Overview

For most of us, the varied parts of our personalities are woven together and unified by our memories. But what happens when we have no memories? What happens when the components of memory (facts, feelings, and body states) are split apart and no longer relate to each other? When this story began more than 40 years ago, doctors and psychiatrists were mystified by patients with more than one personality. The diagnosis at the time was Multiple Personality Disorder. Lillian was afflicted with this condition owing to severe abuse during her childhood. Her mind held each trauma separately. Each personality took over her body, developing a life and personality of its own. Lillian's aunt, Jean, became friends with 22 personalities. She played hide and seek with four-year-old Mary, taught five-year-old Amy to write, shopped for undergarments with Robin Jean, and communicated endlessly with each of the others. In the process, each personality revealed its beginnings. Over time, each personality revealed its own memories of their trauma and eventually became integrated. This is an exquisite and beautifully written story of poverty, transgenerational abuse, mental illness, and the healing power of love, science, and spirituality. As one reader puts it: ""You will laugh, cry, turn away and come back again to its compelling truth.""

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9781649792051

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Dr. Frank Alabiso is a clinical psychologist with more than 40 years of experience in treating individuals for the psychological effects of trauma on personality development. Over the span of his career, Dr. Alabiso has treated four individuals afflicted with the rare diagnosis of multiple personality disorder. In the course of his private practice, Dr. Alabiso became acquainted with Lillian. Inspired by her personal strength and her triumph over mental illness, Dr. Alabiso joined Jean Baker Reynolds in bringing Lillian's story to light. Jean Baker Reynolds has had a long and distinguished career as an editor and proofreader of publications for the U.S. Navy. Ms. Baker Reynolds is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Unrestrained by the formal training of psychiatrists at the time, Ms. Baker Reynolds did what no psychiatrist could have done. She devoted 10 years of her life to Lillian's triumph over multiple personality disorder. At age 93, Ms. Baker Reynolds is enthusiastically engaged in writing a series of children's books.

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