How a DNA Testing Kit Revealed a Family Secret Hidden for 54 Years

One evening in the winter of 2016, my husband mentioned that he was sending away for one of those commercial DNA-testing kits. He asked if I wanted him to order me one as well. I could easily have said no. I wasn't curious about my ancestry. I knew where I came from--Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews on both my parents' sides. Instead, I said yes. Why not? It seemed like a game--like those personality tests people often take online.

One evening in the winter of 2016, my husband mentioned that he was sending away for one of those commercial DNA-testing kits. He asked if I wanted him to order me one as well. I could easily have said no. I wasn't curious about my ancestry. I knew where I came from--Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews on both my parents' sides. Instead, I said yes. Why not? It seemed like a game--like those personality tests people often take online.