I just finished Half of a Whole by Marilyn Peterson Haus. The story is a memoir that shares Marilyn's life experiences growing up in a small town, made up of primarily Swedish immigrants, in the northern mid-west of the United States. Marilyn and her twin Marvin grew up with the 1940s and 50s and went from being literally inseparable in the womb to increasingly more independent and different over time. By adulthood the twins were rarely in communication and leading very different lives. Marvin experiences chronic mental health issues (Bipolar/manic disorder) in adulthood which likely began but was undiagnosed early in his life. Marilyn uses her memoir as an opportunity to reflect on their lives and see if there were signs that she missed.
Marilyn experiences some of her own mental health challenges as she begins to come to terms with her relationship with her brother and her role (if there was one) in his mental health disorders. Eventually going to therapy, she uncovers the profound impact that being a twin had on her life and her relationships as an adult. Although the story was meant to be mainly about her unique relationship as a twin, really it was about her relationship with all of her family members, including her siblings' spouses and children.
Being Swedish, I enjoyed the background information about immigration as I imagine it was fairly similar to what my family experienced around the same period, just in Canada not the United States. That being said, I'm not sure that all readers would be as interested in these sections which were peppered through out and took up sections or even full chapters of the story. While interesting (to me) and somewhat relevant to the story, I'm not sure they were necessary. I also felt that while the relationship with her mother was important, it took up more space in the story than I expected. Marilyn definitely had a strained relationship with her mother, especially later in life and spent a lot of time exploring this part of her life. While it was related to her relationship with her brother, I felt at times that this relationship received more reflection and discussion than that of her brother.
Other than that, I thought it was a very interesting story. I enjoyed learning about the impact being a twin has on one's psyche and the differences between a neurotypical and not neurotypical twin as well as mental health treatment and perception throughout the decades.
This was another great ARC I received from Netgalley and the publisher! I so appreciate these opportunities to read and discover new books!
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