Samenvatting
If only I were two I could play with you Ten per cent of people lose their twin before birth, without knowing. This book describes the impact of this loss on the rest of a person’s life. “I felt powerlessness, sadness and fear to come closer because it felt so scary, so cold and lifeless. I did not dare to move. It was my twin brother, who was no longer alive. I did not want to leave him alone, this felt so much like betrayal and failure. And it made me feel so intensely sad. But I still had to leave him, because I had no choice but to be born. Painfully separated from each other.” A book in two parts. Part one contains Aranka’s life story and the stories of eight others whose lives are rooted in the same trauma: they lost their twin before they were born. Each of them has, in their own way, been searching for something they did not even know they lost all that long time ago. A search for an explanation for various symptoms, for the source of feelings of emptiness, of missing someone, coupled with subconscious feelings of guilt and above all an unfulfillable longing to be whole. Part two offers a lot of background information about the phenomenon of womb twin survivors and provides exercises so that the book can be used to start your own journey of exploration. Aranka Reeuwijk-Willems (1968) is president/chairwoman of the ‘Stichting Alleengeboren Tweelingen Nederland’ (Dutch Foundation for Alone-born Twins) and has, in her profession as coach/therapist, specialised in the phenomenon of womb twin survivors. In her day-to-day work she guides people to acquire more insight and happiness in their lives by helping them come to terms with this prenatal loss and give it a place in their lives. She does this through personal sessions and with the help of Family Constellations.
Thuiswinkel Waarborg