If you’ve considered having your DNA analyzed by one of the popular testing services, is it because you believe secrets lurk in your family tree? As I recently discovered in doing research for my Romancing Our Roots novels, many people are talking about DNA surprises, also called (MP) misattributed paternity or (NPE) nonpaternity events/not parent expected.

Unfortunately, these surprises are pitting the testers against their own parents, particularly their mothers, since their biological fathers may be strangers. According to some articles published in medical journals, pediatricians and other medical professionals may have been pulled into conspiracies to falsify family medical history unless “a clear medical benefit outweighs the potential harms.”

I’d read about case histories like this, but thought they were rare. But a recent article in The New Yorker caught my attention since my romance series deals with DNA puzzles. Staff writer Jennifer Wilson described a survey of 23,000 DNA test takers done by Baylor College of Medicine in 2022. They reported 61% of respondents said they learned something new about themselves or their relatives, including information that they were possibly adopted or donor conceived. Three percent of those surveyed (nearly 700) discovered they were NPEs.

I’ve taken a DNA test, and so has everyone in my immediate family, mainly for the reason the tests are advertised: “trace your ancestors’ journeys and so much more, find new relatives through shared DNA, connect with relatives up to 13 degrees removed.” So far, no surprises such as these.

      Not everyone can say the same. The New Yorker article led me to search for Facebook pages that she mentioned detailing NPE stories. I was fortunate to receive some scientific papers and to find some relevant podcasts, including Lily Wood’s NPE Stories, and Alexis Hourselt’s DNA Surprises podcasts with accounts from actual NPEs.

I’ve only scratched the surface so far in listening to these stories, but the ones I’ve heard describe the moment they discovered the deception as earth-shaking, as if they lost all physical sensation, as if their body had broken into a million pieces. Some refer to learning their true paternity as a defining moment where their lives before were one thing, and now they are living an altered reality. The range of emotions would be astronomical: feeling shock, denial, anger, grief, confusion, blame, shame, empathy, bitterness, conflicted, obsessed, defiant, insecure, depressed, hurt, disillusioned, panicked, relief, scorn, betrayed, curious, resentment, and determined, maybe all in the first few moments of learning the truth about their own identity. All these emotions are elements of a good romance novel, drama you’d like to read about, but want to avoid in real life.

However, for an increasing number of people, this drama is real and will likely become more prevalent as more people take direct-to-consumer DNA tests. Laws that protect the secrets held by previous generations need to be challenged. Birth certificates may need to include additional options for biological parents who are not the ones raising the child. Medical organizations need to update their stances on condoning falsified medical histories of patients.

I intend to continue studying this issue in my own non-scientific manner, and I may circle back to this in future writings. If you are interested, visit the sources listed within this blog or below.

Jennifer Wilson, “Missed Connection,” New Yorker, August 25, 2025

Wenzel, Richard, (2023) “Buying my existence. Just $49, free shipping included,” Journal of Genetic Counseling, 00,1-4. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1686

Wenzel et al., “Misattributed paternity discovery: a critique of medical organizations’ recommendations,” The American Journal of Human Genetics (2025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2025.01.006