Overview

A searing and profound memoir of one woman's journey through dissociative identity disorder and childhood sexual abuse--and how she found hope, healing, and recovery. Sally Maslansky is living the perfect life: a beautiful home in Malibu, California, a successful Hollywood producer husband who adores her, and a recently adopted son she treasures. But when Sally begins to remember the trauma she endured as a child, her world begins to unravel. In this gripping and provocative memoir, psychotherapist Maslansky shares how childhood sexual abuse led her to develop dissociative identity disorder (DID), and how, with the help of renowned therapist Daniel J. Siegel, she ultimately recovers. The book reveals the power of therapeutic bond to heal deep attachment wounds, the science of neuroplasticity in healing the traumatized mind, and our capacity as human beings to reconcile unspeakable experiences in order to grow, change, and live vibrant, loving, and joyful lives against all odds. Together with Siegel, Maslansky slowly recovers her childhood memories and reconnects with the forgotten parts of herself--parts that she grows to admire, respect, honor, and love, because they literally saved her young mind from unimaginable horrors. In the book, Siegel describes Maslansky's DID as a brilliant adaptation of the mind--a protective force that kept her mentally safe when the people she should have trusted most were the ones responsible for her abuse. Whether you have struggled with DID yourself, love someone who has DID, or are simply looking to be inspired by the tenacity of the human spirit, this memoir offers a provocative glimpse into an often pathologized and misunderstood condition, and shows the profound and healing possibilities of therapy, human understanding, and the will to survive.

Full Product Details

9781648486944

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Sally Maslansky's A Brilliant Adaptation accurately names and describes dissociative identity responses as just that: brilliant adaptations. Not only is the book a tremendous contribution to our literature about dissociative identities, but it also offers us keen insight into the experience of discovery and exploration as a detailed memoir of psychotherapy. Very grateful to Sally for this work, and to Daniel Siegel for his willingness and open-mindedness. A stellar contribution that ought to be in the collection of every clinician working with dissociation in their practices."" --Jamie Marich, PhD, author of Dissociation Made Simple, and coauthor of Trauma and the 12 Steps --Jamie Marich, PhD

Author Information

Sally Maslansky, LMFT, has been in private practice for twenty years in Chapel Hill, NC. She treats families, adoption, trauma, parenting, and adult individuals. Her training is in interpersonal neurobiology (IPNB), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), adult attachment interview (AAI), attachment theory, polyvagal theory practices, mindfulness, and the wheel of awareness practice. Foreword writer Daniel J. Siegel, MD, is a noted neuropsychiatrist, executive director of the Mindsight Institute, and associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine. He is author ofThe Developing Mind, The Mindful Brain, and other books, and is founding editor of the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology.

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