Hoooooly Moly. Wow. Read this!!!

Hoooooly. Moly. Wow. Read this! Astounding! Wow. ...... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....

So, Truddi Chase survives a horrific childhood. She develops 92 personalities as a way of dealing with both the terrible things that happens to her and the subsequent memories that they leave behind-- each personality is responsible for a different set of memories, so the whole thing doesn't have to hurt or overwhelm her at once. The person known as "Truddi" is basically an empty shell that the personalities use to make themselves known.

It's also a true story.

I couldn't stop reading it. My right eye is all bloodshot as a result.

The only drawback is that now I think everybody has a multiple personality disorder, myself included.

Einfach nur wow... Was die Truppe durchmachen musste... Ich habe riesigen Respekt. Auch dass sie und ihr Psychologe so ein Buch verfasst haben, war sicherlich keine einfache Aufgabe.
Kann es nur empfehlen, wenn man sich für multiple Persönlichkeitsstörung bzw dissoziative Identitätsstörung interessiert.

Ein Stern Abzug muss ich leider geben, wegen formaler Angelegenheiten und ein paar Stellen, die ich anders geschrieben hätte.

Fake. It looks like James Frey wasn't the first author to pull the wool over Oprah's eyes.

This book was disturbing. I read this while I was in school and was having a difficult time "defining" myself, as we do. Not something you want to read to feel good.

This book is damned disturbing. I honestly don't know what to think about it. I saw the "author" on Oprah, and I still don't know if I believe it or not. I have a degree in psychology, and multiple personalities/abnormal psych have always been a particular area of interest to me but this....

I really don't know if I can believe it or not....If it's true, then it's definitely one of the most harrowing and disturbing stories I have ever read, and if it's not, it's some damned convincing writing.

One way or another, horrific childhood sexual abuse occurs through the whole thing, not for the squeamish.....

Very intense book. I had to put it down from time to time so I could reflect on each chapter. Interesting read and educational as well.

This book was “non-fiction” and “autobiographical”…?…but written in the form of a novel…somewhat? That being said, it didn’t make it any easier to read, and not just because of the subject matter. It just didn’t make any sense most of the time.

I am by no means an expert on psychology or the effects of trauma on the human psyche, but this woman contradicts and discredits herself throughout this entire book. At one point she likens herself to a saint because of her “extraordinary” capabilities. These include burning out electrical equipment with her “energy” and ESP with her therapist. Laughable. If her therapist really encouraged that type of thinking (which she suggests he does) then shame on him, too. This is a clearly disturbed individual who needed real mental health assistance and unfortunately for her, it sounds like that was unavailable in the 80’s.

Orrrrrr, she made this entire account up to write a book and make money

This is a fabulous book that offers an intruiging look into the mind of a multiple personality. Parts are incredibly disturbing as she discribes some of the horrible events in her childhood that have caused her mind to shatter into seperate personalities in order to cope.

I think I'm missing something ... Reading the intro and then the reviews of others, I expected that this would be the autobiographical account of The Troops as they initiated therapy, became aware of the others' existence and came to understand the reality of their abuse. What I expected, I suppose, was to read "the manuscript " so often referred to.

Instead, this reads like a type of historical fiction, the narrative of Trudi and Stanley as they worked together. Perhaps written by The Troops but only as a projection of what they thought the process to be. (Unless, of course, the last pages of the book are taken literally, and the reader accepts that The Troops are writing Stanley's perspective because they *were* in his head. But I am not going there.)

My review, then, is on this "historical fiction" narrative and NOT on the experience of The Troops.

Despite the horrific occurrences at its foundation, the book was an engaging read. The elements of foreshadowing and suspense did keep me reading although they felt clunky at times. Some of the leaps in understanding that Stanley made still elude me - I suppose I don't grasp D.I.D. enough.

There were also a number of times the writing seemed overly obtuse and convoluted, even when telling seemingly straightforward accounts. For example, the scene where Albert first visits Stanley's classroom and is waiting in the hallway. The conversation is baffling - who is speaking to whom? And who is the woman Albert is talking to? She makes no other appearance in the text...

Finally, I want to accept the phenomenon of multiples, or D.I.D. as it is now known. And I want to believe that people would not undertake deception in the name of mental health and understanding. But contrary to the purported intention, this book made a skeptic out of me. I believe in the vast capabilities of the mind, and is psychic abilities and in a state of transcendant spirituality. But I didn't believe any of that was truly at work here.

My heart aches for what happened- or might have happened - to that young girl. And those stories - disturbing as they are - do need to be told. But I can't help walking away w the feeling that I want to read "the manuscript " and instead read this...

Amazing read. Written by the different alters as well as the therapist.

Some books are written and they pass off information and the writing is just fine. But other books are written and the words transform into a piece of art. I consider this book to be the latter.

For anyone reading this hoping to poke holes in its authenticity by discrediting the therapist's methods, just remember this is the early 80s and MPD/DID was still in infancy of understanding.

There are also snippets of interviews online with Truddi Chase for anyone wanting to complement the reading. If anyone finds a full interview, please comment below with the link! I'm fascinated.

Finally done!

I admit, the last few pages I just skimmed through - I just wanted to be done with it, but needed the closure of the end.

I think it's important to know that the terminology is outdated. It's better read as a historical document and one persons personal account than as source of knowledge about DID. A lot has happened in Psychiatry/Psychology since the 80es.

Other than that, I find it difficult to have an opinion on this book. It's difficult to read, triggering and sometimes outright nauseating. Not something I'd read for fun, but something a part of me needed to read to have at least a glimpse on how someone deals with this kind of horrifying abuse.