Retired professional golfer Jenny Lucas (née Jenny Lee Smith), 76, was 54 when she discovered she had a twin sister, Helen Edwards. The sisters had been separated shortly after birth, with Jenny being sent to live with adoptive parents and Helen remaining with their birth mother and a stepfather who was verbally and physically abusive.
Unlike rekindling a teenage summer romance or reconnecting with a great friend after 20 years, the sisters had no shared history so have had to gradually fill in the gaps, remembering painful experiences and unearthing striking coincidences along the way.
Pan
My Secret Sister by Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith
Helen grew up in a pit village in Tyneside in the post-war years, with her neglectful mother and violent father. Sometimes she talked to an imaginary sister, the only one who understood her pain. Jenny was adopted at six weeks and grew up in Newcastle. An only child, she knew she was loved, and with the support of her parents she went on to become a golfing champion, but still she felt that something was missing… Neither woman knew of the other’s existence until, in her 50s, Jenny went looking for her birth family and found her sister Helen. Together they searched for the truth about Jenny’s birth – and uncovered a legacy of secrets that overturned everything Helen thought she knew about her family.
“For many years, I considered myself an only child. With cousins living just around the corner and loving parents, I had a wonderful childhood in Newcastle,” begins Jenny. “Then, soon after my dad Syd died when I was 12, I discovered I was adopted. It wasn’t something my mum, Connie, wanted to discuss, so for years I just let it lie.
“My husband Sam and I eventually tracked down my birth mother, Mercia, in 2003. She welcomed us into her home and it was an emotional meeting where I discovered I had a sister called Helen Edwards, who knew nothing of me.
“Keen to find Helen, I posted on a website called Genes Reunited. Melanie, an unknown cousin, replied to say Helen was living in Texas with her husband Dennis and gave me her email address. I drafted a carefully worded message and I was ecstatic when she replied.”
Jenny Lucas aged 18 months at the beach with her adoptive parents
(Image credit: Jenny Lucas)
“Our stilted early interactions soon became friendly, sharing stories and chatting regularly on the phone. We discovered our childhoods had been hugely different. In contrast to me, Helen had not enjoyed a happy home life with Mercia and her stepfather.
“Amazingly, our paths had almost crossed many times. We had both spent a lot of time as children swimming in Tynemouth Outdoor Pool, and I’d had surgery in the same hospital where Helen worked as a nurse.”
First meeting
“I was delighted when Helen told me she was returning to live in the UK, enabling us to finally meet in 2007, aged 58, at a hotel in Gosforth. It was surreal, with lots of hugs and tears. At this stage, we believed we were half-sisters, Helen having been told her birthday was 18 months after mine.
“We couldn’t believe how alike we were – from mannerisms, like how we talk and hold our coffee cups, to shared allergies and both owning chihuahuas.
“The results of a DNA test soon after we met were so similar that we were advised to take a specific twin test. It showed that we were not just half-sisters but twins, born to Mercia in 1948.
“I remember squealing with delight when Helen called me very early one morning to break the news – I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
“By this time, Mercia had passed away but after more research, we discovered we had been separated when we were six weeks old, as we think Mercia was just unable to cope with two babies.”
(Image credit: SWNS Group)
“It’s been wonderful to spend time with Helen and my extended biological family. In 2018, we had a joint 70th birthday party in Newcastle, and it was so special seeing my grown-up children Katie, Ben and Josh with all their aunts, uncles and cousins.
“We live 350 miles away from each other – Helen is in the north east of England and I’m in Kent in the south east – so we don’t meet up as often as we’d like, but we phone or text all the time, and still have so much to chat about.
“Despite so many years apart, we have such a strong bond. I’d always felt there was something missing in my life; little did I know it was my twin sister! Helen was that lost jigsaw piece and I’m so glad I found her.”
Helen Edwards aged 2 sitting in a garden with stepdad Tommy
(Image credit: Helen Edwards)
Helen says of their story, “Learning I had a sister was both shocking and joyful. At times I’ve felt anger and resentment that we weren’t told but the book we wrote together, My Secret Sister, was cathartic.
“There were laughs and tears, but it helped lay many ghosts to rest, creating a strong foundation for our future.
“We’ve missed decades of each other’s lives and still regret that we never met our father, but we’ve come through it all stronger, happier and, most of all, together.”
