Books about DID??

I've never read any books about DID and am going to order one tonight and was hoping to get some advice on if they are worth buying or not. And if you have which would you recommend you know...
Choices I have (for my e-reader) are
Fragments-by Tessa Jones
A shattered Mind-by Dauna Cole
Last Door-by Raven Rozier
Invisible Tears-by Abigail Lawrence

I know nothing about these books, just searched DID in the e-book store and these looked ok.. Any advice opinions or anything?

I just read "Fragments". It is a fictional story and the author does not have DID. She seems to understand it pretty well though. It does get quite dramatic and has some twists and turns, so it could be triggering. It turns into an action/mystery sort of book. (I'm trying to remember it, and I just read it )

I haven't heard of the others. I guess it depends on what kind of book you are looking for.

I would recommend "Silencing the Voices" by Jean Darby Cline (got it on my e-reader) It's a memoir of DID. A lot of what therapy and learning about the alters and such is like.

(I had to kinda review both of these as I wrote this- I've been reading so much I confuse myself and forget a lot)

the one book we recommend here at the crisis center is Amongst Ourselves. its a workbook that is focused on the positive side of the disorder. it explains what the disorder is in a non triggering using both the DSM IV TR diagnostic criteria (which of course like all other books presently on the market, will be considered outdated when the new diagnostic criteria takes affect) but other then that we find our clients respond to the workbook positively with little to no triggering reactions. the work in the book are things like getting to know how your internal system has helped you, see how far you have come, a way to map your internal system, co-existing with your alters, how to get through /manage those addictive/maladaptive/negative ...behaviors that naturally come with being DID... theres even information in there to help people with DID to deal with partners/friends/family, therapists...

the book can be found on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Amongst-Oursel...ntity+disorder

a more up to date book that is floating around the crisis center is Understanding and Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder: A relational Approach.

its also at amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-...ntity+disorder

I have not had my chance to read it yet but my co workers say its fantastic.

Teres one called belt buckles and pajamas that i really like.

I really liked "The Sum of My Parts," by Olga Trujillo. The author is a childhood trauma survivor with DID. She became a lawyer, and has done lots of work with different child services/crisis agencies, and has done a lot of speaking and education in the areas of trauma. I don't know what sort of e-reader you have, but I have this book on Nook. I liked this book very much, and have re-read it several times.

My Nook can get Got Parts? An Insider's Guide To Managing Life Successfully With Dissociative Identity Disorder by A.T.W. (a system); that looked interesting to me.

Thank you all for the input, I'll start looking into it tonight. I've gotten about 3/4ths of the way through "Fragments" in the beginning it reminded me of me, but the further along it got, the more bizarre and unlike me it got. Although there are still times that it dawns on me "hey this is similar to what I've been experiencing thinking it was completely normal" but it's just a bit much for my taste. I brought it up with t today. He looked at me pretty wide eyed when I told him it was a fiction, he says that's not a good idea to read a fiction and recommended that I read Sybil or Three Faces of Eve. So I brought up the fact that recent news says Sybil may have made up her disorder to gain the interest of her therapist.

So t says "I knew the real Sybil, I met her a few times and believe me, she's NOT making that up"... OK doc, digging a deep hole in my trust as I don't necessarily believe that. Not sure why he would make it up but...

Either way, made up or real, if her experiences are common for those with DID than perhaps it's worth looking it over.

Having trouble trusting t considering him being a male and feeling like he's not always honest. But he's the only one in the building equipped for patients with DID and PTSD so I'm kinda there. Nice enough guy, just seems he stretches the truth a bit to reassure me, but it does the complete opposite...

lol Just a side thought here..I wonder what your T will say when he finds out the book Sybil is fictionalized.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Ardell_Mason

"Her life was fictionalized in 1973 in the book Sybil,..."

Sybil may very will have had DID...no one but Sybil and her Treatment providers know for sure..Sybil died in 1998 so theres no way to verify it one way or the other. what I do know is that the recent movie is quite different from the book/first movie and has a write up about her and which samples of artwork, writings....in the recent movie were found in her basement upon her death. there are many websites popping up since the recent movie came out all of which claim to be "Sybil's best friend" kinds of stuff. which again cant be verified one way or the other since Sybil is dead and cant tell anyone herself whats what.

all any of us can do on the subject of Sybil and DID is make our own assumptions and guesses.

Sounds like there's a lot to read. I found some I'm going to read first then I'll share which ones I read if you like.
Yeah the Sybil thing has got me confused....
I think the thing one needs to do is realise that society at large don't know much about DID or MPD and books like Sybil and The three faces of eve have been made popular as well as there movies. One thing I've learnt through/from human nature is that we(humans) like to negate/dismiss things in society that are not the norm. My question is there anyone truly unbiased that can adequately investigate this disorder without fear or prejudice?
They were trying to remove DID from the DSM V at one point have they changed thier minds since? Amanda Louise do you know what the latest with that development is?

yes as of at this moment DID is being included in the new DSM... you can follow any changes/updates/revisions/ whats being kept/ whats being renamed/ whats being thrown out of the DSM by visiting the DSM website at

http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx

to see each mental disorder scroll over "proposed Revisions" a drop box opens up. clicking on each disorder/disorder category will open a page that gives the revisions (any changes being made) and changes to the scales of severity, and there is also a tab so you can see the present DSM criteria for each disorder so that you can compare the revisions that will appear in the new book vs what is the present diagnostics..

on the main page (the link above) along the right side is a box with links of "whats new" which will also help you navigate/understand and follow any changes being made to the DSM.

Thank you Amanda Louise it was very insightful.
Very much appreciated
Lou

I just finished (a few days ago) Sky Eyes which is supposed to be a true story. It was hard to read parts of it and still days later I'm feeling the after shocks of the triggers for some but... It just seemed a bit much for me on the DID perspective.

I can see the similarities between page turning and switching but the other parts, parts about other beings, other living people and animals inhabiting or speaking or being near her after death, is just a bit more than what I was looking for. While I don't say it's made up, I'm more looking for something that gives real first hand experience from someone with DID who goes through the blackouts, not realizing they can or that they have parts until late adult hood, or looking for basically just someones experience with DID when it's not necessarily on a spiritual level. While I believe in a higher power and have often thought my parts are like guardian angels, I'd like to get one that describes DID from personal experiences on a somewhat scientific level, the symptoms as opposed to the spiritual belief of it. If that makes sense...

I'm looking again I've got a Kindle, and many books including Sybil and Three Faces of Eve aren't available. And I've looked into the others mentioned and they're anywhere from $10-$40 to get the book. I thought e books were supposed to be cheaper? My gift card is running out lol

Hi Purple flying monkeys
I'm currently in the middle of a book called "A life in pieces" By Richard k Baer. It's written from the perspective of Dr Baer who treated a lady by the name of Karen who so far has 11 alters.
What is interesting so far is that in the book he states she had DID and possibly MPD. Amanda Louise are these normally considered separate diagnoses because I thought that DID replaced MPD in the DSM IV? I'm a bit confused.
I'm going to be honest here I have read that this book when it was written was thought to be hogwash in the media. I google'd it before I bought it.
I love my kindle but I also like to be able to dog ear pages so I can re-read pages especially if I forget where I'm up to cos sometimes I find myself reading and then it doesnt make any sense to me,
I thought you might find it interesting though. Yes it has triggered me at times and I have felt anxious, nauseated and a few panic attacks not from the trauma that affected her but that I've identified things that have been described about her by her T that I have done and am now aware of.
Regards Lou

I'm just recently getting into Amongst Ourselves. It's a great book for beginners' as well as those who want to know more. I find it an easy read and clarifies many questions from a beginners stand-point. I'm working on the exercise: "what does having DID mean to me". It's a journal exercise. I really like this book.

"Getting Through The Day" was a decent read.
"The DID Sourcebook, is good, but it's a little cold. It does have a lot of information, like orginizations, contacts, and so on.
"Multiple Prersonality Disorder from the inside Out" I like very much. But....It can be a bit rough on you if you're in an easily triggered state. It is a collection of writtings from people with DID/MPD. My therapist doesn't think it's a good idea for me to read it. But the reason I like it is because I need to see, I need to know that I am not alone. Much of what I read in it I could have written myself. Also It helps when I having denial spells.
There is poetry in this book. It's not my thing, so I skip it. You may, or may not feel the same way. I prefer the stories and expirences. but that's just me.
I mentioned that it can be triggering, right? yes i did. Keep it in mind if you're sensitive, or stirred up, and you want to read it.

that's all. I'm done.

jax