“I didn’t know anymore who was who and which one of us was more real,” Juliet Faithfull recalls as she navigates her complex relationship with her identical twin sister, Margarita, who was sent to live in an institution during their childhood in Brazil.
Juliet has total amnesia of her life before the age of nine, a time when her family made heart-wrenching decisions about Margarita’s care. In the 1970s, children with disabilities often faced grim realities. Juliet’s parents were horrified by the conditions they witnessed in Brazilian hospitals, leading them to send Margarita, known as Mita, to an institution instead.
Juliet’s father, a British national, had the option to send Mita to a state hospital in England but chose not to. Instead, he would take Juliet to visit Mita once every two years at a hospital in England. There, Mita was diagnosed with what was then termed ‘mental retardation’ but would now be recognized as cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
After decades apart, Juliet returned to Brazil in 2014, determined to fill in the gaps of her childhood memories. “I felt like an archeologist finding an important ancient bone,” she said about discovering a guest house owned by Dona Micuta—a name that sparked long-buried recollections.
During her journey, she also met Dona Celia, who remembered Juliet’s father well. “I told him. I told your father that your sister needed help from the spirits,” Dona Celia shared, hinting at the deep cultural beliefs surrounding health and well-being that permeate their lives.
As Juliet delved deeper into her past, she uncovered thousands of slides capturing moments from her childhood—images of joyful days spent with Mita when they were around four or five years old. Music became a poignant thread connecting them; Juliet noted that “music must live in a part of the brain that isn’t easily erased.” This insight gave her hope that their bond remained intact despite years apart.
The pandemic brought new challenges when Mita caught Covid, leaving her health precarious. Juliet’s heart aches for her sister as she continues to unravel their shared history while grappling with the emotional weight of family amnesia.
As Juliet reflects on her journey through memory and loss, she published a novel titled Liar’s Dice, inspired by her experiences with Mita. Through this work, she hopes not only to reclaim their story but also to shed light on the complexities surrounding family dynamics affected by disability.
Ama Serwah
Evelyn Mensah
Kwame Ofori