Becoming One: A Story of Triumph Over Multiple Personality Disorder [Paperback]

Sarah E. Olson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1997

Accounts of Multiple Personality Disorder have usually been written by mental health professionals as texts or case studies. Now, in Becoming One, Sarah Olson has allowed us the rare privilege of entering her internal world in her first-person account of her journey from fragmentation to wholeness. Two little girls, the author and her sister, were routinely terrorized and assaulted over a period of years by a family friend. One grew up closed and withdrawn, the other angry and self-destructive. And, most painful of all, their common suffering resulted in estrangement from each other. Becoming One began as Olson's attempt to provide a written account of her memories for her sister as a means of reconciliation and healing. The author's courage and generosity in candidly sharing her remarkable experiences provide important insights into the world of dissociation. Here is at once a highly personal look into an individual life, the dynamics of a troubled family, and the healing power of the therapeutic process.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Several abused as a young girl, Sarah Olson began at age three to dissociate (to split herself into a number of "alters"). While internal personalities were an essential part of her survival from extreme trauma, Sarah was not herself fully cognizant of their existence until she underwent therapy with the gifted psychotherapist, Howard Asher. With Asher's support and guidance, Sarah eventually overcame numerous life obstacles and challenges to become fully integrated. Becoming One documents Sarah's four-year process of discovery and recovery. Utilizing letters she wrote to Asher, and transcripts from key audiotaped therapy sessions, Sarah created a book which offers a model of healing and hope to the many survivors of childhood abuse, whether or not they personally experience dissociation. Becoming One is an important contribution to the growing movement of survivors and their allies working to put an end to childhood sexual abuse. Becoming One is a hopeful book which both dignifies people with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and sensitizes the rest of us to what that means and what can be done. Highly recommended. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Trilogy Books; First Edition edition (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962387983
• ISBN-13: 978-0962387982
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #906,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the author of 'Becoming One: A Story Of Triumph Over Multiple Personality Disorder', and have maintained an online presence since 1993.

Each Friday, at my blog 'Third of a Lifetime', I post 'Best Tweets for Trauma and PTSD Survivors', an annotated compilation of links tweeted in the previous week. I also maintain the Dissociation Blog Showcase, an index of ~185 blogs which discuss dissociation primarily from a personal experience perspective.

I'm humbled and honored to announce that my Twitter account (@SarahEOlson2009) was selected as one of "50 Best Twitter Feeds for Psychology Majors" by Best Colleges Online.

Having survived a violent, secretive childhood, I know the craving for security, love, and hope that is so often missing in adult survivors' lives. I understand feeling crazy and continually misunderstood. I also know how hard it is to find help to move beyond the pain and daily challenges of trying to put a different life together. What I've learned over many years is that there is always hope. Always.

My premise is that 'becoming one' is an ongoing process that is continually coming into shape and focus. It requires diligence, honesty, and integrity to make it real.

It's a journey that does not have to be done alone, either. There are hundreds of great resources for trauma survivors and their supporters, many of them organized by category on my website. Be proactive, and be your own best advocate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it if only for the Foreword or Howard Asher's insights, October 29, 1997

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[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becoming One: A Story of Triumph Over Multiple Personality Disorder (Paperback)

If you are in any kind of distress, especially if you are MPD/DID and feel isolated, labeled, and misunderstood, and as someone else wrote here about this book "can't afford 250 dollars for a therapy session" - you can get an incredible opportunity to be inspired by Howard Asher's insights, wisdom, understanding of the phenomenon of MPD/DID and the human nature by reading this book. Asher wrote the foreword to this book and was the therapist who saved the author's life. Many of the author's therapy sessions with Asher are transcribed in this book and open for the reader a wide window into Asher's therapy method, philosophy, humanity, and insights. And he is truly inspiring. You will probably never get a chance to be his patient directly, but this book gets you as close as it gets, and it's a lot.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, October 16, 2002

By 

Meowzer "meowzer" (Epsom, NH USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Becoming One: A Story of Triumph Over Multiple Personality Disorder (Paperback)

This book gives incredible insight into the work required by both the therapist and the patient with DID. I cried for the little girls who were so brutally treated and then ignored by those who should protect, and for Sarah and her Alters as they struggled with the aspects of integration and the resulting consequences for each of them.

Becoming One is a book which reveals the internal struggles through transcripts from therapy sessions and diaries. Personal notes reveal the inside story and the wisdom gained from hindsight and the very hard work and courage that was needed to heal.

It was a lengthy search for me to obtain a copy of this book and it certainly was worth the effort. It has brought me strength as I begin my own journey, and hope which is such a necessity. I have immense admiration for Sarah Olsen for overcoming such horrors, physical and emotional pain, and for having the courage to come forth to help others. I recommend Becoming One for both therapists and for those who continue to suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars JIGSAW PUZZLE/MOSAIC, January 4, 2001

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BeatleBangs1964 (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Becoming One: A Story of Triumph Over Multiple Personality Disorder (Paperback)

Sarah Olson describes the abuse she suffered in early childhood and her amazing ability to "compartmentalize" herself in the form of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). She describes each of her separate "alters" fully and one gets a sense of her "alters" as distinct "individuals." Piecing Sarah back together is like piecing a puzzle or mosaic together. Once all the pieces are in place, you are left with a beautiful image.

Sterling work.