Host Baratunde Thurston leads an intimate conversation with musician Melissa Etheridge and documentary filmmaker Sara Lamm to explore what it means to be “family.” Is family something we are born into? Is it something we create? Both women have very different stories and experiences. Melissa, with four children from two different women and sperm donors, talks about “creating” her family, how the stories we’ve been told could be limiting us, and her view that “… family is love. It’s the bond we create. And blood is another story.” This is juxtaposed with Sara’s experience, finding out at age 29 that her “father” was not her biological father, thus commencing her search for her biological family. Where do we draw the line on “family”? When you understand an expanded view of what family is, how does that change you and everyone around you? What rights do those who are adopted or from sperm donors have to biological information? How should you respond to relatives that reach out to you? We get real, raw and uncensored as our guests share their personal stories with us. You can see Melissa on the “Yes I Am” 25th anniversary tour and cruise with her in 2019. Go to MelissaEtherige.com for tickets and details. Sara Lamm has offered our listeners an extended clip of her film. Go to thankyouforcomingmovie.com/spit to check it out Spit is an iHeartRadio podcast with 23andMe. Enjoy this episode? Subscribe, rate and review Spit on iTunes. And be sure to tell your friends all about it. Find out more about our host Baratunde Thurston at Baratunde.com or sign up for his text messages at 202-902-7949 and #spitpodcast.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers