4 ms·
The Pepsi Cola Addict (1982)
- beefman 4y agoMore about the author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_and_Jennifer_Gibbons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_and_Jennifer_Gibbons
- dang 4y agoThat is quite remarkable. I'd never heard of them.
- zppln 4y agoWow, what a story. It also lead me to read the related article [1]. I remember the highway incident from when it happened, but not the circumstances and aftermath. In some ways is even more bizarre (and tragic). 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_and_Sabina_Eriksson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_and_Sabina_Eriksson
- l33tbro 4y agoPretty decent profile: https://lithub.com/i-found-a-rare-copy-of-june-allison-gibbons-outsider-novel/ https://lithub.com/i-found-a-rare-copy-of-june-allison-gibbo...
- Tarsul 4y agothe crazy part about twins only speaking to each other, is that it happens more often then one would think. I've seen a tv report about a pair of twin-girls who also only spoke to each other and they had to film them secretly just so people believed that they could speak! (except of course the parents knew)
- rurban 4y agoAnd I read a famous novel about such twins, Le grand cahier (The notebook, Das grosse Heft) by Ágota Kristóf. They did speak to outsiders, but made up their own logical and esp. moral rules how to treat them, and they write down their findings, when they can eliminate all personal interpretations and feelings. Everything must be objectively true, to them and their limited view.
- boomboomsubban 4y agoDid she sign over the copyright to the vanity publisher? As saying the publishing is "author approved" makes it sound like she isn't getting any money for it.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- telesilla 4y agoAnd now a motion picture about the author and her sister. It's all the more fascinating, though deeply shameful how they were treated as young black women. https://youtu.be/lEN2rk__Xms https://youtu.be/lEN2rk__Xms
- ArmandTanzarian 4y agoForward by David Tibet! Wow.
- thylacine222 4y agoApparently there was a limited run last year which claimed to have the full involvement of June: https://www.davidtibet.com/products/the-pepsi-cola-addict-by-june-alison-gibbons-special-edition https://www.davidtibet.com/products/the-pepsi-cola-addict-by... This one seems to have a forward by the same guy, so I would guess she's involved here too?
- franze 4y agojust a free association to the title: the husband of my sister works as a medic. one time they had a patient who would not stop bleeding after a work accident related cut. they thought he is hemophiliac (bleeder), but he denied this. and he later tested negative for this. later turned out that he does not really drink water and other beverages, other than .... coke, lots of it. for years now. does things to your body on different levels, it seems.
- ForHackernews 4y agoWow! Years ago, I tried and failed to get a copy of this on interlibrary loan - nobody would send it. I bet it doesn't live up to the legendary status as lost media, but I would still be interested to read it.
- snvzz 4y agoIf you ever manage to get your hands on it, this book does need to be scanned and dumped into The Internet Archive for preservation.
- klik99 4y agoThis part of their story really hits me... > Placed on high doses of antipsychotic medications, they found themselves unable to concentrate; Jennifer apparently developed tardive dyskinesia (a neurological disorder resulting in involuntary, repetitive movements). Their medications were apparently adjusted sufficiently to allow them to continue the copious diaries they had begun in 1980, and they were able to join the hospital choir, but they lost most of their interest in creative writing. It's really disgusting how they were treated - petty crimes as teenagers land them in a high-security mental asylum - way more than what was required because they were weird and black. Some of the petty crimes was to raise money to self-publish a novel at 16, so obviously we're not dealing with delinquents. Not saying that they shouldn't have been punished for their actions, but there's a huge difference between rehabilitative incarceration and being treated like a lost cause and having their creativity chemically sterilized permanently.
- itsyaboi 4y agoFascinating article on their early life and incarceration: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/12/04/we-two-made-one https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/12/04/we-two-made-on...