Podcast
NPE Stories
Hosted by Lily Wood · EN
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.
25episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Danny's Story
1w ago00:39:37Tap to summarizeDanny'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 name to Danny. Danny can be reached via instagram @javi__citoNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →Alethia's Story
3w ago00:53:04Tap to summarizeHarmful 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 messy reality of growing up in a toxic home. We dive into the moment her world shifted when a DNA test completely dismantled her family’s origin story, replacing it with a hidden history she never saw coming. It’s an honest, sometimes uncomfortable look at the shame that follows a DNA surprise and the heavy emotional cost of carrying secrets you didn't even know existed.Resources Mentioned:Right to KnowDNAngels and Search AngelsOne Drop: My Father's Hidden Life - A Story of Race and Family Secrets by Bliss BroyardFinding Me: A Memoir by Viola DavisGreenlights by Matthew McConaugheyThe Color of Water by James McBrideI Take My Coffee Black by Tyler MerrittReflections: A Window Into My Soul by Alethia SternNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →Becca's Story
Apr 3000:38:53Tap to summarizeIn 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 a biological father—a pediatrician—who shares her love of exclamation points. Becca discusses how she turned the entire journey into her 30-minute solo comedy show, Gifted.You can follow Becca's stand-up and storytelling journey on Instagram @BeccaRothmanResources Mentioned:The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are by Libby CopelandThe Sunday Story Seven IG @storyseven.albeccarothman.comUntangling Our Roots ConferenceNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →Mark's Story
Apr 1900:57:41Tap to summarizeGrowing 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 he was 100% Iberian and had zero Polish blood. Now, he shares his journey of navigating this new reality, confronting a mother whose memories are fading, and connecting with a biological family he never knew existed.Mark can be reached via email markthenpe@gmail.comResources Mentioned:Right to Know Severance Magazine DNA Surprises with Alexis HourseltNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →Alex's Story
Apr 500:45:55Tap to summarizeAlex 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, "seamless" bond with their biological father and half-brother over a shared love for music.Alex can be reached via instagram @bedhead_babeResources Mentioned:Untangling Our RootsAlex's Band: The Eye Traps Instagram @theeyetrapsbandNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →Dawn M's Story
Mar 2000:43:16Tap to summarizeDawn 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 life—and how she’s finding her way forward, one piece at a time.Dawn can be reached via email thebeginningnpe@gmail.comThank you to Dawn's daughter Olivia Hendrix for creating the newest NPE Stories podcast logo and graphics. Her art can be found @shop_94art on InstagramResources Mentioned:GEDmatchThe Stranger in My Genes by Bill GriffethNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →Molly's Story
Feb 2700:36:15Tap to summarizeIn 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 devastating lows of a reunion that ultimately didn't last, and how she has utilized EMDR therapy and her faith to process the profound grief and shame of those experiences.Resources Mentioned:Untangling Our Roots SummitLeslie Pate MackinnonEMDR TherapyHusband, Father, Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story | LifetimeThe Kiss: A Memoir by Kathryn HarrisonNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →Stephanie's Story
Feb 1600:51:32Tap to summarizeThis 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 comment turns into a whirlwind of answers — including identifying her biological father, discovering new siblings, and realizing her daughter was unknowingly friends with her first cousin. Stephanie shares the emotional fallout, identity shift, grief, and healing resources that helped her navigate life as an NPE. Stephanie can be reached via email walkers424@gmail.comResources Mentioned:Untangling our Roots Summit Mar 19-22, 2026 AtlantaDNAngels No Cost Search Angel ServicesWho Even Am I Anymore? A Process Journal by Eve Sturges Before You Go by Stephanie WalkerNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →DJ's Story
Jan 1501:09:52Tap to summarizeDJ 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 parents stayed together “for him,” this episode sits with the doubts he learned to carry without ever questioning out loud.DJ can be found on social media: Facebook and Instagram @radiodjthedjResources Mentioned:Untangling our Roots Summit Held in Atlanta Mar 19-22 2026Thank you to Olivia Mesnard Hendrix for working on the new upcoming logo for NPE Stories. Her work can be found on Instagram @shop_94art NPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →Stacy's Story
Dec 2200:53:01Tap to summarizeIn 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, and how community, therapy, and self-compassion helped her rebuild her sense of identity.Stacy is the host of Mothers, Lies, and DNA Surprises and recently recorded Lily's Story on her podcast. Stacy can be reached on Facebook Stacy Porter Williams, or her email sandkey06@gmail.comResources Mentioned:Hiraeth Hope & Healing RetreatsStacy's podcast Mothers, Lies, and DNA SurprisesTogetherness Heals NPE private group on FacebookBook: Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. GibsonNPE Stories PatreonNPE Stories facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/NPEstories
Transcribe →