This is a fascinating book. Well researched, well written, and well worth reading, whoever you are. It is thoughtful, and touched with real experiences that make it a very good read. All of my life I have been exploring issues of identity: race, class, gender, and even hair have been my subjects, but I have never thought about my twin self until I read this book. I did not think there was so much to be said about opposite sex twins. It has made me look at myself in a different way and it made me look at my twin sister in another way. She does not do anything that I do, and now I understand why. I now have a lot more to say about myself. I could feel a great mixture of love and intelligence leaping from the pages as I read this ground-breaking book. This is beyond academic; this is personal. This book has everything: science, art, poetry, and adventure. It really has something to teach us, but it does it very creatively. Benjamin Zephaniah, Performance poet and writer.
"Hidden Twins" offer an insightful look into the lives of three opposite-sex twin pairs. Candid, informative and rich in psychological detail, this book will excite twins, families and psychologists alike. Nancy L. Segal, Ph/D, Professor of Psychology, California State University, Fullerton. Author of Entwined lives (2000) an Indivisible by Two (2007).
This is an intrepid book, which takes some getting used to initially. Then, imperceptibly, the various strands fall into place and the complexity of the boy–girl twins unfolds before us. Curiously, as Olivia points out, there is relatively limited literature on this twin configuration. This book prompts one to reflect that there is something secret, painful, and layered associated with the boy–girl twin experience. For the clinician, the residue of the patient's Oedipal drama presents us all with complexity, but how much more intriguing it is when in the company of an opposite sex twin simultaneously undertaking the same journey––now as a collaborator, now as a fellow conspirator, and then as a deadly rival. Olivia's book is a welcome guide to this complex phenomenon. Julian Lousada, psychoanalyst (BAP) and Chair of the British Psychoanalytic Council.
This is a fascinating book, a beautifully interweaving combination of theory, creativity, personal experience, twin experience, poetry, music, sculpture, painting and drama - what a refreshing change from the dry texts I often plough through! With her unique and creative style of exploration, Olivia empathically enters the world of `hidden' twins and invites the reader into an intriguing world. The research and the stories unfold so tantalizingly and engagingly, it was impossible not to read to the end in one sitting. Phil Lapworth, Integrative Psychotherapist
This pioneering book offers wonderful insight into the experience of opposite sex twins in adulthood. It is a very welcome addition to the literature and warmly recommended to all who know or work with twins, their families, colleagues and friends. Alida Gersie PhD, writer, instigator of story-based therapy and international trainer and practitioner.
Psychodrama creates a "humming" duet with the inquiry into opposite sex twins in this ground breaking research. The unique boy/girl psychological disclosures by opposite sex twins have rarely been revealed in literature. A must read. Marcia Karp, Psychodrama psychotherapist, International trainer, Honorary President emeritus ofthe British Psychodrama Association.
Beautifully written, this is a wonderfully readable, informative, thought-provoking and sensitive book – a welcome addition to the literature. Barry Mason PhD. Former Director, Institute of Family Therapy, London.
If you are interested in what it is to be an opposite sex twin; what it is to be in a profoundly connected relationship, in individuality, intimacy and the resonance between siblings, this is the book to read! John Casson, PhD psychotherapist, inventor and author.