Norma Gould, left, and her daughter Debra Brady visiting Signal Hill on their first trip to Newfoundland. Gould discovered she had biological family in the province after taking DNA tests in 2016. (Submitted by Norma Gould)
A trip to Newfoundland this summer means Norma Gould can finally begin to answer one of life’s most frightening questions: “Who am I?”
Gould, who currently lives in North Carolina, discovered she had a half-brother and cousins from Newfoundland and Labrador after taking DNA tests in 2016.
It is also the land of her late father, who is buried here and whom she never met.
This summer, she finally made the long-awaited trip with her daughter, Debra Brady.
“I looked in the mirror and I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know who I looked like,” Gould told CBC Radio’s Newfoundland Morning.
“Now meeting all my cousins, or at least many of them, I feel complete. I feel like I belong.”
During their trip, Gould met many of her biological cousins from her grandmother’s side of the family, including Judy Chafe, whom Gould connected with online in 2018.
Judy Chafe, left, and Debra Brady. Chafe is a first cousin of Brady’s biological grandfather, William David Moores, who died in Newfoundland in 1986. (Submitted by Norma Gould)
Chafe, from Portugal Cove-St. Philip is first cousins with Gould’s biological father, William David Moores. He died in Newfoundland in 1986.
Although their trip was a celebration, Gould and Brady say it was also a reflection and a memory. The two visited Moores gravesite, where they placed seashells and rocks painted by the Brady children.
“I promised myself that I would find him, however long it took, and I would sit there and tell him all about me and the grandkids … I almost felt a sense of peace come over me,” Gould said.
“It was very emotional to sit in the resting place of a person you’ve never met. It’s hard to put into words, but I mean you feel this overwhelming feeling of love and missing,” Brady added.
William David Moores is Norma Gould’s biological father. He died in Newfoundland in 1986. Gould and Brady visited his grave during their trip to the province. (Submitted by Norma Gould)
During their travels, Gould and Brady visited places like St. John’s, Dildo, and Fairyland, where they spent time kayaking and sightseeing. Besides meeting loved ones, the trip came with other new experiences, such as seeing puffins for the first time.
Brady plans to bring her children and husband to Newfoundland next summer. For Gould, this trip to the island will not be the last either.
“I love this place, I really do,” Gould said.
“I’m ready to buy a home and just live here. This place is magical.”
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
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