NPE Stories
What if you found out your parent was not in fact your biological parent?
NPE Stories is a podcast where NPEs can share their story. What is an NPE? It is a term that stands for Not Parent Expected or Non Paternity Event. It is used for people who have found out the life changing news that their parent wasn’t their biological parent. Most likely through the advent of home DNA kits.
NPE Stories is a podcast where NPEs can share their story of what their original family was like. How they found out they were an NPE. And what their journey has been like since the day they found out.
These stories are here for us to listen to and nod along with. Be a part of the story telling. If you are an NPE that would like to share your story email npestories@gmail.com. You do not have to give any identifying information. I’d like to hear from you.
NPE Stories will be launching July 1st 2019. Come heal with us.
Episodes
241 episodes
Danny's Story
Danny's mother revealed that he was actually a Non-Paternity Event (NPE) child, and his biological father was a man from New York named Daniel. To honor his biological roots while acknowledging the man who raised him, he socially changed his na...
Alethia's Story
Harmful Content Warning: This episode contains raw language including racial slurs, as well as discussions of domestic violence and systemic trauma.Alethia joins me to talk about a childhood defined by internal racism and the mess...
Becca's Story
In this episode, Becca Rothman, a comedian, activist, and mother shares the surprising story of discovering she was donor-conceived later in life. After years of living with a "clue" found by her sister, Becca finally used a DNA kit to uncover ...
Mark's Story
Growing up with a "normal" Midwestern upbringing, Mark never felt different or disconnected from his family. However, after his father's death, a quest to explore his Portuguese heritage through a DNA test led to the staggering discovery that h...
Alex's Story
Alex Frantz shares the life-altering discovery of being donor-conceived, a revelation triggered by a holiday DNA kit. They describe the shock of realizing they attended high school with their half-siblings. Alex recounts forming a deep, "seamle...
Dawn M's Story
Dawn grew up feeling a quiet sense that something didn’t quite fit, but it wasn’t until a search for her family’s past that everything she thought she knew began to shift. In this episode, she shares what it’s like to uncover the truth later in...
Molly's Story
In this episode, Lily sits down with Molly, who shares the complex layers of being both an adoptee and an NPE within a small-town dynamic where the adults knew the truth long before she did. Molly opens up about the "fairytale" highs and devast...
Stephanie's Story
This episode follows Stephanie’s journey from a stable, loving childhood into a shocking DNA discovery after her dad’s death revealed he wasn’t her biological father. What starts with family secrets, an Ancestry test, and a stepmom’s cryptic co...
DJ's Story
DJ grew up believing he knew exactly where he came from—named after his father, raised in a working-class family shaped by absence, anger, and long stretches of silence. From childhood jokes about not looking like his dad to being told his pare...
Stacy's Story
In this deeply personal conversation (and crossover episode), Stacy opens up about discovering she’s a double NPE, confronting painful family truths, and grieving a father she never had the chance to know. She reflects on healing, chosen family...
Constance's Story
Constance grew up believing she shared the same father as her siblings, though she always sensed something was off. Decades later, an AncestryDNA test and unexpected messages from strangers unraveled the truth—leading her to her biological fath...
Krissy's Story
Krissy shares her decades-long journey from an offhand comment in her teens to the life-changing discovery that she is an NPE, uncovering hidden family truths on both her maternal and paternal sides.She can be reached via email sweetaliz...
Traci Grant's Story
In this episode, Traci Grant shares her profound NPE journey, uncovering a hidden truth about her biological father after a lifetime of painful family dynamics and secrecy. Traci can be reached at t...
Amy W's Story
Amy’s discovery about her origins reshaped everything she thought she knew about her life and family. This conversation stayed with me long after recording—it’s one of those stories that quietly breaks your heart while reminding you what healin...
William's Story
After a tumultuous childhood, William built a happy life as a chef, husband, and father—until a DNA test revealed a hidden truth about his identity. His discovery led him to a new family, a shared passion, and a journey of forgiveness and heali...
Pat's Story
When Pat took a DNA test to ease her brother’s doubts, she never imagined it would upend everything she thought she knew about her family. What followed was a story of shock, grief, forgiveness, and the quiet strength it takes to rebuild your i...
Gina H's Story
After taking a DNA test to support her granddaughter’s school project, Gina discovered a life-changing truth: the man who raised her wasn’t her biological father. In this episode, Gina shares her journey through not one but two NPE revelations,...
Lisa F's Story
Lisa F. grew up in what seemed like the perfect family in a small Oklahoma town—until a DNA test revealed a shocking truth about her biological father. In this episode, she shares the journey of piecing together family secrets, confronting long...
Lori's Story
In this episode, Lori shares her journey of discovering she was donor conceived after taking a DNA test meant to be a distraction during a difficult time. What began as curiosity about her heritage unraveled decades of family secrets, uncovered...
Rebecca's Story
Rebecca grew up without the steady presence of a father, carrying unanswered questions into adulthood. When a DNA test opened unexpected doors, she discovered family connections that had been close by all along — in ways she never could have im...
Lizette's Story
We kick off Season 7 with a warm welcome to new listeners and a bit of housekeeping before diving into this week’s story.Our guest, Liz, grew up surrounded by confusion—her various IDs and birth certificates carried different names and b...
Did Not Anticipate
In this powerful Season 6 finale, author J. Steven Osborne shares his remarkable DNA surprise journey—from a casual ancestry test to discovering he was not biologically related to the father he adored. What began as a search for Native American...
Deb's Story
Trigger warning: This episode contains discussions of child abuse, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.Deb recounts a sad childhood with abuse and multiple years in foster care. After finding out she was an NPE through a DNA ...
Rashanda's Story
Rashanda opens up about growing up without a mom or dad and the emotional toll of navigating life without a traditional family structure. From childhood instability to finding her own voice, her story is one of raw honesty, growth, and empowerm...
Annette's Story: Living Into the Truth
Raised in a devout Catholic family, Annette grew up believing her father had died before she was born. Decades later, a series of emotional discoveries unraveled everything she thought she knew about her identity. Her journey explores loss, sec...