Persistence Is Key

Persistence Is Key!

Sheryl begins her NPE story not with her own AncestryDNA test but with her brother’s. His test came back with a much different ethnic background than she anticipated and then, after eventually figuring out what the cMs in common meant, Sheryl realized he was only her half-brother. Her other siblings were then tested and found they were half-siblings to her as well

So Sheryl dove into her match list. She reached out to a cousin of her birth certificate father (BCF) who she knew had tested. They did not appear in each other’s matches. Carefully coding the matches she shared with her sister and labeling them as “mother’s side,” she tried for two years to build trees. Many of her unknown matches shared common ancestors in their trees but she couldn’t get them to connect and give her an answer. When she reached out to Ancestry, she was given a price tag of 3,000 dollars and a timeline of three months. But she wasn’t curious enough to spend that, and she was happy with the family she had. She told herself she didn’t need to search anymore.

Then, after sharing her story in a Facebook support group, Sheryl found DNAngels. She was accepted even though she didn’t quite meet the criteria and Laura, Angel Extraordinaire, began digging for the truth. It was narrowed down quickly to 2 brothers. But Sheryl knew right away when she found one of their sons on Facebook that she was looking at her brother. Never had she looked so much like someone in her known family…and here was a face her DNA recognized looking back at her.

It took some time but she eventually got in contact with Allen, her half-brother. In doing so she discovered a series of amazing coincidences that had led her to actually meet her biological father many years before when he had worked as a security guard at her job when she was 21. Allen had even seen her senior picture before in one of their father’s albums! His father had told him it was the picture of a friend’s daughter.

Sheryl’s story is one of persistence and dedication. But also forgiveness and belonging. While she was initially shocked to discover that her mother was not as innocent as she seemed, she has made peace with the past and embraced her brother Allen. Her journey to truth, like many, has been both enlightening and frustrating, but most importantly, it has been hers.