Twin A Memoir
Twin A Memoir by Allen Shawn, published by Thorndike Press in 2011, is a large print edition comprising 345 pages. This memoir explores the complex relationship between Allen and his twin sister, Mary, who was diagnosed with autism at a young age. The narrative delves into the challenges faced by their family in the 1950s as they navigated the realities of autism, including the emotional impact of sending Mary to a residential treatment center when they were just eight years old.
Readers will find a poignant examination of family dynamics and the psychological implications of living with a sibling who has autism. Shawn reflects on his own anxieties and the intertwined fates of the twins, revealing the shared experiences and talents that connect them despite their divergent paths. The memoir also touches on the broader societal issues surrounding autism and the personal dramas within the Shawn family, particularly as their father became editor of The New Yorker. This exploration of sibling relationships and the complexities of understanding one another is both heartfelt and insightful.
Official synopsis Publisher
A heartbreaking yet deeply hopeful memoir about life as a twin in the face of autism.
When Allen Shawn and his twin sister, Mary, were two, Mary began exhibiting signs of what would be diagnosed many years later as autism. Understanding Mary and making her life a happy one appeared to be impossible for the Shawns. At the age of eight, with almost no warning, her parents sent Mary to a residential treatment center. She never lived at home again.
Fifty years later, as he probed the sources of his anxieties in “Wish I Could Be There,” Shawn realized that his fate was inextricably linked to his sister’s, and that their natures were far from being different.
“Twin” highlights the difficulties American families coping with autism faced in the 1950s. Shawn also examines the secrets and family dramas as his father, William, became editor of “The New Yorker. Twin” reconstructs a parallel narrative for the two siblings, who experienced such divergent fates yet shared talents and proclivities. Wrenching, honest, understated, and poetic, “Twin” is at heart about the mystery of being inextricably bonded to someone who can never be truly understood.
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