Your Weekend Read: The Redemption of the Secret Love Child

Fifty years after Laura Jenkins's mother slept with her married boss and got pregnant with her, she's coming out of hiding.

Feb 22, 2025

When our intern, Simone Caldwell, recently read this story so she could put some social copy together around it, she messaged me this (at 11:45 p.m. on a Sunday, no less, because she was just that excited!): “Ummm... ‘The Redemption of the Secret Love Child’ is the wildest ride ever and I seriously love it. This story is crazy! The drama of it all is giving me life.” I feel like that’s about as big an endorsement as they come in our world. On that note… enjoy! —Jesse Sposato, executive editor

Memoir

The Redemption of the Secret Love Child

Laura Jenkins

March 11, 2019

I’m having an affair with my sister. One of our recent rendezvous was in Charleston, South Carolina, where I happened to be traveling for a writing gig. Laurie slipped away from her home in a nearby state and we picked up right where we’d left off. That particular evening, we were headed to my work-related happy hour, where we sipped cocktails and introduced each other to random strangers: “Hi, my name is Laura and this is my sister, Laurie.” This has become one of our favorite party tricks because people almost always respond to these introductions with some version of “Seriously? Sisters named Laura and Laurie?” Now they’re curious, which gives us what we were really after all along: an opportunity to tell our story.

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Your Weekend Read: The Redemption of the Secret Love Child

Fifty years after Laura Jenkins's mother slept with her married boss and got pregnant with her, she's coming out of hiding.

The Redemption of the Secret Love Child

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