She thought she knew her story.
In 2021, a casual AncestryDNA test reopened questions Alicia had quietly carried her entire life. Why did she never see her original birth certificate? Why was her birthday often forgotten? Why did her brother feel like he belonged in a different way?
Then a first cousin match appeared.
And everything started to unravel.
In Part One of this three-part series, Alicia Sharon Denise Williams shares the early clues that something was off long before DNA confirmed it. From childhood inconsistencies to reopening her DNA results with new eyes, she walks us through the moment suspicion turned into action.
This episode ends at the turning point, when Alicia decides she has to start at the beginning and find out where she was really born.
What she discovers next will change her life.
Part Two takes us inside a government building in Detroit and the yellow card that confirmed the lie.
In This Episode
• Subtle childhood signs of secrecy
• Revisiting a DNA test with new perspective
• Birth certificate inconsistencies
• Spiritual wrestling and awakening
• The decision to search for the truth
• What late discovery adoptees often feel before they know
About Alicia Sharon Denise Williams
Alicia is a NAAP Board Member, speaker, storyteller, and adoption-truth advocate whose voice carries both compassion and courage. As the founder of From Hidden to Healed, she shares her late-discovery adoptee journey, one marked by silence, spiritual awakening, DNA revelation, and the sacred work of untangling identity after truth emerges.
With grace and faith as her compass, Alicia speaks to those navigating hidden histories, misattributed parentage, reunion, loss, and the lifelong impact of secrecy. Her message is not about blame, but about belonging. Not about shame, but about healing.
She reminds us that healing does not erase the past. It redeems it.
See Alicia Live at Untangling Our Roots
Alicia will be appearing at Untangling Our Roots, the national conference for adoptees, NPEs, donor-conceived individuals, and anyone navigating DNA surprises and identity discovery.
If this episode resonates, hearing her story in person will hit even deeper.
Learn more about Untangling Our Roots and how to attend at untanglingourroots.org.
This is Part One of a powerful three-part journey.
Part Two drops next.
If you have ever questioned your origin story, this conversation is for you.