Her : a memoir

In this haunting memoir of identity and love, photographer Parravani deconstructs the intense bonds between identical twins, as she struggles with the trauma of her charismatic sister's self-destruction, and an unexpectedly rising tide of similar ..

Wall Street Journal, "Favorite Books of the Year 2013"
Cosmopolitan, "Best Books of the Year for Women"
Library Journal, "Best Books of 2013"
Salon, "Best Books of 2013"

"Haunting... more than a beautifully written memoir. [A] powerful and raw love letter."—The Washington Post

A blazingly passionate memoir of identity and love: when a charismatic and troubled young woman dies tragically, her identical twin must struggle to survive

Christa Parravani and her identical twin, Cara, were linked by a bond that went beyond siblinghood, beyond sisterhood, beyond friendship. Raised up from poverty by a determined single mother, the gifted and beautiful twins were able to create a private haven of splendor and merriment between themselves and then earn their way to a prestigious college and to careers as artists (a photographer and a writer, respectively) and to young marriages. But, haunted by childhood experiences with father figures and further damaged by being raped as a young adult, Cara veered off the path to robust work and life and in to depression, drugs and a shocking early death.

A few years after Cara was gone, Christa read that when an identical twin dies, regardless of the cause, 50 percent of the time the surviving twin dies within two years; and this shocking statistic rang true to her. "Flip a coin," she thought," those were my chances of survival." First, Christa fought to stop her sister's downward spiral; suddenly, she was struggling to keep herself alive.
Beautifully written, mesmerizingly rich and true, Christa Parravani's account of being left, one half of a whole, and of her desperate, ultimately triumphant struggle for survival is informative, heart-wrenching and unforgettably beautiful.

Wall Street Journal , "Favorite Books of the Year 2013" Cosmopolitan , "Best Books of the Year for Women" Library Journal , "Best Books of 2013" Salon , "Best Books of 2013" "Haunting... more than a beautifully written memoir. [A] powerful and raw love letter."— The Washington Post A blazingly passionate memoir of identity and love: when a charismatic and troubled young woman dies tragically, her identical twin must struggle to survive Christa Parravani and her identical twin, Cara, were linked by a bond that went beyond siblinghood, beyond sisterhood, beyond friendship. Raised up from poverty by a determined single mother, the gifted and beautiful twins were able to create a private haven of splendor and merriment between themselves and then earn their way to a prestigious college and to careers as artists (a photographer and a writer, respectively) and to young marriages. But, haunted by childhood experiences with father figures and further damaged by being raped as a young adult, Cara veered off the path to robust work and life and in to depression, drugs and a shocking early death. A few years after Cara was gone, Christa read that when an identical twin dies, regardless of the cause, 50 percent of the time the surviving twin dies within two years; and this shocking statistic rang true to her. "Flip a coin," she thought," those were my chances of survival." First, Christa fought to stop her sister's downward spiral; suddenly, she was struggling to keep herself alive. Beautifully written, mesmerizingly rich and true, Christa Parravani's account of being left, one half of a whole, and of her desperate, ultimately triumphant struggle for survival is informative, heart-wrenching and unforgettably beautiful. A blazingly passionate memoir of identity and love: when a charismatic and troubled young woman dies tragically, her identical twin must struggle to survive. Christa Parravani and her identical twin, Cara, were linked by a bond that went beyond siblinghood, beyond sisterhood, beyond friendship. Raised up from poverty by a determined single mother, the gifted and beautiful twins were able to create a private haven of splendor and merriment between themselves and then earn their way to a prestigious college and to careers as artists (a photographer and a writer, respectively) and to young marriages. But, haunted by childhood experiences with father figures and further damaged by being raped as a young adult, Cara veered off the path to robust work and life and in to depression, drugs and a shocking early death. A few years after Cara was gone, Christa read that when an identical twin dies, regardless of the cause, 50 percent of the time the surviving twin dies within two years; and this shocking statistic rang true to her. "Flip a coin," she thought," those were my chances of survival." First, Christa fought to stop her sister's downward spiral; suddenly, she was struggling to keep herself alive. Beautifully written, mesmerizingly rich and true, Christa Parravani's account of being left, one half of a whole, and of her desperate, ultimately triumphant struggle for survival is informative, heart-wrenching and unforgettably beautiful. Wall Street Journal , "Favorite Books of the Year 2013" Cosmopolitan , "Best Books of the Year for Women" Library Journal , "Best Books of 2013" Salon , "Best Books of 2013"

A blazingly passionate memoir of identity and love: when a charismatic and troubled young woman dies tragically, her identical twin must struggle to survive

Christa Parravani and her identical twin, Cara, were linked by a bond that went beyond siblinghood, beyond sisterhood, beyond friendship. Raised up from poverty by a determined single mother, the gifted and beautiful twins were able to create a private haven of splendor and merriment between themselves and then earn their way to a prestigious college and to careers as artists (a photographer and a writer, respectively) and to young marriages. But, haunted by childhood experiences with father figures and further damaged by being raped as a young adult, Cara veered off the path to robust work and life and in to depression, drugs and a shocking early death.

A few years after Cara was gone, Christa read that when an identical twin dies, regardless of the cause, 50 percent of the time the surviving twin dies within two years; and this shocking statistic rang true to her. "Flip a coin," she thought," those were my chances of survival." First, Christa fought to stop her sister's downward spiral; suddenly, she was struggling to keep herself alive.

Beautifully written, mesmerizingly rich and true, Christa Parravani's account of being left, one half of a whole, and of her desperate, ultimately triumphant struggle for survival is informative, heart-wrenching and unforgettably beautiful.

Raised up from poverty by a determined single mother, gifted and beautiful twin sisters Christa and Cara Parravani were able to create a private haven of splendor and amusement that they shared between themselves. They earned their way into a prestigious college, established careers as artists (a photographer and a writer, respectively), and entered young marriages. But plagued by their father's early rejection of them and further damaged by being raped as a young woman, Cara veered into depression, drugs, and a shocking early death.Some time after Cara was gone, Christa read that when an identical twin dies, regardless of the cause, fifty percent of the time the surviving twin dies within two years. By then, that shocking statistic rang all too true. "Flip a coin," she had come to think. "Those are my chances of survival." While at first Christa had fought to stop Cara's downward spiral, after her sister's death she suddenly found herself struggling to survive her own. Raised up from poverty by a determined single mother, gifted and beautiful twin sisters Christa and Cara Parravani were able to create a private haven of splendor and amusement that they shared between themselves. They earned their way into a prestigious college, established careers as artists (a photographer and a writer, respectively), and entered young marriages. But plagued by their father's early rejection of them and further damaged by being raped as a young woman, Cara veered into depression, drugs, and a shocking early death. Some time after Cara was gone, Christa read that when an identical twin dies, regardless of the cause, fifty percent of the time the surviving twin dies within two years. By then, that shocking statistic rang all too true. Flip a coin, she had come to think. Those are my chances of survival. While at first Christa had fought to stop Cara's downward spiral, after her sister's death she suddenly found herself struggling to survive her own Christa Parravani and her identical twin, Cara, shared a bond that went beyond siblinghood, beyond sisterhood, beyond friendship. Raised up from poverty by a determined single mother, the gifted and beautiful twins sheltered each other from family violence and loss by inventing a haven of playfulness and creativity between themselves. They went on to earn scholarships at a prestigious college, to careers as artists (Christa, the photographer and Cara was the writer), and to exuberant young marriages. But when Cara fell victim to a rape, she veered into depression, drugs, and a shocking early death. Studies have shown that when an identical twin dies, regardless of the cause, the surviving twin's life is at risk. First, Christa fought to stop her sister's downward spiral; then, she was struggling to keep herself alive. The act of creating this heart-wrenching text helped to transform her into a twin able to live on her own.--From publisher description. Identical twins Christa and Cara Parravani were raised up from poverty by a determined single mother. Gifted and beautiful, the girls sheltered each other from family violence and loss by inventing their own haven of creativity. They earned scholarships to a prestigious college, pursued careers in the arts, and paired off in early marriages. Then an act of brutality sent Cara into a downward spiral toward a shocking early death. Immediately at risk, Christa was left to transform herself into an identical able to live without her twin.