When Maggy was 54 years old, she discovered that her father wasn’t who she thought he was.

You order a $99 home DNA test for some holiday pleasure. It’s a bit of fun. Right? Until it turns your life upside down.

Heather and Jessica are sisters who have discovered that they have a half-sister they never knew about.

The recorded re-telling of a painful and emotional experience of uncovering a DNA surprise is helpful for others to read. It supports and validates others who are going through the same thing, and it provides insight for the friends, family, and professionals who will be there alongside a person on their journey following the unexpected discovery.

In this piece which covers the topic of support after unexpected DNA discoveries, I shared my thoughts on the topic and touched briefly on the role grief and support play in these experiences.

Ancestry tests work like paternity testing, in that they are able to detect whether or not you are matching to close biological family correctly or not. The results can be confusing, especially to someone not familiar with the way ancestry test results are displayed.

The uncovering of one DNA surprise can sometimes have a domino effect in a family. In the case of James and his family, the discovery that the father who raised James wasn’t his biological father led to the same discovery for his three siblings as well.

Stacey reached out to me looking to connect with and find support from others who have discovered from DNA testing that they have Misattributed Parentage (NPE).

Tracing individuals based on their relatives DNA and family trees are only part of what GEDmatch allows DNA researchers to do. Other tools are available on GEDmatch, including one called "Are Your Parents Related?"

If you are in a spot of deciding whether to reach out to genetic family who may or may not be aware of your existence, consider the situation pressing, but not urgent.