Entwined

Starred review from June 1, 2016
In this page-turner of a memoir, Scott, a registered nurse and poet, recounts the remarkable, and often disturbing, true story of her life with and without her beloved fraternal twin sister, Judy. Born in 1943, the two girls were inseparable until they turned seven, and Judy, who had Down syndrome, was sent to a special school. In fact, it was a miserable institution. Over the years, their mom suffers from a nervous breakdown, their dad dies from a heart attack, and Judy ends up completely toothless. An attendant explains to an incredulous Scott that it's easier if inmates get their teeth pulled as soon as the adult ones are settled in so they don't need to worry about cavities and dentists. Scott also tells her own life story, including her quest to find a daughter she gave up for adoption, but the most riveting sections concern Judy. Cruelly labeled a mongoloid idiotprofoundly retardedIQ 30, she was actually deaf, which understandably led to communication problems. Judy was also extremely talented, blossoming artistically after her sister liberates her after 35 years of institutionalization. Scott's haunting story shows the human race at both its worst and best.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)