By Eve Collett, Content Director
This time of year, as we gather with our wider families across multiple generations, is an opportunity to share memories and ask questions. One of the most common responses we hear from our clients is, “I just didn’t think to ask”. Too often by the time we have the interest or the impetus to ask questions about our family history it’s too late, and the people who could provide us with those answers are no longer with us.
This was the situation recently with a client we’ve been working with this year. His father grew up in an orphanage and was never adopted. Apart from a few scant (and as it turned out, misleading) details - our client knew nothing about where his father’s family was from. With the help of DNA testing we managed to find his father’s birth family and incredibly, put our client in touch with living cousins.
But what was most interesting about this revelation was not the discovery itself, but the way in which it made our client think back over his past and his interactions with his late father. Suddenly memories that had been dormant for decades came back - a comment his father once made that he didn’t understand, a chance encounter with a stranger in the street whilst on holiday. These were all questions he didn’t know he was asking, until the truth came along to explain the memories and fit the puzzle pieces back together.
Sharing our findings 2023
Although his father chose not to share his story during his lifetime, and the client never asked the questions, what this experience has shown is that it’s never too late to know the truth. Even after someone has passed away, knowing their story can help you make sense of your own - and however surprising it may be, uncovering the truth is always worth it.
With the stresses and pressures of life a little further away during the holidays, it’s the perfect opportunity to look back. If you find yourself in a conversation with a grandparent or great-aunt, take the time to ask questions. And if it’s too late, and like so many of us the opportunity to ask questions has passed you by - seek the answers out anyway, you never know how valuable the truth can be.
