CPTSD and Dissociative Disorder Resources

DID Books

• Brain Storm: A Life In Pieces – By Shelley Kolton MD – In Brain Storm, Dr. Shelley Kolton tells the story of a childhood marked by unimaginable abuse and the distinct parts her brain created to hold those memories and protect her. She balanced the demands of medicine, marriage and family as new parts – each one requiring her attention and care – emerged while gruelling therapy sessions consumed her days and nights. After twelve torturous years, she finally accepted that the alters colliding inside her brain had, in truth, saved her. Kolton, often using emails and text messages written by her alters, mixed with her own journal entries, paints an honest, intimate and at times humorous portrait of a woman living with DID, managing the inhabitants of her own creation. With memories so raw and real, she puts to rest any doubts as to the existence of multiple personalities. Brain Storm is the heartbreaking account of a mind, fragmented and broken, ultimately made whole by one woman’s incomparable strength and courage.
• Me, Myself & Them – By Dan Mooney – Though previously funny and charismatic, Denis struggles with even life’s basic interactions. When his ex-girlfriend returns to town, she is shocked at the change in him and she resolves to bring him back to his former self. Denis is forced to confront the adversaries with which he shares a mind.
• Becoming Yourself: overcoming Mind Control and Ritual Abuse – By Alison Miller – A guide in helping survivors understand that their symptoms are the consequences of their abuse, and advice on achieving stability through life’s difficult issues. The book addresses the reader that may be in a dissociative state by guiding through informational exercises toward healing with cooperation and communication within an inner community. 
• The Stranger In The Mirror – by Marlene Steinberg, Maxine Schnall – Dr. Steinberg shares fascinating case histories of Dissociative Identity Disorder with insights on how we respond to and overcome trauma. 
• Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders: DSM-V and beyond – By Paul F. Dell – The most recent scientific findings on Dissociative Identity Disorder are reported in an unprecedented publication that identifies the points of confusion and gaps in knowledge in current understanding of dissociative disorders. While clarifying previously undefined traits of dissociation, this book by Paul F. Dell both defines and redefines the field. 
• Amongst Ourselves: A Self-Help Guide to Living With Dissociative Identity Disorder – By Tracy, Ph.D. Alderman, Karen Marshall – Read through practical steps for coping and for emerging in greater self-awareness with the skills to lead a rewarding life. The authors explain what DID is and underline what causes the symptoms. Read practical suggestions for those living with and coming to terms with the condition. With a look at the positive aspects of DID, learn to manage behaviours and how to reach out and talk about what you are experiencing. 
• Breaking Free: My Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder – By Herschel Walker – An account told by Hershall Walker who is widely accepted to be one one the greatest football running backs. 
• The Dissociative Identity Disorder Sourcebook – By Deborah Bray Haddock – Following a long history of the media turning the lives of those with DID into chronicles, this sourcebook serves as a bridge between dissociated individuals and their therapists, families, or friends.  
• Got Parts? An Insider’s Guide to Managing Life Successfully with Dissociative Identity Disorder – By A.T.W. – The practical approach to person-centered therapies is a guide for adult survivors of childhood trauma. Master everyday life issues, self care and medical treatment through coping strategies and techniques. 
• The Sum of My Parts: A Survivor’s Story of Dissociative Identity Disorder – By Olga Trujillo – Olga recounts her experience of protecting her mind by numbing herself and splitting into distinct mental parts over a 10 year period in order to escape constant abuse. Follow Olga’s unforgettable triumph of recovery from Dissociative Identity disorder and follow her transition from a survivor to an advocate as she unearths childhood memories and parallel identities. 
• Recovery is my Best Revenge – By Carolyn Spring – A collection of essays are written from a number of perspectives and experiences of living with trauma-related dissociation. While evocative, raw, and disturbing, there are also profound insights, such as on shame, child abuse, and the ‘complex meanings of madness.’ Finish the journey through these pages, written by Carolyn,  that lead to Her determined vision of recovery,  and her path to what defines the soul-reaching title of her book, “Recovery is my best revenge.”
• Five Farewells – A Southern Life with Dissociative Identity Disorder – By Liz Elliott – Despite the series of hardships that led to her DID, Liz writes beautifully of her time here being one of evolution. In describing DID as just another way of living, her psychological truth is one of a girl’s dream-like qualities in her experiences with the disorder. Read and learn of her redemptive healing through therapy that leads to hard-won wisdom.

• Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder: A Guidebook for Survivors and Practitioners – A broad introduction to childhood trauma and its legacies, with a focus on dissociation and DID.