What if the key to understanding who you are lies not just in your DNA, but in the stories of those who came before you? In this episode, I'm joined by genealogy researcher and writer Jacqueline Jannotta. Jacqueline is the award-winning author of Let’s Leave the Country! A Guide to Your Family Year Abroad, inspired by her family’s extraordinary year in Genoa, Italy. That book is one facet of her work as a writer, avid genealogist, and self-described forever optimist. Something that Jacqueline loves is helping people uncover not just their ancestry, but the deeper meaning behind it. In my conversation with Jacqueline, we talk about how her passion for genealogy developed and why humans across cultures and centuries have traced their lineages, and what happens when we dig into our own. Spoiler: it’s often more surprising—and more emotional—than we expect. This episode has two parts and some bonus content. In part one, we discuss why so many people begin this search in midlife, how DNA tests can offer both clarity and confusion, and how family patterns—sometimes visible only in hindsight—can echo across generations. She also introduces us to a concept called the overview effect—a kind of zoomed-out awareness, like astronauts experience when viewing Earth from space. In genealogy, it’s the moment when your personal story clicks into the larger human story, and you realize how deeply connected we all are. In part 2, we zoom in and Jacqueline shares her research on my genealogy and what she discovered in my family tree—surprising connections, covered up stories, and even a mystery. Something cool that surfaces in all of our conversations is the often overlooked significance of your matrilineal line and family patterns around early loss, strong women, and resilience. In the bonus content, she even traces one ancestral line all the way back to ancient Europe—and shares a jaw-dropping possibility about a historical order my ancestors might have founded. Whether you're curious about your heritage, hoping to discover family stories, or hear how a genealogy researcher finds all that amazing history, this episode is a beautiful invitation to zoom in on the details—and zoom way, way out. Learn more about Jacqueline at https://www.becomingbetterpeople.us/about-jacqueline-jannotta. And thank you to Wonderland for the music featured in this episode, Castaway by Moonlight.

Podcast Edit: At minute 30:10, Jacqueline is telling a story about her family of origin. She mistakenly says that her mother died at an early age, but she meant to say that her grandmother's mother died at an early age. She is making the point that both of her grandparents lost a parent at an early age and ultimately found each other.