For as long as she can remember, Leah has had the mysterious feeling that she’s been searching for a twin―that she should be part of an intimate pair. It begins with dance partners as she studies ballet growing up; continues with her attractions to girlfriends in college; and leads her, finally, to Eric, whom she moves across the country for and marries. But her steadfast, monogamous relationship leaves her with questions about her sexuality and her identity, so she and her husband decide to try an open marriage.

How does a young couple make room for their individual desires, their evolving selfhoods, and their artistic ambitions while building a life together? Can they pursue other sexual partners, even live in separate cities, and keep their original passionate bond alive? Vanishing Twins looks for answers in psychology, science, pop culture, art, architecture, Greek mythology, dance, and language to create a lucid, suspenseful portrait of a woman testing the limits and fluidities of love.

“I’m captivated by Dieterich’s naive but searching and intelligent narrator; the connections she ties between typography and twinning and ballet and sex are unexpected and frequently magical. I love this book.” ―Sarah Manguso, author of 300 Arguments

“The themes in Vanishing Twins are at once timeless and contemporary: what does it mean to be both wife and artist, both partner and individual? Leah Dieterich’s singular explorations of these ideas paired with her sharp, nimble sentences made it impossible for me to put this book down.” ―Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I’m Someone Else

Author: Leah Dieterich
Publisher: Soft Skull Press
Pages: 304pp
Size: 5.5 x 8.25
Notes: paperback
Release Date: September 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1593762919