Someone Else's Twin: The True Story of Babies Switched at Birth

by Nancy L. Segal

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Author: Nancy L. Segal

Publisher: Prometheus

Hardcover:
ISBN 10: 1616144378
ISBN 13: 978-1616144371

The combination of a riveting true story and cutting-edge twin research makes this book an irresistible page-turner. Identical twins Begoña and Delia were born thirty-eight years ago in Spain's Canary Islands. Due to chaotic conditions at the hospital or simple human error, the unthinkable happened: Delia was unintentionally switched with another infant in the baby nursery. This fascinating story describes in vivid detail the consequences of this unintentional separation of identical twin sisters. The author considers not only the effects on these particular sisters, but the important implications of this and similar cases for questions concerning identity, familial bonds, nature-nurture, and the law.

Review

"Insightful . . . with a solid mix of clinical observations . . . and compassionate reflections[,] Segal assesses complex legal, moral, and ethical questions." --Publishers Weekly

"On its face Someone Else's Twin is a gifted researcher's exploration of the moral and legal crises that resulted when a hospital failed at a routine task and switched twins at birth, denying them each other. But the book is also a profound and heartbreaking mystery story that confronts the issue of personal identity and provides answers to questions that have stumped us all: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?" --John Ed Bradley, author of Tupelo Nights and Restoration

"With the frequency of twinning almost doubling in the last thirty years, Segal's thorough yet affecting work serves as a modern window into nature versus nurture and the wrenching consequences of inadvertently twisted family ties. In some cases, the black sheep of a family is not a black sheep at all, just a misplaced one." --Preston Williams, Washington Post staff writer

"As an identical twin, Someone Else's Twin is a very personal story for me. I was struck by how Nancy Segal so poignantly portrayed the plight of twins switched at birth. It's beyond belief to me that the closeness I've come to share with my twin sister might never have been possible had this kind of switch happened to us. Truly a nightmare. Segal's attention to detail and professional and personal insight make this a fascinating read." --Nancy Stern Winters, Lookalike Productions

"Nancy Segal introduces the reader to a thought-provoking examination of who we are as individuals, demonstrating how easily that can all change through the carelessness of another. As a parent of monozygotic twins, and as a volunteer dedicated to improving the lives of multiple-birth individuals and their families, it is heartbreaking and overwhelmingly sad to see the long-term impact a mistake at birth can have on the lives and relationships of everyone involved." --Kimberley Weatherall, Chair, International Council of Multiple Birth Organizations (ICOMBO); acting executive director, Multiple Births Canada (MBC)

"Noted twin-study expert Segal... doubles the fascination with switched-at-birth twin research... Segal's study of switched-at-birth twins reveals much insight into the nature-vs.-nurture paradigm... An expert glimpse into the many-faceted world of genetics, family culture and identity." --Kirkus Reviews

'Segal writes clearly and passionately, and yet she rarely strays from the precise language of a social scientist. The result is an engaging narrative intertwined with a careful attempt to draw sound conclusions from the facts... The book has much to tell us about the ways in which genes, environments and their interactions shape who we are.' --Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com, Bookshelf) Sept 14, 2011

About the Author

Nancy L. Segal, PhD, is a professor in the department of psychology at California State University, Fullerton, and the director of the Twin Studies Center, which she founded in 1991. She is the author of Indivisible by Two: Lives of Extraordinary Twins; Entwined Lives: Twins and What They Tell Us about Human Behavior; and Born Together–Reared Apart: The Landmark Minnesota Twin Study. She is also the senior editor of Uniting Psychology and Biology: Integrative Perspectives on Human Development.

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Someone Else's Twin: The True Story of Babies Switched at Birth