An adoptee in reunion with biological family, Lisette frequently travels to the places her ancestors are from—in North America, Europe, and Africa. Along the way, she explores ancestral places, family stories, Black history, the immigrant experience, the complexities of adoption – and ultimately her own identity.
What if you grew up not knowing your biological family?
As an adoptee from a closed adoption, that was my experience. I loved my adoptive parents, but was missing a part of myself. Not knowing my biological parents was a strange truth I skirted around, and tried to ignore.
I knew that whoever my Black ancestors were, they were probably stolen from Africa. Even if I could identify that side of the family, I would never know my African lineage.
In my late 20s, I contacted my biological mother. But my birth father was still an unknown. Decades later, consumer DNA testing changed everything. I first tested simply to find out which African countries were in my genetic code. But over time, I successfully identified my Black biological father, a man I never thought I would know.
Now that I had all the pieces of the puzzle, I decided to travel to the places my ancestors were from, including South Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ireland, Scotland, Sicily, Albania, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal and Nigeria.
As I travel, I am exploring ancestral places, family stories, Black history, the legacy of slavery, the immigrant experience, the complexities of adoption—and ultimately my own identity.
I have an audio newsletter where I share occasional travel-related reflections, stories and interviews. You can also listen to my DNA travel related podcast episodes. I hope to inspire you to uncover hidden family histories and embark on your own heritage travel adventures.
Where I’m headed next…
