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A DNA Test Can Rewrite Your Entire Identity
Brianne Kirkpatrick-Williams has spent almost 20 years as a genetic counselor, and she's one of the only people in the world doing this specific work. She helps people figure out what to do after a DNA test rewrites their family story. A parent who isn't a parent. A heritage that was never theirs. A chapter no one ever mentioned. Over 40 million people now have their DNA in consumer databases, and the surprises don't stay quiet.
In this conversation with host Elleyne Aldine, Brianne talks about founding Watershed DNA, co-authoring DNA Guide for Adoptees, and the seven surprise discoveries she's made inside her own extended family. She explains why one DNA discovery can ripple through an entire family, why "just call them" is rarely the right move, and how identity, health, and heritage all sit inside the same strand of code.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - What a genetic counselor actually does
03:30 - Working with adoptees, NPEs, and donor-conceived people
06:30 - How she found this field and built a one-woman practice
09:30 - The 2018 explosion of at-home DNA testing
11:30 - Why finding biological family is never as simple as picking up the phone
12:30 - The "search angel" community helping people piece together family trees
16:00 - The seven surprise discoveries inside her own family
17:30 - Honoring the person most impacted before the news spreads
20:30 - The book she co-wrote for adoptees on DNA and search
22:00 - What health DNA testing reveals about who you are and why
🔗CONNECT WITH BRIANNE KIRKPATRICK-WILLIAMS:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianne-k-w/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watersheddnaofficial/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WatershedDNA
Website: https://www.watersheddna.com/about
ABOUT CULTURS:
Reaching millions annually, CULTURS champions unique cultural identity, transforming culturally fluid populations (multiethnic and/or geographically mobile people like Third Culture Kids) from being invisible outliers to originals. This includes people of culture in the rapidly growing DNA testing-fueled Not Parent Expected (NPE) community. Our world-class, veteran team of researchers and professionals spans five continents.
Get the free identity rebuild workbook:
Get social with us:
https://www.youtube.com/@CultursIntlMediaGroup
https://www.instagram.com/Cultursmag/
https://www.facebook.com/cultursmag
https://www.pinterest.com/cultursmag/
Join the CULTURS community: https://shop.cultursmag.com/products/culturs-membership
Original Music by Tommy McMillion, McMillion Entertainment
Hair by Tanya Mason
View all episodes
By Elleyne AldineBrianne Kirkpatrick-Williams has spent almost 20 years as a genetic counselor, and she's one of the only people in the world doing this specific work. She helps people figure out what to do after a DNA test rewrites their family story. A parent who isn't a parent. A heritage that was never theirs. A chapter no one ever mentioned. Over 40 million people now have their DNA in consumer databases, and the surprises don't stay quiet.
In this conversation with host Elleyne Aldine, Brianne talks about founding Watershed DNA, co-authoring DNA Guide for Adoptees, and the seven surprise discoveries she's made inside her own extended family. She explains why one DNA discovery can ripple through an entire family, why "just call them" is rarely the right move, and how identity, health, and heritage all sit inside the same strand of code.
Topics discussed:
00:00 - What a genetic counselor actually does
03:30 - Working with adoptees, NPEs, and donor-conceived people
06:30 - How she found this field and built a one-woman practice
09:30 - The 2018 explosion of at-home DNA testing
11:30 - Why finding biological family is never as simple as picking up the phone
12:30 - The "search angel" community helping people piece together family trees
16:00 - The seven surprise discoveries inside her own family
17:30 - Honoring the person most impacted before the news spreads
20:30 - The book she co-wrote for adoptees on DNA and search
22:00 - What health DNA testing reveals about who you are and why
🔗CONNECT WITH BRIANNE KIRKPATRICK-WILLIAMS:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianne-k-w/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watersheddnaofficial/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WatershedDNA
Website: https://www.watersheddna.com/about
ABOUT CULTURS:
Reaching millions annually, CULTURS champions unique cultural identity, transforming culturally fluid populations (multiethnic and/or geographically mobile people like Third Culture Kids) from being invisible outliers to originals. This includes people of culture in the rapidly growing DNA testing-fueled Not Parent Expected (NPE) community. Our world-class, veteran team of researchers and professionals spans five continents.
Get the free identity rebuild workbook:
Get social with us:
https://www.youtube.com/@CultursIntlMediaGroup
https://www.instagram.com/Cultursmag/
https://www.facebook.com/cultursmag
https://www.pinterest.com/cultursmag/
Join the CULTURS community: https://shop.cultursmag.com/products/culturs-membership
Original Music by Tommy McMillion, McMillion Entertainment
Hair by Tanya Mason