How a letter reunited estranged twin sisters after 13 years
SBS’s Insight is generally essential viewing for all involved and Tuesday night’s episode was no exception, featuring an emotional story about how a simple letter led to estranged twin sisters reuniting after 13 years apart.
When she was 33, Sandra turned to methamphetamine when she found herself unable to provide for her second child, leaving her sister Tanya abandoned.
“We were pretty close as kids,” Sandra told News.com.au.
“When I was 22, I moved to Tasmania with my then partner. So Tanya and I went our separate ways then, as she also met a man and started a family. But while we had separation between us, we were still talking.
“But after my family broke down in Tasmania, that lead to a breakdown with myself. I walked away from my family, and returned back to South Australia in the year 2000. But I’d come back with a drug addition.”
Sandra said her addiction led to her pulling away from everybody around her.
“Tanya tried to reach out about a year after I left,” Sandra explained.
“Police came to my door, saying there was a missing persons report for me which had come from my sister. She wanted to know if I was OK.
“I didn’t want to see anybody, so I told the police that I was all right, but didn’t want to contact her.”
“Sandra had become a different person, that’s what happens on horrible drugs,” Tanya told news.com.au.
“I thought something bad had happened to Sandra. My head kept saying something was wrong, but my heart was saying she was doing OK.
“I just wanted her to know that we weren’t angry with her and we didn’t hate her. But the more drugs she took, the more guilt she felt and that’s when she lost herself.”
After more than a decade the Salvation Army got in touch with Sandra, with a handwritten letter from Tanya which you can see below.
“Once I opened up to the doctor [about mental health], I then opened the letter and rung the lady [from the Salvos] who sent it to me.
“I wanted to change my life ... but I’d never reached out to my family. There was just too much guilt and shame.
“One day, I called Nicola from the Salvation Army. When I met with her, we called Tanya. She was only 15 minutes away from where I was, so I went and saw her and have seen her every day since.”
The pair were reunited and now they’re stronger than ever.
“I remember we just hugged,” Tanya said.
“We just embraced each other,” Sandra added.
“The first thing Tanya said was: ‘Welcome home,’ and as soon as she said that, I just started crying.
“Our relationship is now stronger than it’s ever been. We are having the relationship now that we should’ve had when we were younger.
“It was like nothing had happened even though we’d been apart 13 years.”
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