Switching Time by Richard Baer
A fascinating story of a woman with 17 different personalities in her, told by the doctor who helped her recover her life, one “Alter” at a time.A fascinating story of a woman with 17 different personalities in her, told by the doctor who helped her recover her life, one “Alter” at a time. With the new show “The United States of Tara” with Toni Collette being about to start on Showtime, and advertised heavily as being about “a woman with four personalities who has stopped taking her medication,” it seemed a good time to review this book for you. This is a real, not made-for-TV, not funny, but dreadful and serious case. And no one “medication” is able to help in her case.
The woman, Karen, was abused – emotionally, physically and even sexually from an extremely early age. As the doctor begins to treat her, he realizes that this is not a simple case of depression. He realizes that she has extreme problems, but is also very passive and refusing to help herself. He slowly begins to suspect, then confirm the different “personalities” that live inside her, and think of themselves as separate from her. They range in age from infant to adult.
When Dr. Baer gets a letter from Claire, a seven-year-old little girl who is one of the alters, he knows he can begin the process of letting Karen know about her alters, of whom she initially has no knowledge. She just knows she is miserable, suicidal, and that she “loses time” – becoming aware of hours and sometimes days that she does not remember.
Claire’s letter, and those from others, are shown in the book in the book, and you can clearly see the differences in handwriting that signify each personality. The book includes diagrams by two of the more organized members, and some remarkable drawings by Jensen, one of the boys that are part of her.
The book details their her course of treatment and illness and recovery. The abuse she slowly remembers is horrific, and she bears the physical as well as mental scars that bear witness to the events, no matter how awful it seems. Because of what she suffered, this not an easy read, but “Karen” says in an epilogue that she hopes that everyone who does read it will look at the children they meet with new awareness, so they can intervene if another child is suffering.
It is a remarkable book, and very matter-of-factly told. It is fascinating to read, if you are interested in how human beings can cope, and even survive in the face of unthinkable abuse.