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I read Abigail's book and its fantastic. I just want to comment about the single embryo transfer that when I went through IVF, I asked for it and was told no it's better to implant two. Eight months later, I had twins.
I love them but it was definitely pushed on me.

I love my twin sister so much - she is my best friend. However, I struggle tremendously because our lives are so different. I always feel that she is me, just better. Me with the big house, me with the nicer hair and better clothes, me with the third child that I cannot afford to have, me with the live-in housekeeper and the stay-at-home mom status that I wish I could have. As much as being a twin is such a blessing, it often feels like a curse.

I once had a roommate who borrowed my car to "pick up (my) sister at the airport" and came back with an in=dentical twin she never mentioned! One ws really sweet, sensitive, literate, the other, the Ugly American, Greenwich style. The ugly american seemed to suck her sister's energy

Related to the point that the author and Leonard just mentioned about how one identical twin can develop a disease while the other does not: http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/2-600-show-up-at-bone-marrow-drive-for-girl-1.1628131

This is a story of a 6 year old twin who has developed acute lymphocytic leukemia. Over 2600 people showed up on Long Island for a bone marrow donor search. Why can't her twin be a match if they have the same genetic makeup?

Leonard,
Could you tell Abigail that her voice sounds like the voice of Demi Moore.

My mother was a twin -- her mother had three sets of twins born over a period of 20 yrs. (total family of 10 kids) and she was known as the SMART twin; her sister the pretty twin. And my mother was really smart so it amazed me when in her 70s this brilliant woman still thought she wasn't pretty, wasn't ever pretty. In fact she was and got better looking as she got older. Childhood labels never seem to leave.

"Something was missing."

Baloney.

I just read the novel -
How to Paint a Dead Man by Sarah Hall
that deals with the death of a fraternal twin. the pain of loss was other-world. it was a very good book.

why do some twins have mirror lives even when separated at birth?

i have a fraternal twin but we look very similar. growing up i was always larger and called "the fat one" she was always thin and was the "skinny one" - highschool was particularly hard- any thoughts on female twins and eating disorders?

I attended a wedding where the bride was a fraternal twin. The father announced during the toast that the bride was "the surprise" and her sister was "the mistake". While there was an audible gasp from the wedding attendees, it appeared to be a well-known joke in the family.

A friends daughter lost a twin in birth. Have you any experience with the problems of a surviving twin?

My mom is an identical twin living in Louisiana, her twin in Virginia. Throughout their whole childhood, they were dressed alike down to the hairstyle until college. When we look at old 8mm reels or photos, they can't determine which one is which, thus not knowing which memories below to whom. I always found this disturbing. Having identical 20month olds, i've continued to dress the UNlike, in order for them (and us) to remember which one is which. other note - one is more advanced physically (climbing, balancing, etc.) and the other verbally - enunciating and starting sentences. BTW - they are the 13th set in our family!

I have a fraternal twin sister and she is my all time best friend. However, we grapple every day with the constant comparisons by family. Being a twin can be a curse but a blessing too. I think your speaker is spot on re creating separate circles.