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Finding your birth family is often portrayed as the ending of the story. For many adoptees, it's actually the beginning.

In this episode, Patricia Knight Meyer returns to talk about reunion with both of her birth parents, the remarkable relationship she built with her birth father, and the emotional challenges that no one prepared her to face.

Together, we discuss:

• Why reunion with each birth parent took a very different path
• The grief experienced by birth fathers and why it deserves more attention
• Genetic mirroring and finally seeing yourself in someone else
• Why Patricia believes adoptees and birth families need better preparation before reunion
• The inspiration behind her memoir, Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption
• The music that became the soundtrack to her journey

And then, right near the end of the conversation, something completely unexpected happens. Corey and Patricia realize they've shared a powerful moment before, they just didn't know it until now.

The e-book edition of Wonderland is available for preorder now. The print edition and audiobook arrive this November, and Patricia will return to Family Twist for a special bonus episode after publication to share readers' reactions and what's happened since the book's release.

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What if you discovered your adoption was never legal?

This week, Corey and Kendall welcome adoptee, author, advocate, and National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP) board member Patricia Knight Meyer for one of the most extraordinary stories we've ever featured on Family Twist.

Patricia always knew she was adopted. But at 13, she learned she had no original birth certificate. At 18, she discovered there had never been a legal adoption. The attorney who arranged her placement had orchestrated an illegal black-market adoption, leaving Patricia to spend decades searching for answers about her identity, her family, and even her true birthday.

In this deeply personal conversation, Patricia shares what it was like growing up with unanswered questions, why she always feared someone might come to take her away, and how years of searching eventually led her to the truth.

We also discuss her powerful upcoming memoir, Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption, a story of identity, resilience, and the lifelong search for where we belong.

This conversation is unforgettable. And somehow, it's only the beginning.

Next week, Patricia returns to share what happened after the reunion with both of her birth parents, the remarkable relationship she built with her birth father, and a surprise ending that neither she nor Corey saw coming.

Pre-order Wonderland now wherever books are sold.

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She didn't tell me we were Jewish.

Those seven words changed everything.

Author Joan Moran joins Corey and Kendall to discuss her remarkable memoir, Suddenly Jewish, a story that spans generations, continents, and one life-changing family secret.

Joan grew up believing she knew her family's story. Then, just before marrying into a Jewish family, her mother revealed something she had kept hidden for decades. Their family was Jewish.

The secret was not rooted in shame. It was rooted in survival.

Joan shares her mother's journey from Odesa to London, Montreal, New York, and San Francisco, explaining how antisemitism shaped the choices her family made. Along the way, Corey and Kendall discover something familiar. Even though Joan's story is different from a DNA surprise, the emotional questions are remarkably similar.

How does a family secret shape your identity?

Can you understand the people who believed silence was the safest option?

What happens when the truth finally comes out?

The conversation also explores Kendall's own DNA discovery, the importance of identity beyond genetics, and why understanding history can sometimes lead to compassion, even when it cannot erase the pain.

In this episode:

• Why Joan's mother hid her Jewish identity

• The historical events that made secrecy feel necessary

• How hidden ancestry affects future generations

• The surprising connections between hidden heritage and DNA discoveries

• Why family secrets rarely stay buried forever

Whether your story involves adoption, donor conception, a DNA surprise, hidden ancestry, or another family secret, this episode is a reminder that understanding where we come from can change how we see ourselves.

Joan Moran's memoir, Suddenly Jewish, is available wherever books are sold.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves true stories about family, identity, and discovery.

Remember, family secrets are the ultimate plot twist.

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Can horror movies actually help us heal?

In this special crossover episode with Horror Heals, Corey sits down for a conversation that might surprise Family Twist listeners. While one podcast explores DNA surprises, adoption, and identity, and the other celebrates horror, both are ultimately about the same thing: how people make sense of difficult experiences and find connection through storytelling.

Whether you've never watched a horror movie in your life or you're a lifelong fan, this episode explores why scary stories resonate so deeply with so many people. From grief and trauma to anxiety and resilience, horror can offer something unexpected: comfort, catharsis, and community.

If you've ever found healing in an unlikely place, this conversation is for you.

And if you enjoy what you hear, check out Horror Heals, where Corey and Kendall welcome actors, filmmakers, authors, therapists, and fellow horror fans every Friday to explore why horror is good for our mental wellness.

About Horror Heals

Hosted by Corey and Kendall Stulce, Horror Heals explores the surprising connection between horror and mental wellness. Through conversations with guests from inside and outside the horror world, the show examines how fear, grief, trauma, and resilience are reflected in the stories we love—and why so many people find comfort in the macabre.

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Julie Ann Brumley expected a DNA test to answer a few questions.

She didn't expect to find a sister, a 100% Italian biological father, or an entire family where she could finally see herself reflected in someone else's face.

In part one of our conversation, Julie and Kendall compare reunion stories and talk about the moments that don't always make it into the movies: sitting through family stories you weren't there for, wondering what you missed, and discovering that joy and grief can show up at the same dinner table.

Along the way, they discuss:

• Finding biological family through DNA
• The first time you realize you actually look like someone
• Walking into a family that already has decades of shared memories
• Why reunion is a beginning, not an ending
• Building relationships with biological siblings later in life

Julie is an adoptee, trauma-informed coach, speaker, and creator of the Belonging Blueprint, helping adoptees reconnect with themselves through self-belonging and body-based healing.

Next week: Julie explains why she believes adoptees carry their stories in their bodies, and Kendall opens up about the health, anxiety, and identity struggles that finally started making sense after reunion.

About Julie Ann Brumley

Julie Ann Brumley is an adoptee, trauma-informed coach, speaker, and founder of Coming Home to Self. After finding her biological family through DNA, she shifted her work to helping adoptees understand identity, belonging, and the lasting effects of early separation through somatic and self-belonging practices.

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What happens when a mental health professional finds herself navigating a DNA surprise of her own?

In this deeply personal episode of Family Twist, Corey and Kendall sit down with Angie Miller, licensed mental health therapist, wellness coach, speaker, and host of the Strong Mind, Strong Body podcast, for a conversation about identity, family secrets, and the emotional chaos that can follow a late-in-life DNA discovery.

Angie opens up about learning through DNA testing that the man she believed was her biological father likely wasn’t. What followed was a complicated emotional journey filled with grief, curiosity, guilt, fear, and unanswered questions. As someone trained in mental health and Internal Family Systems therapy, Angie brings a unique perspective to the conversation, explaining how different “parts” of ourselves can battle for control during moments of trauma and identity disruption.

The conversation dives into:

• The emotional shock of unexpected DNA test results
• Feeling protective of family members while searching for the truth
• The fear of rejection from newly discovered biological relatives
• How Internal Family Systems therapy applies to DNA surprises and NPE experiences
• Why so many people suppress these discoveries instead of talking about them
• The complicated mix of hope, grief, anger, and curiosity that comes with family secrets

Angie also shares how she’s actively searching for answers right now, including preparing to potentially meet biological relatives in person for the first time. This isn’t a story being told years later with neat conclusions. It’s happening in real time.

If you’ve experienced a DNA surprise, are part of the adoption, NPE, or donor-conceived communities, or have ever questioned where you truly belong, this episode will hit home.

About Angie Miller

Angie Miller, M.S., LCMHC, CWC, is a licensed clinical mental health therapist, certified wellness coach, international speaker, author, and fitness expert specializing in the connection between emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing. She hosts the Strong Mind, Strong Body podcast and is a professional development educator for the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Angie also speaks internationally on stress management, resilience, and mental agility.

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Nicole thought TikTok was being ridiculous. After posting wedding videos online, strangers flooded the comments insisting there was “no way” she was half white like she’d always believed. Some people were curious. Others were cruel. But the comments kept coming.

“You look Black.”
“That’s not your dad.”
“You should take a DNA test.”

So she did. What Nicole expected would be a funny way to shut down internet trolls turned into a complete rewriting of her identity, family history, and understanding of herself.

In this unforgettable episode of Family Twist, Nicole shares how a viral TikTok video led to the shocking discovery that the father who raised her was not her biological father. Raised in Maui in a conservative Christian household, Nicole never seriously questioned the story she’d been told about her background. But one DNA test uncovered an entirely different reality, including a biological father in Texas who never knew she existed.

What follows is one of the most emotional and hopeful reunion stories we’ve heard on the podcast.

Nicole opens up about confronting her mother, finding her biological father through an obituary and Facebook search, and the overwhelming moment of realizing she finally saw herself in someone else. Corey and Kendall also explore the complicated emotions that come with DNA surprises, race and identity, reunion, loyalty to the parent who raised you, and the emotional whiplash of discovering a whole new side of your family overnight.

This episode covers:

• DNA surprises and NPE discoveries
• Viral TikTok DNA stories
• Race and identity revelations
• Late discovery biological family
• Reunion with a biological father
• Family secrets and emotional healing
• Nature versus nurture
• Adoption-adjacent identity journeys
• The impact of ancestry DNA testing

Somehow, this story also includes one of the sweetest father-daughter reunions imaginable.

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What happens when you spend more than 40 years sensing something about your life doesn’t add up… only to discover you were right all along?

In this deeply emotional and unforgettable episode of Family Twist, Corey and Kendall sit down with Dr. Syb, a late discovery adoptee whose world changed forever just before her 42nd birthday. What began as a lifetime of unanswered questions became a journey through adoption secrecy, grief, rage, identity, reunion, and ultimately, healing.

Dr. Syb shares the shocking moment she learned she was adopted after decades of feeling different from everyone around her. She opens up about discovering that nearly everyone in her family already knew the truth, the emotional fallout of uncovering long-buried secrets, and the devastating reality that both of her biological parents had already passed away before she found them.

But this conversation goes far beyond DNA tests and paperwork.

Together, they explore the emotional impact of adoption trauma, the pressure adoptees often face to “just be grateful,” and the importance of allowing adoptees, NPEs, and donor-conceived people to fully process their anger, grief, and confusion without judgment.

Dr. Syb also discusses:

• The healing power of adoptee community and therapy
• How music, movement, and dancing helped her process trauma
• Why adoptees deserve agency over their own stories
• The dangers of family secrecy and hidden truths
• Reunion experiences with both maternal and paternal relatives
• Why telling the truth matters before it’s too late

This is one of the rawest and most honest conversations we’ve ever had on Family Twist, and Dr. Syb’s voice is one that will stay with listeners long after the episode ends.

If you’re navigating adoption, a DNA surprise, NPE discovery, donor conception, or complicated family secrets, this episode will make you feel seen.

And remember, family secrets are the ultimate plot twist.