Friday Jan 15, 2021

#139 Dani Shapiro on her Donor Conceived Discovery

Enter the our “Inheritance” book giveaway on our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Author Dani Shapiro joins host Kira Dineen to discuss her instant New York Times best selling memoir, Inheritance, which is being adapted into a film. Her other books include the memoirs Hourglass, Still Writing, Devotion, and Slow Motion, and five novels including Black & White and Family History. She teaches writing workshops around the world, including Columbia, New York University, and the Sirenland Writers Conference in Italy.


Dani is a fellow podcaster in collaboration with iHeartMedia to host Family Secrets. An Apple Top 10 podcast, the series features stories from guests who—like Dani— have uncovered life-altering and long-hidden secrets from their families’ past. Her show is also being adapted to the screen! She lives with her family in Litchfield County, Connecticut.


On This Episode We Discuss:


Premise of her memoir Inheritance

Understanding DTC (Ancestry/23andMe) test results using GEDmatch

First reaction to finding out her father was not her biological father

Discussing non paternity with family and friends

Tools and methods to track down her biological father

Approach to contacting her biological father

Egg/sperm donation in the 1960s

Altering family health history

Advice for those considering DTC testing


Don’t forget to enter the book giveaway for a copy of Inheritance! Further details on our Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Check out Dani’s iHeartMedia podcast, “Family Secrets”. You can learn more about Dani Shapiro on her website and keep up with her through her Instagram.

Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on February 5th! New episodes are released on the first and third Friday of the month. In the meantime, you can binge over 140 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”.


See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNApodcast.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNApodcast.com.

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