“I knew I was a twin, but I had no images,” said Juliet Faithfull. Her journey of rediscovering her identical twin sister, Margarita (Mita), culminated in the publication of her novel, Liar’s Dice. This release coincided with Mita’s death, adding layers of complexity to Juliet’s experience.
Juliet experienced total amnesia of her life before the age of nine. After this age, her family moved from a small village in rural Brazil to Rio de Janeiro. During this time, Mita was sent to live in an institution due to her disabilities.
In the 1960s and 70s, children like Mita—who was diagnosed with what was then termed “mental retardation”—often faced institutionalization. Today, she would be diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Juliet visited Mita in the hospital in England once every two years, but their relationship remained strained by distance and circumstances.
Juliet uncovered thousands of slides from her childhood, including photos of herself and Mita. “My memory lived in my body, but not in my brain,” she reflected. These images sparked a painful yet necessary confrontation with her past.
Mita’s health deteriorated during the pandemic when she caught Covid. Juliet felt a slip-sliding sense of confusion as she wrote: “Was everything I had written true and not imagined?” It took another ten years for Juliet to complete her book.
Through Liar’s Dice, Juliet explores their family dynamics and the trauma surrounding their lives. The novel serves as both a tribute to Mita and a means for Juliet to process her own experiences.
As Juliet continues to reflect on their shared history, she acknowledges that writing has been both healing and illuminating. Her story reveals the complexities of identity shaped by familial ties and societal expectations.