Lucy Greenwell

And mothers who give up their children for adoption or even abandon them as babies, they aren't necessarily waiting with open arms for the moment the child arrives back into their life.

And mothers who give up their children for adoption or even abandon them as babies, they aren't necessarily waiting with open arms for the moment the child arrives back into their life.

For the person searching, it can feel like the most important quest of their life.

For the person searching, it can feel like the most important quest of their life.

For the person being found, it may feel like an ambush.

For the person being found, it may feel like an ambush.

I asked Michelle, with Jess's say-so, to take a look at all of Jess's results from the DNA companies she's used.

I asked Michelle, with Jess's say-so, to take a look at all of Jess's results from the DNA companies she's used.

And what I was talking about earlier... She gets going, pulling in results from the different sites and creating a family tree.

And what I was talking about earlier... She gets going, pulling in results from the different sites and creating a family tree.

Michelle goes back further and further in time, building out generation after generation of Jess's ancestors, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents.

Michelle goes back further and further in time, building out generation after generation of Jess's ancestors, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents.

I watch the screen as she gets to work.

I watch the screen as she gets to work.

It's kind of amazing.

It's kind of amazing.

And here's the thing.

And here's the thing.

All of Michelle's detective work to check Jess's conclusions is possible even though Jess's biological parents haven't done their DNA.

All of Michelle's detective work to check Jess's conclusions is possible even though Jess's biological parents haven't done their DNA.