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March 25, 2025 48 mins

What if your biological family—siblings, a mother, even potential fathers—had been living just a few towns away your entire life, and you never knew?

My Family Was Right Next Door

In this emotionally charged episode of Family Twist, we meet a mother-daughter duo who peel back the layers of a decades-old secret. The mother was adopted in the 1950s under a veil of societal shame. Decades later, her daughter took on the role of family detective, determined to uncover the truth about her mother’s origins—and what she discovered would shock even the most seasoned genealogy sleuth.

From anonymous letters and DNA testing to surprise wedding encounters and jaw-dropping family resemblances, this story unfolds like a mystery novel with real-life stakes: identity, legacy, and longing.

You’ll hear how:

  • A chance obituary led to a massive family discovery
  • A doppelgänger sister was hiding in plain sight—on Facebook
  • A private investigator cracked open the story with information from an unexpected source
  • Coincidences piled up: haunted mansions, sandwich shop sightings, even a Panera encounter
  • The power of persistence brought long-lost relatives face to face

This is a tale of secrets kept, lives intertwined, and a daughter's relentless drive to give her mother the one thing she deserved all along: acknowledgment.

Whether you’re part of the adoption, NPE, or DNA surprise community—or simply love a gripping human story—you do not want to miss this episode.

Trigger warning: This episode includes discussions around adoption, familial rejection, and grief.

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