The true story behind My Secret Sister: 'she was that lost jigsaw piece'

Reunited twin sisters Helen Edwards and Jenny Lee Smith, aged 76, smile on the sofa with their chihuahuas. Overlaid is the front cover of their book, My Secret Sister.

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.