When Life Hands You a Plot Twist

Written By Kim Mosiman

What would you do if, at 45 years old, you found out the man you thought was your father… wasn’t?

What would you do if, at 45 years old, you found out the man you thought was your father… wasn’t? That was my reality. I went from living with a story I thought I knew to uncovering a truth so shocking it could have been ripped straight from a made-for-TV movie.

That discovery is at the heart of my book, The Daddy Files: A Story of Secrets, Forgiveness, and the Search for Identity.But The Daddy Files isn’t just about a shocking family revelation. It’s about the messy, complicated, and sometimes hilarious journey of figuring out who we are when the foundation of our identity is shaken.

When I first started writing, I thought I was just telling my story. I wasn’t venting...I wanted to let others know they weren’t alone. That someone out there understood what they were feeling and going through. But as the words spilled onto the page, something deeper began to happen. God wasn’t just asking me to share my story; He was asking me to let Him rewrite it.

In hindsight, I can see what He was up to.

Through writing, God showed me that my identity doesn’t come from DNA, last names, or the stories my family told me. My identity comes from Him—the Abba Father who never leaves, never lies, and never withholds His love. For years I had wrestled with feelings of not being enough, of being abandoned or unwanted. But in the process of writing The Daddy Files, God whispered a new truth: You’ve always been mine.

I also realized that my story wasn’t just for me. I began to see that so many women carry secrets, scars, and questions about who they are and where they belong. We don’t always talk about them, but they shape us in powerful ways. By sharing my story with honesty and even a little humor, I wanted to give other women permission to face their own.

Forgiveness became another unexpected lesson. Writing forced me to confront places in my heart I didn’t want to go. I had to grieve what was lost, face what was hidden, and wrestle with the anger that surfaced. But every time I chose to keep writing instead of shutting down, God peeled back another layer. Forgiveness, I discovered, isn’t about excusing what happened...it’s about setting myself free to heal and move forward.

If I could sum up what God wanted me to learn through this writing process, it’s this: He is big enough for my questions, my grief, and even my anger. He doesn’t shame me for wrestling with Him; instead, He meets me there. And at the end of the wrestling, He reminds me that no matter what earthly fathers may have failed to give me, I will never be fatherless. I belong to Him.

So yes, The Daddy Files is about family secrets, but it’s also about something far greater. It’s about the God who steps into the broken places of our stories and shows us that nothing...not betrayal, not loss, not lies...can undo His love for us.

If you’re walking through a season of questioning who you are, where you belong, or how to forgive, I pray my story points you to the same truth God revealed to me: You are seen, you are loved, and your Abba Father has been writing your story all along.

Meet Melissa:

At 45 years old, Melissa Jean Rod discovered that her mother had lied about who her father was—and when she asked about it, her mother doubled down, insisting she was switched at birth. That shocking revelation became the foundation of her book, The Daddy Files: A Story of Secrets, Forgiveness, and the Search for Identity.

Melissa is an author, wife, mom, and proud “Honey” to her grandsons. She lives in Willis, Texas, where family is both her anchor and her inspiration. Her blended family of step, birth, and adopted children has shaped not only her life but also the stories she tells. Writing is her way of processing the hard, the holy, and the hilarious parts of life, while giving other women a voice for their own questions about identity, forgiveness, and belonging.

She writes for women who’ve carried the weight of secrets, struggled with abandonment, or wrestled with the lie that they are not enough. Her work blends memoir and hope, always pointing back to God as the Abba Father who loves us and is always there for us. Even in life’s messiest chapters, she believes He is still writing a redemptive story.

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