries. Buy her book: https://www.amazon.com/Finding-My-Way-Identity-Political/dp/195485496X Visit her website: https://robinfschepperauthor.com/ Share your story by emailing [email protected] or visiting https://dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm/contact Follow the podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DNADiscoveriesPod/

Carmen Rita Wong is an American writer, former radio, television and online journalist, and personal finance expert at CNBC who also has been on quite the family roller coaster wide related to the identity of her father. Raised by a Chinese a father, she presumed he was her father, only to be told someone else was, and then had that rug pulled out from under her feet one day by surprise. Carmen offers profound insights into her journey that are sure to inspire others in a similar situation. Buy her book: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Didnt-You-Tell-Me/dp/0593240251 Share your story by emailing [email protected] or visiting https://dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm/contact Follow the podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DNADiscoveriesPod/

Jon Baime has been helping people tell their stories about anything under the sun through his work in media. But after taking an autosomal DNA test, he now had a story to document and tell--he was donor conceived and discovered his biological dad and siblings. His documentary, Filling in the Blanks, is now available on streaming platforms. In this interview, you will hear parts of Jon's story, but you will want to stream the documentary for the full story. Watch it on Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/filling-in-the-blanks/umc.cmc.51crlr0tajnaqqpu4s9w1ldhc, Buy or rent on Prime: https://www.amazon.com/Filling-Blanks-Jon-Baime/dp/B0CBHDZN74/ or search for it on your favorite streaming platform. Share your story by emailing [email protected] or visiting https://dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm/contact

Ed joined us back on episode 10 and shared his story. Since the interview back in 2021, Ed and Edward have stayed in touch, exchanging texts and messages about the DNA Discoveries podcast. In this update episode, the two Eds share a conversation from a hotel lobby and Ed provides updates about his genealogical vocation. Listen to Ed's first intervidew here: https://dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm/familyresearch Share your story by emailing [email protected] or visiting https://dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm/contact

After being gifted an autosomal DNA test kit, Bob was surprised to learn he wasn't Italian. He was even more surprised to find out that who he believed his father was, was in fact, not his father. He does come to learn the identity of his birth father and other very interesting stories about him. Share your story by emailing [email protected] or visiting https://dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm/contact

Robert's DNA discovery and story of family is a thriller. He was told for many years about his father only to find out that wasn't the name of his father. But could it be that man was still his father, but he had assumed a different identity? It's a mystery that emerged after Robert's two sons gifted him autosomal dna test kits which gave him a new family. Follow on Facebook: Share your own story of finding family by emailing: [email protected].

Today's episode is a joint episode with Beth and her biological dad. She shares her experience and disappointment in finding her birth mother but the great joy in finding her biological father after a few years of searching. Her dad shares how he reacted to and received the news that he had another child he didn't know about. Share your DNA story by email [email protected] or by visiting [dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm](dnadiscoveries.fireside.fm)

The adoption story of David Scotton will be told on the big screen on September 9th in the new movie Lifemark. David's story isn't one of an autosomal DNA test kit, but I thought it was a story worth sharing on DNA Discoveries because of the tagline, Stories of Finding Family. *This episode does address the topic of abortion. It is not the intention of DNA Discoveries to be political, it happens to be a part of his story.