Unfinished Truths

Raised as an only child, Shelly's mom and dad passed away when she was in her early 20s. In spring 2021, at age 35, she was ready to find children she had been told her dad had before she was born but didn't raise. What she found out is that her dad wasn't her biological father, half of her ethnic heritage was incorrect, and she was not an only child. As a journalist, she has written about her experiences, and is learning how to balance being an NPE, a storyteller, and a mom in the healthiest way possible.

You can see a synopsis of her story here:  Scary Mommy, Jewish News.

Shelly's new piece on donor conception is at Next Avenue and a piece to which we all can relate about the complicated nature of Father's Day. 

You can see more of her work as a writer here, follow her on Twitter, and reach out to her via e-mail.

This podcast it about truth:  partial truths, broken truths, undiscovered and unfinished truths. 

How do we understand kinship in the age of reproductive technologies and prolific, consumer DNA analysis when what we discover isn't a truth at all?  With this introduction your host, Jennifer Carraher, talks about non-paternity events (NPE), reproductive technologies and their impact on traditional notions of kinship.  She tells her own NPE story in episode 1.

Dr. Greg Markway is a clinical and forensic psychologist from Jefferson City, Missouri. Five years ago, he began a quest to find his grandfather's origins. His grandfather was born in New York City, and was dropped off at the New York Foundling Asylum. At the age of 5, his grandfather rode the "orphan train" to rural Missouri where he was taken in by the Markway family. Through DNA testing and considerable research, Greg uncovered his grandfather's fascinating story, and that of his biological family. Greg founded the Facebook group, Orphan Train DNA, where he helps other orphan train descendants search for their own history. He also has a blog where he writes about orphan train history and genealogy, Markwayblog.com.

You can check out these other resources about the history of The New York Foundling Asylum, The Orphan Trains and Dr. Markway's Facebook group for Orphan Train descendants by following these links: 

Foundling Hospital history

Foundling Hospital Letters

 Orphan Train History (Look for Greg's speaking engagement June 2022) 

Search "Orphan Train DNA" on Facebook to connect to the group

This is an interim episode regarding the movie ELF and the misattributed parent experience.  This short segment also discusses fatherlessness through the ages (in art and literature) as well as a year-end mixed tape/ playlist just for the MPE community! Thanks to friends at Inspired Yoga for opening my eyes and heart, for inspiration in kindling the closing mantra, and to the memory of Maurice Sendak and Richard Scary (not to mention the Grimms) for writing stories for children that hold truth ... sometimes shocking, mystifying, frightening, but truth, nonetheless.

"I refuse to lie to children," says Sendak. "I refuse to cater to the bullshit of innocence."

This is an interim episode: a tribute to a different kind of family.  

Perspectives of fellow nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic, two years later.

Driving to work with an updated / retrospective on my NPE story and introduction to the show.

This is an introductory episode to Unfinished Truths where the host discusses kinship and how her own non-paternity event (NPE) has broken her understanding of kinship and family wide open.