Identical Strangers

'Imagine a slightly different version of you walks across the 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. We don't have to imagine. After being adopted as babies and raised by different families, we met for the first time at age thirty-five, after discovering we were twins.' In this fascinating memoir, Paula Bernstein, a freelance writer, and Elyse Schein, a filmmaker, tell the story of how each woman discovered she had an identical twin sister. Unknown to each other until they turned 35 they meet and discover they share hand gestures, allergies, speech patterns and a liking for the same type of movies as well as their DNA. In alternating voices, Paula and Elyse write with emotional honesty about the immediate intimacy they share as twins and the wide chasm that divides them as two complete strangers.