Woman thought that her birth mom was dead for 25 years — until she got a surprise call that changed her life

Sometimes, being proven wrong can actually be a great feeling. A similar happened to a 31-year-old woman named Stefany Valentine, who had believed that her birth mom was dead for 25 years. She made that assumption after not hearing from her mom in all those years, per PEOPLE. However, they did meet due to an unexpected phone call. Stefany met her mom, Meiling Valentine, at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport when she was working on her debut novel, "First Love Language," which happens to be centered around a Taiwanese-American adoptee learning Mandarin to try and reconnect with her culture.

Before the fateful day, Stefany had given up all hope of meeting her mom. The author expressed that she found the process of working on the book very helpful and even thought that she was writing it "to really say goodbye, to close the door" on that chapter of her life. She was born to her mom and dad, Lt. Col. Todd Merrill Valentine. The family moved around places like Taiwan, Texas and South Dakota because of her dad's career in the Air Force. Stefany was born in Texas, and when she was around five years old, her parents had a divorce and went their separate ways. Because her mom couldn't speak English, she was completely cut off from the family after her dad got custody of their five kids and moved back to the US.

"I almost collapsed. I looked everywhere for someone who could help me, but because I had no work experience, no money and language barriers, there was no way to find a proper solution. It was unfair treatment," Meiling expressed. On the other hand, Stefany and her siblings left the Taiwanese culture behind after moving to the US. "It was 'Go to school, speak English, assimilate, we're not doing that anymore.' And I think that was that. Losing a mother is one thing — and then losing your culture." Her dad remarried to her stepmom, Cindy, who became a single mom to nine kids after her dad died in 2006. Stefany always wanted answers and started focusing on her novel to bring out an adoptee-focused story after she couldn't find her mom for years.

Eventually, on the New Year's Eve of 2023, the author got a call from her sister-in-law. "My sister-in-law calls me and is like, 'There's a Taiwanese lady in our Mormon church, and she grew up with your mom and she's going to find her for you,'" Stefany remembered. The lady also arranged for their flights because she worked with Delta. They finally met in August last year. Stephany wondered whether she'd recognize her mom in the crowd. However, Stephany was surprised to see how much she looked like her mom. She spent two weeks with her, and the trip prompted her to learn Mandarin in Taiwan to reconnect with her roots.

"The money that I made from my advance from First Love Language, I now get to put toward my tuition, it's so cool. It's so full circle," Stefany expressed. She shared a video of hugging her mom at the airport after 25 years on her Instagram, where she goes by @booksbystefany. In another video, the daughter expressed, "The butterfly effect is crazy because if I hadn't written a book about an adoptee looking for her biological mom, I wouldn't have found mine."

You can follow Stefany Valentine (@booksbystefany) on Instagram for updates on her book and her meeting with her mom.