Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited

I LOVE this book!
This book is completely fascinating, with many surprises that will make you gasp out loud.
I loved how the writing intertwined facts, statistics, stories of other twins, along with the story of how Paula & Elyse grew up & found each other "again".
Like another reviewer, I also felt like I got to know Paula and Elyse and Googled them and so I finished the book to get any updates in their lives.
Please give this book a listen, it is a truly wonderful story.

There were many things about this book I enjoyed. Narration was excellent - having two separate voices made it easier to distiguish who was who. I found this book inforatively factual when it came to the details of this adoption case. Being a fellow adoptee I really enjoyed the twins personal insight into their reunion thoughts and feelings.

What an interesting listen! I really enjoyed the subject, content and the way in which Elyse and Paula chose to craft their story. Ok, that's doesn't tell you much. How about this? These two women in their mid thirties find out that they have a sister, but not just a sister...in fact, one with whom they shared a womb for 9 months!After they locate and meet one another, they "join forces" to track down the circumstances around their separation. The story is told from each twin's perspective in alternating segments. You will learn about them, other separated twins (& triplets), the adoption process, and other very interesting biological and psychological facts. Believe me, this could have been a very boring subject...but it is NOT. I'm still thinking about them and have checked out their web site to see how they are because I feel as though I know them. The narrators are excellent..I thought perhaps the girls had read their own parts, but they had not. The narrators are very convincing though and it doesn't take long to know who is who by the voicing. If you're interested in twins and want a good story, listen to this.

I loved how this book flipped between the twins perspectives! Seeing how they each dealt with their "discovery" didn't merely discuss "nature v. nurture," it played it out, in action. At times it was so riveting it was painful for me, as I felt horrible for the judgement and scrutiny they gave each other (being both siblings and identicals). In the end, however, they saw their way through that...to the ultimate love, self-love. Wonderfully told, riveting, and thought-provoking.

That's what these sisters did--they unravel the bizarre story of their separation and reunion in this compelling story.

probably not

I doubt they could write another story as interesting as this one.

I liked having two narrators.

no

I just really appreciated the honesty of these two girls.
And I liked the way they told the story in a no nonsense sort of way.

I thought the story was fascinating and well-written and would have given it more than 3 stars, but I found it so difficult to tolerate the narrator for Elyse that I almost didn't finish the book. She had a way of emphasizing words that made her sound on the verge of hysteria much of the time, and her frequent sniffing as she read was distracting and irritating. I will definitely avoid buying another book read by this narrator.

An astonishing book with a compelling story that rewired my thinking about nature vs. nurture.

If you look past the low production quality and the annoying narrator for Elyse, this is a fascinating journey about twins that meet later in life. The authors reveal a lot: research about twins, the unethical behavior of certain psychologists/researchers and, most importantly, their true feelings about their reunion. It's not all rosy -- believe it or not. I am not a twin, but this book gave me a glimpse into what it might be like.

this audio was ok, it was an interesting story, but one of the narrators had a habit of taking audible breaths at times, which was mildly distracting, better narration with the second voice would have helped.