Podcast, NPE, DNA Support, Misattributed Parentage Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams Podcast, NPE, DNA Support, Misattributed Parentage Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

Destinations podcast - Brianne and host Doni speak about support for NPE community

Doni is the creator of Culturs Magazine which celebrates people with cross-cultural identities; she has seen how the experience of ‘third culture’ people overlaps often with the NPE world.

Check out the episode to hear our discussion and understand more about the work I do through my writing and private practice, Watershed DNA. We talked about my book The DNA Guide for Adoptees and a little about my upcoming book on the topic of genetic identity. In our discussion, Doni also shared about her role in helping NPEs through the non-profit organization NPE Network

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Events Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams Events Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

Roots Summit to bring together community around DNA discoveries

Join speakers, researchers, professionals, and individuals impacted by misattributed parentage, NPE, adoption, and donor conception at Roots Summit 2024. Family members and support people are encouraged to join, as are professionals interested in learning more about the unique needs of individuals and families adjusting to life after an unexpected DNA discovery. Watershed DNA is an event sponsor and founder Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams will be available to meet with attendees at the Watershed DNA booth.

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Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

Research study seeking multiple family members’ perspectives on the impact of unexpected Direct-To-Consumer paternal DNA discovery

Researchers at University of Southern California’s School of Social Work) are enrolling multiple individuals in a family impacted by direct-to-consumer (DTC) DNA testing unexpected DNA paternity results. Researchers request the person most closely impacted by a DNA discovery (the parent or adult child) be the first to reach out to the research team with interest.

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NPE, DNA Support, Research Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams NPE, DNA Support, Research Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

NPE Awareness Day - June 27th

NPE has become the term for a person who has discovered one or both parents is not genetically related to them, popularized by the first wide-spread NPE support organization, NPE Friends Fellowship. Many people introduce themselves or describe themselves as “I am an NPE” — this serves to connect NPEs and can be a way to help non-NPEs understand how disruptive the late discovery of misattributed parentage can be to someone’s identity.

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NPE, Misattributed Parentage, Research, Not Parent Expected, DNA Surprise Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams NPE, Misattributed Parentage, Research, Not Parent Expected, DNA Surprise Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

Study invites those with a parental DNA discovery

Research into the experiences of people receiving unexpected results from DNA testing continues.

A new study based at Long Island University aims to explore parental identity experiences in greater depth, from a small number of adults who have taken a DNA test and received an unexpected discovery related to their own parentage.

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NPE, Misattributed Parentage, Research, Not Parent Expected, DNA Surprise Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams NPE, Misattributed Parentage, Research, Not Parent Expected, DNA Surprise Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

Study aims to explore the experiences of those with surprise discovery about a parent

Research into the experiences of people getting unexpected results from a home DNA test is still in infancy. A new study based at McGill University aims to explore the experiences of consumer DNA testers who receive an unexpected result with implications to their own parentage.

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Misattributed Parentage, DNA Podcast Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams Misattributed Parentage, DNA Podcast Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

Grounding Meditation for Mindfulness after a DNA discovery - FREE poster

Maggie Chenard is the Mindful NPE on Instagram and Twitter, and she hosts a secret Facebook group of same name. In the very first episode of DNA Clarity and Support was an interview, Maggie shared with host Brianne the journey she has taken after a discovery two years ago that the father she has always known was not her biological father. Hear how grief changes with time, the impact of an "NPE" (not parent expected) discovery on existing relationships, and what it takes to help those around you know how to offer the right kind of support. Download and print the free mindfulness meditation poster.

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Misattributed Parentage, NPE, DNA Discovery Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams Misattributed Parentage, NPE, DNA Discovery Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

Eight years of life as an NPE

Maggy wrote a reflection for the Watershed DNA blog three years ago. She is back again to share more reflections on her misattributed parentage experience. “Each puzzle piece helps me put myself together a little more firmly. I’m so grateful that I took that DNA test in 2013. It changed me and who I think I am and gave me a stronger sense of self than I think I ever would have had otherwise.”

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NPE, Genetic Testing, Donor Conception, Adoption, Family Secrets Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams NPE, Genetic Testing, Donor Conception, Adoption, Family Secrets Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

“The Lost Family” Gets to the Core Issues at Hand With DNA Testing and Family Secrets

The first book of its genre to cover the pressing topic of DNA tests and the end of family secrets, Copeland’s The Lost Family provides an overview of the current DNA test landscape and a short history of how it came to be this way.

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NPE, DNA Discovery Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams NPE, DNA Discovery Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

NPE Awareness Day

"NPE" is an acronym with a history originating in the term “non-paternity event” — a term used in the medical setting when parent/child mismatches were uncovered as a result of clinical genetic testing. NPE has also become the term for a person who has discovered one or both parents is not genetically related to them.

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DNA Discovery, DNA Podcast, NPE, Family History Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams DNA Discovery, DNA Podcast, NPE, Family History Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

“A Broken Tree” Author Joins DNA Clarity and Support Host for Conversation About Multiple NPE Discoveries

Stephen Anderson never expected that his decades of family research using traditional methods--genealogical records and oral histories--would be turned into a years-long journey to unravel the truth around his paternity and that of his many siblings.

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DNA Podcast, DNA Discovery, DNA Secret, NPE, Adoption Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams DNA Podcast, DNA Discovery, DNA Secret, NPE, Adoption Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

DNA Clarity and Support Podcast With First Guest, The Mindful NPE

Podcast Ep: 1 Unexpected DNA discoveries made from mail-in test kits change lives and redefine the meaning of family. Join genetic counselor and founder of Watershed DNA Brianne Kirkpatrick as she chats with authors and leaders in the DNA world on the new podcast DNA Clarity and Support.

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DNA Surprise, DNA Shocks, NPE, Biological Family, Biological Father Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams DNA Surprise, DNA Shocks, NPE, Biological Family, Biological Father Brianne Kirkpatrick Williams

Supporting the Biological Fathers (And Their Families) Who Learn About a New Bio Child

Many “reunions” between biological relatives that have taken place after a DNA test discovery have led to disappointment on one, many, or all sides. Contact is refused. Contact goes great and then one party begins ghosting the other. Communications end, on a sour note or unexpectedly. Why is this?

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