One might think they have a grasp on their origin story, but sometimes a sudden ancestral discovery can change everything.

In the middle of 2022, my mother, Shelagh, and our close-knit family were shocked to discover that, at the age of just six days old, Mum was adopted. This revelation led us on a unique journey, discovering not only the secrets of her past but a surprising new thread in our family’s history.

My mum grew up as an only child to her adoptive parents Jenny and Malcolm, a caring Scottish couple who, at an older age, did their best to raise their daughter despite being traumatised by the second world war. Perhaps out of protection, they made the decision not to tell Mum about her adoption, and by her mid-20s they had both passed away. Mum’s upbringing was sheltered as she didn’t have immediate family to confide in. There were large age gaps between her and her remaining relatives due to Jenny and Malcolm adopting at an older age.

It was a random search on ancestry.com at age 71 that revealed her adoption. The timing of this discovery was extraordinary – just 24 hours before, she spontaneously got her first tattoo, a small Scottish thistle representing family, before discovering her Irish heritage.

The next big shock was that my mum’s biological mother, the remarkable 91-year-old Barbara, was still alive and well. Mum made the difficult decision to reach out to her, asking if she would like to meet. A nail-biting period ensured where we feared Mum would not get the response she was hoping for. But Barbara, although equally shocked, turned out to be an incredibly strong, kind and caring new family member, and welcomed us with open arms. The first moment the two were reunited, Barbara continually told my mum she loved her; powerful words for somebody who had not often heard it in their childhood. Barbara assured Shelagh that she always knew that one day her daughter would return home. After 71 years, my mum was lovingly taken in and reunited with her birth mother.

This remarkable reunion revealed not only a new family tree for my brother and I but a new gene pool. We are both musicians (I’m a full-time harmonica player and he is a rapper). We had long dismissed any notion that our passion for music could be linked to our biological heritage – there had never seemed to be any genetic connection to our artistic pursuits. But our connection to Barbara changed everything.

As we delved into our new family tree, we were astounded to learn that Mum’s biological father, Jack, was not only an avid harmonica player but also a poet. The revelation added a new layer to our understanding of our musical interests, proving that the roots of our passion may well run in the genes.

More revelations came at a meeting between the families in Geelong. I had driven down from Melbourne to meet my new aunty, Julie, Mum’s biological younger full sister, another gem in our ancestral discoveries. The joyous occasion was marked by an immediate connection between us, and we spent a long time sharing stories and exchanging information about our respective backgrounds. I sat perplexed at just how similar she was to my mother.

As we chatted about Jack’s love for poetry and harmonica playing, Julie shared a surprising fact. By sheer chance, she had attended one of my jazz gigs years prior to our reunion. Unaware of our connection at the time, she sat musing how Jack would have enjoyed hearing my harmonica swinging through early jazz standards.

While the physical meeting with Jack didn’t materialise due to his passing decades ago, I am proud to say that his legacy lives on through my work within the education system. Coincidentally, I have given harmonicas and taught many primary schoolchildren in the very area where Jack had once resided. This school harmonica incursion for children, designed to reintroduce the instrument to Australian schools, had unwittingly connected me to Jack’s stomping ground in the Geelong area.

My mother’s newfound place in a biological family she never knew existed resonates deeply as she takes on her new role as daughter, sister, aunty and cousin in a heartbeat. For Barbara, who had lived 71 years without contact with her first-born daughter, the reunion was an affirmation that life’s paths often find their way back home, and answers can surface for questions never even considered.

• Chris Maunders is a jazz musician based in Melbourne and runs Harps a Breeze, a harmonica program for schools