Have you taken a DNA test, but you're now stuck staring at the results in confusion?
All the conventional advice seems to deal with tracing DNA UP a family tree, or finding a "known" mystery match's identity.
There was nothing for making a tree FULL of mystery matches and putting it together!
Even worse - The advice for making contact with your DNA matches.
Some of it is...just plain wrong.
After tracing my paternal side of the tree, I thought I knew how it all fit together. It was time to contact some of those matches.
I was dismayed to find unsatisfactory advice online. In fact, most of the methods people suggested were guaranteed to shut matches down instead of pique their curiosity to respond without chasing them away!
Nowadays, having traced my family tree using just my DNA to figure out where I fit in it, I help others to do the same.
And one of the biggest piece of advice I have?
Have a system for your search.
The method is usually the same, but without a system to keep track of who's who, you're likely to drown in a sea of matches, focusing on the wrong ones.
The second biggest piece of advice?
Contact those matches with caution.
You don't want to blow your chance.
There's a right way and a wrong way to do it.
How do I know?
Hi, I'm Jena. I found my maternal biological family back in the 90s, and wanted to find my paternal side, but I had nothing to go on but a first name.
Then came the advent of DNA testing. I realized this would be the method that could actually lead to him.
After spending 3 years (and countless dollars) to trace my paternal family roots, I succeeded in finding him.
I got so fed up with the faulty advice out there, I decided to create my own streamlined solution to help others.