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The Myth of Sanity: Divided Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness
by: Martha Stout |
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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 362 EAN: 9780142000557 ISBN: 0142000558 Label: Penguin (Non-Classics) Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics) Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 272 Publication Date: February 22, 2002 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics) Features:
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| Customer Reviews | ||
 - Forget about Dr. Laura and read Dr. Stout insteadDr. Stout has so much insight about life and psychology, even if you do not suffer from DID yourself, you will absorb something from this book. She really has a way with words, she writes in the first chapter that people who are commonly considered to be "sane" are a little nuts themselves. They are mostly unaware of their behaviors and walk around in a cognitive haze. couldn't agree more. I have read all three of her books and what I prefer about her over other authors, is that she goes beyond the obvious to find the truth. Everyone knows a rape victim or a war veteran has been traumatized, I am trying to devalue their experiences, but Dr. Stout also discusses people in domestic situations where the trauma is more latent and more deceptive. This book is really an eye-opener, I was surprised at how many people I would have written off as just being eccentric before I read this book, but would now consider more dangerous. This is really useful when choosing which parents you want to trust your kids around. She talks about how people in third world countries deal with the trauma of poverty and political chaos. She also discusses the possible dangers of someone who switches from different cognitive states who leads a nation. I immediately thought of Robert Mugabe, the president of Zimbabwe who began as a freedom fighter and later eroded into a brutal tyrant. Such an important timeless book, better than CSI and better than Dr. Laura and Dr. Phil. Rating: - The Myth of SanityExcellent book on Dissociative Idenity Disorder. I have extensive experience with clients and close friend with this disorder and want people to know that you CAN HEAL and live a very productive life. Rating: - Sigh of reliefThe first book I read on dissociation, and certainly is still the most eye-opening one. It is a very smooth read, one can tell she's very intelligent and well educated, yet medical jargon doesn't overwhelm the book. It is easy to read in one sitting, and also easy to come back to and pick up later. I haven't seen her style of writing before, it's excellent. On a personal note, the book gave me my life back, in the way that she gives many different scenarios and examples of real people, other people who have gone through many things that I went through. I believe that anyone experiencing dissociation, regardless of the level of dissociation they have reached, will benefit from seeing experiences similar to their own explained and dissected. Very good book, very good writing. Rating:  - Clear plain language primer on "dissociative personality disorder" (DID).Stout (PhD., worked at Massachusetts' renowned McLean psychiatric hospital, associated to Harvard Medical School) wrote a deep book for the non specialist. It is true what Amazon reviewer says "it tends more to literary descriptions than proving facts scientifically". Like on page 118 on, with its leisurely prose about the John Gielgud's suite at Haiti, the same style for "atmosphere" at the famous mental hospital (p. 135-6), etc. If you like classic accounts of psychiatry like, say, Olivier Sacks, you'll read this book in a breeze, maybe on a Sunday afternoon, and probably will look for more. Do you wanted this book summed up in one sentence? Here's one by Daniel Jolley "darkgenius": "One cannot protect oneself (which is basically what dissociation consists of) and live life to the fullest at the same time". As the 3 "spotlight reviewers" attest, this book is useful for "everyday life", not only to understand "psychos as seen on TV" (which she at many occasions deals with, condescendingly, as portraying a misleading image of this disorder, making it more "wacky", consequently not letting us know about the intermediate stages). She takes a "subjectivist" epistemological view, made explicit at page 122: "we all live inside our own heads". Some may like it, I don't, but she doesn't dwell on this. Her theme on how fear hijacks our brains is more fully explained at her latest book: "The paranoia switch, how terror rewires our brains". Rating:  - Interesting; but deceptive front cover.From the title and cover of the book it is supposed to be about Multiple Personality Disorder, but really she takes it mostly in another direction - that of analyzing the various dissociative states common in people, such as driving to your destination and not even being aware of the drive cause you were deep in thought. As for the cases of Multiple Personality she actually quoted, one she said did not meet the qualifications for Multiple Personality Disorder, and all the ones she quoted the information about them was pretty generalized. In general I found this book to be a disappointment. I have read (much) better books on this subject than this book. |
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