🧩 In this episode of Missing Pieces, Don sits down with Alison, a sober solo traveler who has explored some of the most remote places in the world. A DNA test she took out of curiosity revealed that the man who raised her was not her biological father—and that the sister she grew up with was actually her half-sister.

Alison shares how the discovery shook her identity, led her to two more half-siblings, and forced her to reconsider everything she believed about her family, her heritage and even herself. It’s a powerful conversation about addiction, recovery, family secrets and finding the courage to keep searching for answers.

🎧 Listen, follow, rate and review

📸 Missing Pieces Instagram: @npe_life_podcast

🌍 Alison’s Instagram: @alisonfromashes

💚 Choosing Hope Project: choosinghopeproject.org

🎬 Brothers in Arms: The Making of Platoon: Watch on Amazon

📧 Email Don: donNPE@icloud.com

🧩 Every Secret Has a Story

🧩 In this episode of Missing Pieces, Don sits down with television host, journalist, adoptee, and adoptive mother Lisa Joyner. Lisa shares the story of searching for and meeting both of her biological parents, the emotional impact of finally seeing herself reflected in another person, and how her own adoption experience shaped the way she approached motherhood.

They also look back at Long Lost Family, the care that went into those powerful reunions, and Lisa’s new podcast, Plus One with Lisa and Morgan.

I’d like to thank Jerry Hauser for letting us use his studio and graciously being our sound engineer!!

🎧 Listen, follow, rate and review
📸 Instagram: @npe_life_podcast

📸 Instagram: @plusonewithlisaandmorgan

📸 Lisa's Instagram @mslisajoyner

📸 Morgan's Instagram @morganwalshy

📧 Email Don: donNPE@icloud.com
🧩 Every Secret Has a Story

🧩 Relative Strangers

This week on Missing Pieces — NPE Life, Don talks with writer Laura Jenkins, whose essay appears in the new anthology Relative Strangers: Inheritance, Identity, and the Meaning of Kinship, edited by B.K. Jackson.

Laura shares her story of discovering she is an NPE and the emotional journey that followed — the shock, the questions, the search for truth, and the complicated process of making sense of identity when the story you were given turns out not to be the whole story.

Relative Strangers features 28 writers exploring family secrets, DNA discoveries, inheritance, identity, and what it means when a person who was once a complete stranger turns out to be close family.

You can follow Laura on Instagram at @lajenx
Visit Laura’s website at www.laurajenkinswriter.com
You can follow B.K. Jackson at @b.k.jackson

🎁 Don is also hosting a giveaway for copies of Relative Strangers. To enter, go to Instagram and follow the instructions on the giveaway post at @npe_life_podcast.

🎧 Listen to Missing Pieces — NPE Life
Stories of DNA surprises, NPE discoveries, donor conception, adoption, and the people left to make sense of family secrets.

📩 Contact Don: donNPE@icloud.com
📸 Instagram: @npe_life_podcast

⭐ Please follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. And if Laura’s story moves you, leaving a rating or review really helps other people find the podcast.