Review by Booklist Review
If two's company and three's a crowd, what's a hundred? Mayhem. In her astonishingly understated biography of life with dissociative identity disorder (DID), Noble tells a few of the more than 100 stories of her life. Born south of London to working-class parents who could not afford proper child care, Kim was left with unfit caregivers who repeatedly and brutally abused her. She gained a reputation as a chronic liar and a discipline problem of the first order. For Kim, life was a dizzying wheel of inexplicable mysteries as personalities would waltz into and out of her interior life, each making his or her own changes and keeping them a secret from the others. Even the child Kim had was news to other personalities years after her birth. Perhaps most surprising of all is that Kim (who prefers to be known as Patricia, the currently dominant personality) lives a normal life with her 14-year-old daughter. This is the best multiple-personality biography in a long time.--Chavez, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"Kim Noble" is a British mother and artist, but she does not really exist; she has been replaced by 20 "alters," or personalities created by dissociative identity disorder (DID, also known as multiple personality disorder). Before Noble turned three, sexual abuse fractured her mind irreparably. Patricia, the current dominant personality, writes this memoir. Patricia chronicles a childhood of lost time and confusion. After several suicide attempts, Noble spends years in treatment and institutions, beginning at age 14. Released in her 20s, Noble experiences normalcy (a job, her own apartment, a boyfriend) peppered with crises. Only in her 30s is she finally diagnosed with DID and slowly begins to understand her life. Discovering painting is transformative; her alters all have widely disparate styles, which quickly attract the attention of galleries and buyers. Most dramatically, Patricia learn that the little girl she has been caring for is actually her daughter, and she begins a difficult and ultimately successful custody battle. Readers share Noble's frustration; the sense of persecution that permeated her childhood, her constantly questioning the world she couldn't understand. Nonetheless, Noble paints a remarkable portrait of a fractured world slowly pieced together by a tenacious set of people. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Noble's story of living with dissociative identity disorder and of being misdiagnosed, misunderstood and adrift in society. The author's powerful memoir begins right from the dedication: "This book is dedicated to our much-loved daughter Aimee, the sunshine of my life, and our wonderful therapist for her footsteps in the sand." Noble isn't referring to a husband or partner with "our"--she's referring to herself. More specifically, herselves: Noble has more than 20 identified personalities, 14 of which are individually renowned artists with their own distinct styles and strengths. Throughout the book, the author switches between "our" and "my," heightening the connection of readers to the story. Growing up, her parents struggled with their own problems, as individuals and as a couple, which added to Noble's struggle with being overlooked while she found ways to compensate for the growing discord in her head. As the difficulties of adolescence compounded her challenges, the compensations became inadequate and she found herself--the self she identified as her primary personality at the time--awaking in the hospital more frequently. But little came of the hospitalizations. As Noble began to tentatively form connections with others, she found the ground under her feet shifting constantly: Who had she met? With whom did she do this activity, or that one? Which personality was responsible for the teenage misbehaviors? These and other similar questions form the core of the narrative. The main question is whether Noble was better served in the mental health system, or outside of it, and the answers she reaches trying to grow into adulthood and motherhood are at once jarring and deeply moving. ]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
