Beginning ~ with a different version of you

Britain's most identical twins, Ruby and Pearl Day

"Imagine that a slightly different version of you walks across a room, looks you in the eye, and says hello in your voice.  You discover that she has the same birthday, the same allergies, the same tics, and the same way of laughing.  Looking at this person, you are able to gaze into your own eyes and see yourself from the outside.  This identical individual has the exact same DNA as you and is essentially your clone."

When I was four years old, my uncle was serving in France during World War Two.  He told me he'd seen a girl who looked exactly like me, and I believed him.  For weeks I tried to imagine there was someone in the world just like me.  Sure enough, the picture he mailed looked like me — because it was.  His friend had cropped a photo of me.  Ever since, I was fascinated by twins.  And then one day, I became a new mother — of identical twin daughters.  That's why I'm interested in this book.

Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited ~ by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein, 2008, memoir

I could tell you stories about having two look-alike daughters.  One day I arrived at my daughter's house and both came down the stairs, one after the other.  I started talking to the one holding the baby, but stopped short.  The "wrong" daughter said, "You thought I was Barbara, didn't you?"  Yup, even when they were forty.

My preschool son was playing alone one day, when his sisters were at school, and he said, "Why didn't you get me a twin?"  I replied, "It doesn't work that way."  He whined, "Then get me one now!"  I said, "It doesn't work that way, either."

I look forward to reading this book about twins who didn't grow up as close as my daughters, whose families still live a hop, skip, and jump apart.  For that matter, their brother's family lives between their two houses.  What if mine had never known each other?  I wonder.

  If you want to play along, this meme is hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages. Share the first sentence or two of the book you are reading. (Sometimes it takes several sentences to get the full thought.) Then, share your impressions of that beginning.  Click this link to see what others say about the books they are reading this week.