With the Trump administration moving to reclassify nursing so it no longer counts as a professional degree for federal student aid, this episode couldn’t land at a more urgent moment. Nursing organizations warn that limiting access to funding threatens the very foundation of patient care, and in our household, where nurses are family, this news hits hard.

Today’s guest, Lisa, is a nurse practitioner, an adoptee, and someone who has lived through more than one life-changing twist thanks to DNA testing. Her story blends caregiving, identity, trauma, reunion, and that beautiful mix of nature and nurture we explore so often on Family Twist.

Lisa grew up in a loving adoptive home, always knowing she was adopted but never knowing the medical history she desperately needed. As a nurse practitioner and later a mother, the absence of that information became impossible to ignore. When she finally began searching for answers, she uncovered a story that feels like fate.

If you want to go even deeper into Lisa’s story, you can find her book here:

The Adopted Nurse (Amazon):

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+adopted+nurse

Her journey includes:

• A neighbor who recognizes her immediately

• A grandfather she may have unknowingly cared for as an ICU nurse

• A birth family who lived down the street from her adoptive parents

• Birth aunts who welcome her with warmth, memory, and long-held truths

This episode explores the way caregivers are shaped by their histories, how adoptees carry both gratitude and grief, and how discovering your roots can transform everything.

Next week, Part Two goes even deeper with a second DNA discovery that completely reframes Lisa’s understanding of identity and safety. But first, this is where her story begins.

In part one, a simple birthday DNA kit rewrote everything Nick thought he knew about his identity. He learned he was donor conceived at thirty-six, discovered fourteen half siblings, and realized his parents had carried the truth for decades.

But nothing prepared him for what came next.

In this episode, Nick talks about the two siblings who were raised by the donor, and the complicated question that hangs over many donor conceived adults:

Do they know about us

And if they do not, should someone tell them

Part Two explores the unsettling space between biological connection and total silence, and what it means to live with questions you cannot safely or ethically answer.

Nick also shares how he transformed his experience into a book and a podcast, giving other donor conceived people a place to speak honestly, without shame or editing. His story is both deeply personal and universally familiar to anyone navigating DNA surprises.

• What it feels like to discover donor raised siblings who may be unaware of you

• The ethics of reaching out when the consequences are unknown

• How donor conceived adults become detectives whether they want to or not

• The ongoing challenges of incomplete medical histories

• Writing as a way to process identity shifts

• Why Nick created a podcast for donor conceived voices

• How openness can protect mental and emotional health

• The growing need for reform and transparency in the fertility industry

• How music helped Nick work through identity questions

• Donor conceived people often live with unanswered questions that affect identity, medical decisions, and relationships

• The donor’s raised children may be unaware of their genetic siblings, creating an emotional and ethical dilemma

• Stories and conversation help break isolation and build community

• The fertility industry still offers little guidance to the adults created through these methods

• Honesty and visibility remain the strongest tools for change

• How would you feel if you learned you had siblings who did not know you existed

• What responsibility, if any, do donor conceived people have toward the donor’s raised children

• What part of your story have you been afraid to speak out loud

• How might telling your truth change your relationships or your sense of self

What if a simple birthday gift revealed a secret your parents had been carrying for more than three decades?

For his 36th birthday, Nick’s siblings gave him a 23andMe kit. It seemed like a fun way to learn more about his ancestry, until his parents sat him down with a truth that changed everything. Nick discovered that he was donor conceived, while his brother was not.

In this first part of Nick’s story, he shares what it felt like to have the truth land without warning, why he chose compassion instead of anger, and how this discovery ultimately strengthened his relationship with the father who raised him.

Nick also explains the fertility practices of the 1980s, including sperm washing and sperm mixing, and how secrecy became standard procedure for families like his.

And when his test results came back, the surprises were just beginning.

• How a DNA test transformed a birthday gift into a life-changing discovery
• The moment Nick’s parents told him the truth about his conception
• How secrecy was encouraged in fertility medicine during the 1980s
• The emotional impact of realizing your family story is incomplete
• Why Nick’s empathy toward his parents shaped their healing
• The mix of gratitude and confusion that comes with learning you are donor conceived
• The unregulated side of the fertility industry and its lasting effects
• Discovering 14 half-siblings, including two raised by the donor
• Finding a new sense of identity and belonging after a DNA surprise

It was the shock of my life. I did not see it coming whatsoever.

I could see the fear in my parents’ eyes, and I just wanted to make sure they were okay.

When I found out I was donor conceived, it didn’t break our relationship. It made it stronger.

Doctors told them, ‘Don’t ever say anything. There’s no way this will ever come out.’

• DNA tests can reveal truths that change entire family narratives.
• Secrets meant to protect can create years of emotional weight.
• Empathy and openness can lead to unexpected healing.
• The fertility industry’s lack of oversight has left many families without answers.
• Understanding your origins can strengthen, not destroy, family connections.

• How would you respond if you learned your family story wasn’t what you thought?
• What might honesty bring to a family that has held on to a secret for years?
• How do we redefine family when biology and identity diverge?
• What does compassion look like in moments of shock or betrayal?

What happens when a single email from a stranger confirms the secret you have been living with your whole life?

In this episode, Rich Boerner returns to Family Twist to share the second half of his extraordinary story. In Part One, Rich discovered the truth about his father after finding a Polaroid tucked inside his mother’s old address book. That discovery shattered the story he had grown up believing and opened the door to an entirely new family.

In Part Two, Rich picks up the story a decade later, when an unexpected email from a woman claiming to be his half-sister pulls him into the next chapter of his life. What follows is an emotional mix of disbelief, connection, and forgiveness.

Rich talks about how he went from shock to understanding, how he built a new relationship with his sister, and why finally learning the truth changed the way he viewed both of his parents. He also shares how the process of telling his story became a healing experience, first for him and then for his children.

• How one photo uncovered a lifetime of secrets
• The decade between discovery and connection
• What it feels like to finally meet a sibling who already knew the truth
• The complicated emotions of forgiveness after decades of silence
• How Rich turned his discovery into his memoir and audiobook The Not-So Only Child
• Why storytelling can be one of the most powerful forms of healing

Rich Boerner is a veteran radio producer, audio storyteller, and the author of The Not-So Only Child: My True Story. His book began as an experiment in the recording booth, speaking his story aloud rather than writing it, and evolved into an audiobook and memoir that explores identity, loss, and reconnection.

You can find The Not-So Only Child on Amazon in print, ebook, and audiobook formats.

Rich’s journey is about more than DNA surprises. It is about what happens after the truth surfaces, when you have to decide whether to open the door to the people and the pain that come with it. His story reminds us that healing often begins with honesty, and that our voices, even shaky ones, can help others feel less alone.

Subscribe to Family Twist wherever you get your podcasts and hear more stories that prove family secrets are the ultimate plot twist.

As a kid growing up on Long Island in the 1970s, Rich Boerner learned not to ask too many questions. His mother had her version of the truth and repeated it word for word whenever he asked. His father was a man from Milwaukee who left when he found out she was pregnant. That was all she would say.

It was a story that sounded just plausible enough to stop the conversation. For years, Rich focused on his own life instead. He went to college, built a career in radio, started a family, and kept that mystery locked away in a quiet corner of his mind.

But after his mother passed away, everything changed. While cleaning out her apartment, Rich opened an old address book. Inside was a Polaroid photo and a note that would unravel decades of silence. His father wasn’t a stranger from another state. He was someone who had always been there.

In this first half of our two-part conversation, Rich joins Corey and Kendall to talk about growing up with half-truths, the cost of protecting a parent’s secret, and what it feels like when the life you’ve built suddenly shifts under your feet. His story reminds us how deeply love and deception can intertwine and how the search for truth can begin long after we think the story is over.

• Life as an only child raised by a single mother in a working-class New York neighborhood
• The “three-sentence story” his mother told and why he believed it for so long
• What he found among her letters after her death
• The Polaroid that rewrote everything he thought he knew about his father
• How grief can become the moment of truth

Rich Boerner is a longtime radio executive and the author of The Not-So Only Child: My True Story. The memoir chronicles the discovery of his hidden family and his path toward forgiveness, recorded and produced in his own home studio.

Rich reconnects with the sister who knew the secret all along and learns how his father’s final wish tied their two families together. He also shares the late-night creative process that turned his story into an audiobook for his children and for anyone who has ever had to rebuild their sense of self from the truth.

What happens when the podcast that’s helping you make sense of your DNA surprise starts to sound a little too familiar?

For many listeners, Family Twist is more than a podcast, it’s a lifeline. That’s exactly how it felt for Jai, whose own DNA discovery journey unfolded side by side with the stories she was hearing from Corey and Kendall. As an adoptee navigating identity, belonging, and the shock of hidden truths, Jai found comfort and courage in Kendall’s openness about rejection, reconnection, and redefining family.

This episode is for anyone who has listened to a story that suddenly felt like their own. Jai reminds us that healing doesn’t just happen through discovery, it happens through connection.

What Listeners Will Gain

1. A mirror for your own journey.

Jai’s story echoes the emotions so many of us face: curiosity, grief, hope, and the courage to seek truth even when it hurts.

2. A lesson in empathy and resilience.

She talks candidly about how Kendall’s story gave her language for emotions she didn’t yet know how to name and how compassion builds bridges even between strangers.

3. A reminder that you’re not alone.

Through podcasts, online communities, and real-life connections, Jai found strength in realizing that others have walked this road and survived it.

This episode feels like the heart of Family Twist. It’s about what happens when we stop hiding, start talking, and realize we’re all part of a much bigger family than we thought.

Corey shares the mic with other board members from Right to Know, the organization making sure everyone has access to their own origin story. These conversations aren’t polished or easy, but they’re full of heart, honesty, and hope.

Debbie Olson talks about the strange beauty of finding family while also finding your purpose. She turned her DNA discovery into a mission to make sure no one goes through it alone.

Kara Rubinstein Deyerin and Brad Ewell share the story behind the name Right to Know and how they built a space for people who are still reeling from the shock of new truths. Their message is simple: healing doesn’t come from pretending it didn’t happen. It comes from community.

And Steven Osborne reminds us what real courage sounds like when he tells the story of confronting his mother after decades of secrets. It’s raw, it’s human, and it’s a reminder that honesty doesn’t always heal overnight, but it’s always the first step.

This episode also celebrates the Untangling Our Roots Summit, where adoptees, donor-conceived folks, NPEs, and their families come together to laugh, cry, and find connection in the chaos. It’s proof that healing can be loud, messy, and even joyful.

Family secrets might be the hardest stories to tell, but when we tell them together, they turn into something bigger, understanding, compassion, and sometimes even a little karaoke.

This episode nearly vanished. Literally. When Corey bumped into fellow podcaster Jeremy Bryant at a New England podcast event, he recognized his voice before placing his face. Then it hit him, they had already recorded an episode of Family Twist with Jeremy, but somehow, that recording got lost.

So here it is. Jeremy’s story is about learning he was donor-conceived, discovering a growing list of half-siblings, and reconciling that truth after the father who raised him had already passed. It’s also about navigating what happens when the story you’ve always been told turns out to be wrong. Also, Jeremy hosts a paranormal podcast, so yes, you may hear something strange in the background.

The second half of the episode features an update with Jeremy’s half-sister Amber. Her discovery led to a national media moment. Amber is the creator of Biohacked, both a podcast and a documentary project about donor conception, secrecy, and the need for reform in the fertility industry. She also created a welcome packet for new half-siblings, because when your biological father helped conceive dozens of people, there is some onboarding involved.

Together, Jeremy and Amber offer two very different reactions to the same truth. One chose peace. One chose action. Both are unforgettable.

The Fertility Industry’s Dark Secret, Told by Two of Its Kids

• Jeremy’s discovery story and the moment his mom told him the truth
• Grieving a lost parent while uncovering a second one
• What happens when you meet your biological father after a DNA surprise
• Amber’s origin story, and how it unraveled completely
• From being called a “miracle baby” to finding out the truth
• Creating a welcome packet for incoming half-siblings
• How donor-conceived people are fighting for regulation, recognition, and rights
• The emotional fallout of secrecy in the fertility industry

• Jeremy’s podcast, Paranormal the New Normal
• Amber’s podcast and documentary project, Biohacked
• Donor Conceived Community (donorconceivedcommunity.org)
• NPR and other national media coverage of Amber’s story

Have you uncovered a secret through a DNA test or a forgotten conversation?

Contact us at familytwistpodcast@gmail.com. We’re always looking for the next twist.