This has to be one of the most interesting books I have every read. It's a non-fiction account of a woman with 17 distinct personalities, written by the doctor who struggled for years treating her through psychotherapy. It is by no means a book for just anyone to read, because it includes extremely disturbing details about the woman's past, told frankly and without much censorship to the reader. I will admit that at times it was hard to read, but it was definitely worth it. Particularly for anyone interested in psychology or the human mind, this book is an absolutely amazing read, and I strongly recommend it :)
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." ~ the catcher in the rye
I saw this post the other day, and it did make me get the book out of the library, but I think your review could have some more detail. You say "most interesting" and "absolutely amazing," without really explaining why. I mean, certainly having 17 personalities is interesting, but what really drew you in? It's 360 pages, so there has to be something else thrown into the mix. (You can see that I haven't read it yet...)
"One voice can be stronger than a thousand voices, " Captain Kathryn Janeway
haha this is true, I suppose I was not very descriptive. I'm not really sure how to explain it. I suppose you have to be interested in certain types of things to love this book like it did. I mean, the book goes through pretty much the whole process of this woman's therapy, beginning with the first time she steps in his office, when he knows almost nothing of her condition, other than the fact that she is obviously a very depressed person. Throughout the different therapy sessions, the doctor explains his various reasons for saying or not saying certain things to his patient, and goes through his thought processes concerning what would be best for his patient, versus what he is curious about and what questions he wants to ask (which I find super interesting for some reason). A good chuck of the book is all about the other personalities, each of which the doctor is able to "meet" individually through hypnosis. As a reader, I almost became attached to some of the personalities, who each have names, ages, character traits, and their own specific reasons for existing. (I wasn't the only one: the doctor and the woman herself also missed the personalities once they were integrated). Anyways, I thought it was amazing what this woman went through, all the horrible experiences of her childhood, all the way up to her married life, and I also thought it was amazing how she was eventually "cured" and was able to begin a new life. Very good book
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." ~ the catcher in the rye
