It's been more years than I care to think about since I read this one, but I still remember struggling quite a bit with it and it ultimately obliterated my interest in the subject (sparked some time prior by Sybil - of course). 92 personalities seem like a lot to keep track of and if you still give the story the benefit of a doubt it does come with a bit of paranormal treats as well.

This book is about a woman who has multiple personality disorder and her journey to learn about the disorder and her personalities. She chooses not to integrate her personalities and learn to live with them. I find this disorder fascinating and this book is amazing at helping the reader understand this complex disorder. It is not an easy read. Truddi Chase was sexually and physically abused and some of the content is very disturbing. Also, different personalities help write the book which can be a little confusing. It's well worth the read and I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in abnormal psychology or a willingness to understand multiple personality disorder.

Dem Buch kann man (meiner Meinung mach) nichts anderes als 5 Sterne geben, da es von der erschütternden Wahrheit der Erfahrung sexuellen (Inzest), psychischen und körperlichen Missbrauchs einer bzw. 92 Menschen/Identitäten erzählt und dem Weg der Therapie, in der dieses Buch (Manuskript) entstanden ist.

At the top of this review, I must disclose that you cannot go into this novel without being okay reading content regarding sexual violence, domestic abuse, child abuse ranging from infancy to teen years, emotional manipulation, bestiality, animal cruelty, and overall disturbing imagery surrounding the system who penned the majority of this manuscript.

This was a book I labored to find and labored to read. As a person with a great interest in the ways in which the human mind copes with tragedy, I have always had an inexplicable fascination with DID or multiple personalities as it is termed in this book. Because I wanted to remain faithful to the experience of real individuals with this disorder, I wanted to start by reading the book that allegedly was the first written by a person learning to live with multiplicity.

I had read the reviews on this book prior to cracking it, of course. It was strange, finding that the majority of reviews I personally saw went in completely discrediting the reality of DID, or just wrote this book off as too disjointed to consume beyond the introduction. I will be taking a second look at reviews later, but for now this one is my own.

I'm a storyteller, not a scientist. Were I to grade this based on science, of course I'd find flaws. But the nature of humanity is, in itself, flawed. Human brains, as one of the Troops suggests (I believe 10-4) do only function at around 10%. I can't imagine a mind ever achieving perfection when it functions on so little, and yet I'm familiar with the strive to mask perfectly lest I be 'discovered' by the neurotypicals. Reading this novel gave me that sense of familiarity. As I watched the Troops reveal themselves gradually over time, I found it easy to follow along with them. They recalled their births, deaths, traumas, and even their joys so vividly, it absolutely was difficult to read. At the same time, I cheered for them as they overcame.

Reading this book, as the Troops go through six years of therapy in almost 400 pages, was harrowing enough without recognizing that this was a real person who endured real hell on earth. I understand, approaching the narrative with skepticism. The mind can conjure falsehoods as readily as it can conjure buried memories. In this instance though, I take away what the Troops intended for us readers to take away: this is a story that needed telling, for those who need the encouragement to open up and get help. We are still living in a world where it's so, so hard for anyone to speak up about the abuse they face for fear of additional social pressures coming down on our heads. I think it's very important to have stories where, in spite of the absolute war going on in our minds, we can still carry on. This book, though heavy and likely difficult to follow for most, displays the very thing I admire about those who live with DID. To me, this is the indomitable human spirit, learning to survive at all costs in a world that seeks to kill you.