A gripping story but the writing style with author comments felt repetitive to me.

This provided a lot of context and answered a lot of questions I had after watching the documentary, and felt much more nuanced and less exploitative than the doc did. It gave a much better sense of the twins' personalities, their lives and struggles and courage. I'm not really understanding what the other reviews are complaining about in regards to the writing - I found it effectively straightforward, without being preachy or sensationalistic aside from a few awkward attempts at drama and foreshadowing in the opening chapters. An incredibly powerful and moving story. It makes me so satisfied to imagine how apoplectic the twins' parents would be to see their family history and their long-held secrets brought out into the light, and themselves exposed as the monsters they are.

What a tragically beautiful reminder that we are products of who we are on the inside and not products of the things that have happened to us along the way.

My favorite quote and thought of the many favorites is this from the beginning:
“… perhaps the most remarkable gift from working with them has been an affirmation of the endless resources of the human spirit. Despite what they suffered as children, they have gone on to achieve so much.” I love that empowering concept of the endless resources of the human spirit. There is so much given and so much taken in our lives, and it’s best when we embrace and face it all not in solitude but in union with each other.

I did long for more showing than telling, however I assume that’s why they made a documentary and I am looking forward to that!

Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction and much more disturbing. There are many horror stories that I find less disturbing than what happened to this man and his siblings. At first, I disliked how the story was being told. Certain situations were glossed over or made to seem almost unimportant. My frustration grew as I listened further, but then everything started to make sense. This story has many, many layers and you have to understand each layer before you dig down to the rotten core.

This kind of book is just not my cup of tea. While the story is somewhat interesting, I just don't like the style of writing. Repetitive and mundane, turning what is a disturbing story into a book I was just reading to get through. Disappointing.

Marcus and Alex arrived via my radio, on the BBC World Service, in the wee hours of a Saturday morning. They were utterly charming and the snippets of their story I caught in my drowsy state intrigued me. They were promoting their new Netflix documentary, also called “Tell Me Who I Am”. I downloaded the book the next day, and I also watched the documentary, but I’m not really sure what to tell you.

The book, which was written with help from a ghost writer because both men are dyslexic, explores several themes: being an identical twin, trust, memory, the effects of sexual abuse, and the secrets we all keep from each other. It also questions what it is that makes a person’s identity and how we manipulate others. Their story weaves a tangled web that left me with many unanswered questions.

** Books 26 - 2019 **

This books to accomplish Tsundoku Books Challenge 2019

3,4 of 5 stars!

6th of 16th Books that i bought from Big Bad Wolf Jakarta 2019 is finally finished read! yayy! I'm curious about the story since it is memoir of twins brothers Alex and Marcus Lewis about.. When Alex was eighteen years old he got car accident that erased all of his eighteen years old memories and he just knew his twins, Marcus only.. It is really hurts me with they also have difficulties of reading and writing since both of them have complicated dyslexia..

The most unforgivable one when i read about their F****** Mother, Jill did something horrible to them! Even the chilhood memories of Jill being written in almost a few chapters in this books i am still wondering how can such a mother did such thing to her own son? In the end i'm also touched when finally both of Marcus and Ali found their everlasting wife (Vito and Camilla). They deserve to get better life! I hope even Oliver , their younger brother can through this traumatic events!

Thankyou Bigbadwolf 2019!

This story is about a family, in particular twin boys, who are raised in a well-to-do family in England filled with joy and laughter on the outside, but on the inside it is a very different story. There are horrific secrets of sexual and emotional abuse carried out against the male children of the family (the twins and their younger brother Oliver), mainly perpetuated by their mother. What makes this terrible abuse story different however, is that one of the twins, Alex, cannot remember it occurring due to a motorcycle accident which happened when he was eighteen, and led to the loss of all his memories prior to the event save one, he is able to remember his twin Marcus. On seeing his mother at his hospital bedside, he cannot recollect her at all, and sees her as just a “hysterical woman” whose noise-making is slightly irritating and too much for his fragile brain to take at the time of awakening from a coma. Alex now has to re-build his life, relying heavily on his twin to fill in the gaps in his memory and to teach him about what kind of person he is.

There is a twist to this tale. Marcus decides not to tell Alex about the abuse that they suffered at the hands of their mother that Alex clearly has no memory of. Right or wrong, Marcus wants to spare his twin that trauma, and in a way, he has blocked it out himself so that he can continue with his life. When their mother dies however, Alex begins to question a few things, namely the lack of grief experienced by his siblings and begins to wonder what they are hiding.

Obviously, this is a very sinister and emotive story, and reading about sexual abuse is never going to be pleasant. What I did find inspiring is that this is not just a book about abuse, the author takes great pains to show us the wonderful things that have happened in the twins’ lives, for example their travelling, their “work hard” attitude, and their business ventures. This shows us that while others may have admitted defeat after their experiences, they refuse to be labelled as victims. I have to say, I wasn’t entirely sure about their idea for building a hotel on a deserted African island, but the fact that they go back and try to assist the local village financially, or in building a school surely has to be respected. The only thing I had a slight issue with is that the writing style at times seems slightly sensationalist, with an unnecessary cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. This is only my opinion though, and I’m sure others may enjoy this method, it just didn’t sit right for me.

Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.wordpress.com