After believing her biological mother was deceased and writing a novel to bid her farewell, Stefany Valentine received an unexpected surprise – her mother was alive, and they reunited after 25 years.
Stefany Valentine, while working on her debut book First Love Language, which narrates the story of an adoptee reconnecting with her roots and saying goodbye to her birth mother, Meiling Valentine, discovered the shocking truth.
Despite giving up hope of ever meeting her mother, Stefany Valentine, now 31, was one of five children born to Meiling Valentine and Lt. Col. Todd Merrill Valentine. Following her parents’ separation, Stefany and her father moved to the United States, and Meiling disappeared from their lives.
However, the desire to know her mother always lingered within Stefany. She turned to writing as a form of therapy, contributing a story on the adoptee experience to the anthology “When We Become Ours”.
After an extensive search across historical and familial records, along with guidance from psychics who claimed her mother was deceased, Stefany Valentine’s world turned upside down on New Year’s Eve 2023.
Her sister-in-law informed her about a Taiwanese woman in their Mormon church who had grown up with Meiling and was willing to help locate her. This led to a reconnection with her mother through text messages, followed by a heartwarming reunion in Taiwan after over two decades.
The long-awaited meeting took place at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where Stefany Valentine instantly recognized her mother in a crowd. The emotional embrace was an unforgettable moment for both.
Reflecting on the experience, Stefany Valentine expressed a mix of emotions – anxious, nervous, scared, and excited all at once. The resemblance between her and her 57-year-old mother was striking, and they made the most of their two-week reunion by engaging in various activities like climbing, exploring markets, staying at an aquarium, and celebrating Meiling’s birthday.
Stefany Valentine emphasized that working on First Love Language had been incredibly therapeutic for her. The novel revolves around Catie, a Taiwanese-American adoptee striving to learn Mandarin to reconnect with her cultural heritage.
