To DNA or not to DNA

Let's talk

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Let’s talk: DNA Stories

• Have you ever had your DNA tested? 

• What did you expect or hope to find? What did you find?

• Would you do it again? 

What’s going on here?

This week, I’m going to shut up (mostly) and invite you to fill in the blanks. As I mentioned last month with the inaugural “Let’s talk” question, I’ll be doing this once a month - introducing a question or a prompt and seeing where it takes us. This one was prompted by our recent discovery that Frida, our thirteen-pound bundle of dog, carries within her recent past a German Shepherd. Or parts of several.

Does this look like the face of a German Shepherd to you?

I still can’t see it even though a DNA test tells us that Frida is 5.5% German shepherd thanks to a grandparent and great grandparent who were Shepherd mixes. 

We hemmed and hawed about doing a DNA test on Frida. Was it in any way necessary? No. Could it be helpful down the road? Possibly. The truth is, we were curious. We simply wanted to know and the company who did the test was rated highest by the New York Times Wirecutter AND the guy at the dog park whose puppy looked like a terrier dressed up as a rabbit. Also, they were having a sale. We went for it when the dog park guy said it may yield important health information. After losing our last dog so young and so suddenly in late 2020, this argument pulled us across the decision line. 

A few weeks later we were rewarded with this snapshot of Frida’s genetic makeup. 

In addition we learned that she may have a slightly higher risk of a certain spine issue and certain blood test results may look low but are actually normal so her “normal” may actually be high. We learned that in order for Frida to become Frida, a lot of crazy mixing had to go on. The third greatest percentage of her DNA was labeled “Supermutt” - which means that so much cross-breeding went on among “mixed breeds” that the DNA traceable back to any specific breed is too small to pick up. Mainly, though, we learned that knowing her genetic makeup made no material difference to us or to her except that the whole German Shepherd connection makes us giggle every time we think of it. 

I found myself thinking more about the why behind our decision to get the test for Frida and why, a few years back, my husband and I submitted our saliva to Ancestry.com. We came to it the way millions of people have done and are doing – without understanding the science of genetics beyond the basics. 

Actually, my husband could have cared less. I was the one who wanted to do it. I wanted anything I could find: surprises, confirmation, connection with far-flung relatives or ancestors. I felt knowing all this would enlarge me somehow, make me part of a story with characters I had never known. I am curious. I like stories. I like a little drama now and then. Submitting my DNA sample felt a little risky – it would be out there in the world for better or worse. There was the same frisson of anticipation that comes with entering a lottery. I fancied us as amateur sleuths trying to unlock the mysteries of ourselves. Here is what Ancestry.com told me:

I can’t say it was all that surprising. I look at this and wonder ‘what now?’ How far am I willing to go with this? In answering one question – where people with my genetic makeup come from – I’m left with many more questions that will take lots of time and energy to answer. I’m ashamed to admit it but I think I wanted all the answers in one easy step. I continue to get notices about family connections, past and present, and I keep thinking that one day I will find out more but so far I haven’t. 

As for my husband, the one who wasn’t particularly driven to do this, his DNA led to a long-lost family member who was able to connect with them after years of living with another family. It’s a great story but unfortunately it is not mine to tell. 

What about you and your DNA? If you’ve gotten a DNA test, where did it lead you? If you haven’t, is it something you care about? 

DNA Lit

• The New York Public Library put together this list of books last year for DNA Day (who knew?)

• Three YA Novels that turn on a DNA plot twist

• A short read from TIME Magazine about what DNA tests and cannot tell you about yourself

• Best-selling crime writer Vaseem Kahn writes here about How 30 Years of DNA Profiling Has Changed Crime Fiction

• And of course Henry Louis Gates, Jr.’s helps famous people confront their own DNA and family stories in his excellent show Finding Your Roots. The show can be moving and challenging and always provides context that helps viewers as well as the subjects to understand the world a little better.  

Resources for Readers & Writers

Here’s a newly added resource for writers and readers from Spark community member Kate O. who is also a voracious reader and keen editor:

• Victoria Weisfeld, novelist, traveller, and avid reader, writes almost daily about books she has read or what she has learned as a writer that can help other writers. She writes reviews for Crime Fiction Lover (see next entry) and theater reviews at Front Row Center. Here are her book reviews and here are her tips for writers.

You’ll find more additions to our growing list of resources for readers and for writers. Click on the links below to check out all the resources and please suggest any that you have found valuable so we can add them to the lists.

• Resources for Readers and Book Clubs

• Resources for Writers and Writers’ Groups

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That’s it for this week. Welcome to all new subscribers, we are glad you’re here. If you’d like to see where we’ve been, here is a link to past issues. Please chime in with your thoughts, what you are reading, what you’d like to read next. You can respond in the comments or hit reply to this email. Either way, we want to hear from you. If you are looking for a new book to read or give a friend, browse the Spark Community Recommendations Page where every sale supports local bookstores. Our small commission, if we earn on, will go towards literacy programs selected by the community.

Ciao for now.

Gratefully,

Betsy

P.S. And now, you’re moment of Zen…has nothing to do with DNA

Janet G. offers this moment of Zen. Etta James adds the soundtrack. Click on the photo to hear her sing the classic, Leave Your Hat On.

Calling for Your Contribution to “Moment of Zen”

What is YOUR moment of Zen? Send me your photos, a video, a drawing, a song, a poem, or anything with a visual that moved you, thrilled you, calmed you. Or just cracked you up. This feature is wide open for your own personal interpretation.

Come on, go through your photos, your memories or just keep your eyes and ears to the ground and then share. Send your photos/links, etc. to me by replying to this email or simply by sending to: elizabethmarro@substack.com. The main guidelines are probably already obvious: don’t hurt anyone  -- don’t send anything that violates the privacy of someone you love or even someone you hate, don’t send anything divisive, or aimed at disparaging others. Our Zen moments are to help us connect, to bond, to learn, to wonder, to share -- to escape the world for a little bit and return refreshed. 

I can’t wait to see what you send!