PART ONE: THE "CLASSICS"

PART TWO: THE BACKLASH (and the backlash against the backlash

I've had a couple requests on this, so here it is, a recommended list of DID books (or DID-ish books) that I wish all multiples would read, even if they're on the opposite end of the multi spectrum.Why? Because a lot of multiples on the Internet only use Internet sources... and overwhelmingly, they use sources from just the past five to ten years (if you can get a proper source date on them at all). What your teacher used to tell you is true: those who don't remember history are doomed to repeat it. Online plurals are constantly reinventing the wheel, and nogoodniks will take advantage of people's ignorance to claim patent falsehood.A lot of people don't read these books because a lot of them are terrible. I won't pretend otherwise. They are boring, depressing, infuriating, or factually incorrect. But I'm not recommending these books for pleasure or even teaching what they intend, most of the time. You're not here to see yourself reflected in literature; you're here to learn your history and where all these trends and counter-trends online came from in the first place. It will make some effective bullshit-repellent. (And if you want the works that I have found more helpful personally, skip down to Part Three.)Optional books are listed as BONUS ROUNDs. You don't have to read them, but if you're feeling up to it, go for it! I've also put them in a general recommended reading order, and tried to stick with books that are easy to find. (And if they aren't, I offer my own copies.)There were multi cases in the 1700s and 1800s, but sadly I don't know a lot about them, and they're hard to find. So we're skipping ahead to the 70s, with the books that helped form the core of multi tropes in pop culture (and sadly, also among therapists), for a good while, leading to the backlash. Florid descriptions of abuse abound! SybilFlora Rheta Schreiber1973Possibly the most famous/infamous book on MPD ever.Because of its nigh-mythic status. Sybil became a virtual Bible on multi in the seventies. As far as I know, it created the genre of multi trauma-porn memoirs, which is why they all sound so similar to each other; they are all modeled on the developments of this one darn book. It also seems to have originated the idea of multiplicity being caused by chronic, grotesque abuse (unlike Eve, whose trauma was based on family injury and death)--yes, believe it or not, abuse wasn't always a part of the DID narrative! This book will likely infuriate you, but trust me, you need to read it to understand the trends and backlash of multi in the 80s and 90s. (On the plus side, by reading this book, you will learn to recognize its many many copycats, and be able to ignore them with impunity.)The Minds of Billy MilliganDaniel Keyes (AKA the Flowers for Algernon guy)1981The tale of Billy Milligan's system raping people, getting arrested, and being judged not guilty by reason of insanity.This book is optional, because in some ways it mirrors the Sybil trauma narrative. However, it might be of interest because it spawned its own imitators, including the recent movie Split, and was in itself very similar to the earlier (but much harder to find) book, the Five of Me, by Henry Dana Hawksworth. (Hawksworth's autobio, in fact, got a movie that came out the same year as The Minds of Billy Milligan; the works may have influenced each other.) Multi axe-murderers were a thing before this, but Billy Milligan and co. really seem to have helped solidify the trope of male multiples facing physical abuse (rather than sexual) and being violent in turn to others. (Again, this seems to predate the whole idea that abuse MUST be sexual to cause DID... though the abuse Milligan reports is plenty grotesque.) "10 People Who Were 74 People," from the Book of Lists #2God only knows. The book itself is credited to Wallace, Wallace, Wallechinsky, and Wallace.1980A list of the most well-known multiples at the time, back when Milligan was cutting edge news and hadn't gotten his book yet.First of all, it's super-short--like three pages from a small paperback that I transcribed for y'all, so you can clear it out super-fast. Also, this is honestly the best I've got right now as a quick, fast, pop culture depiction of multiplicity before it became associated entirely with gruesome abuse. There's nothing dark in it, so it might be a nice, light chaser after the grim darkness of the books around, and a nice look at how pop culture was perceiving all this.When Rabbit Howlsthe Troops for Truddi Chase1987The Troops' autobio about their trauma history, their system function, and trying to get their act together and go public to help fight abuse.Because The Troops, bless 'em, originated a good number of the tropes that multiples online use today. We all owe them a debt. They were notable for fighting integration adamantly, instead preferring to work cooperatively, and while their book is incoherent and hard to read, it's worth it. They are also one of the larger systems to have written one of these books; there system was of roughly a hundred, and they go in-depth about their system functioning and roles, which are a bit different than the smaller systems in prior books. As far as I can tell, every plural who hasn't been pressured to integrate owe the Troops a debt; up until this point, I don't know that anyone really accepted that one could live multiple and be okay with that. They also might've had a hand in the whole "multiples have magic powers" thing.The FlockJoan Frances Casey (with Lynn Wilson)1991The Flock's autobio, mixed with their therapist's notes, about discovering they're multiple, cooperating, and integrating.This is an optional book, because in many ways, it covers a lot of the same territory as books like Sybil and When Rabbit Howls. I mention it because it is lighter on the trauma talk than those books, focusing more on daily life, and because there is a section where the system describes forming a government and living cooperatively... right before they integrate and the book ends. It was one of our favorites as wee baby multis, and you might be able to glean a little from it. It still has a really, SUPER-codependent relationship between the Flock, their therapist, and her husband, though. (Namely, the 'reparenting' thing is discussed in depth, which will become important in the backlash later on.) It's still in print, in ebook and paper form.A Mind of My Own: Chris Costner Sizemore (AKA Eve)1989Sizemore's memoir about life after integration, going public about being Eve, and having to fight for the legal rights to her own life story.Sizemore was considered the classic case of MPD in the 50s; she was the subject of The Three Faces of Eve. But that tale is also one of medical exploitation; one of her system members signed away the rights to her life story to her therapists, they totally distorted it, and she had to sue to publish her own memoirs! Despite being a "classic case," when given her own words, she is anything but. She is adamant that she never experienced abuse, and that her system members were triggered by the accidents she witnessed, but not created by them. She is also one of the few people to discuss life after integration, and treats it in a more nuanced way than simply, "And then I was better, The End." After you read the "classics" above, read this to help break down the ideas of what DID/MPD simply must be. Might be good to realize that even the classics were shoehorned to be so by the folks writing the books.This section, I promise, will cure you of any fears that non-DID multiples had anything to do with people disbelieving in multiplicity; the backlash was overwhelmingly about abuse and repressed memory. As rates of diagnosed multiples suddenly skyrocketed, the mental health folks were in a bind. Had they truly missed a ton of horrifically abused multiples all these years? Were they overdiagnosing us? Also, we tended to have incredibly creepy, enmeshed relationships with our therapists, who were reparenting us, using drugs to help our recall, and selling books they wrote about us. We had become a status symbol. Backlash was inevitable.Elizabeth Loftus (member of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation) and Katherine Ketchum1991Loftus's discussion of memory, trauma, the weaknesses of eyewitness testimony, and how memory can be manipulated, on purpose or by accident.Loftus is one of the shining stars of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, and her research is what a lot of skeptics reference when arguing against multiplicity or recovered memory. If you're plural, you will encounter one of her arguments eventually, so you might as well do your homework and see what she says so you can fight it or analyze it more easily. For a chaser afterwards, feel free to read about some of the complaints about Loftus , including violating privacy and escaping an ethics investigation by resigning.Sybil ExposedDebbie Nathan (member of the National Center for Reason and Justice)2011Nathan's proclaimed debunking of the Sybil case, claiming that Sybil wasn't really multiple, and that multiplicity is framed by the women's issues of her time, with Schreiber and Sybil's therapist colluding to create a media phenomenon.This book is again, one of the books skeptics reference most. Better to just bite the bullet and make yourself familiar with Nathan's arguments, since again, you WILL encounter this eventually, especially since the book is still relatively new.Crazy TherapiesMargaret Thaler Singer (cult authority, NOT the birth control lady)1996Singer's discussion of suspicious therapy practices, including new ones with very little evidence to support them. (Including EMDR!)You can get away without this one, if you so choose, since I feel the above books cover a lot of the same territory. (Also this book doesn't seem available in ebook form.) This book came out right smack in the middle of the rise of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, so provides a convenient quick listing and sum up of a bunch of quack DID therapies. Also it might be informative for folks who thought EMDR was always reputable and considered awesome; it was not! "Crisis or Creation? A Systematic Examination of 'False Memory Syndrome'" , from The Journal of Child Sexual Abuse.Stephanie J. Dallam2001Exactly what it says on the tin. Article that examines the history of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation and whether False Memory Syndrome has enough evidence to support it.Because well, after reading folks like Loftus, you might as well read the folks who said she was wrong, and learn how the FMSF was a political organization pretending to be a scientific one. Also it's free to read online. (If by this point you're just feeling hopelessly confused and lost, join the club.)The Witch-Hunt NarrativeRoss E. Cheit (strong proponent of recovered memory, sued and won on the basis of his own)2014A five-hundred plus page clunker about the MacMartin preschool case and other legal cases involving abuse allegations in preschools and daycare centers.I know, I know, I'm sorry. I put this book as a bonus round just because it's the antithesis of what I want on this list; it's boring, depressing, hard-to-find, hard-to-understand, and long. But it's thorough, and helps break down the Memory Wars and the pop culture narratives that led to Satanic Panic and what actually happened. It is the only book like this that I have found, and if you can't stomach the cost or find it, contact me for an ebook version. If you can get through this monster, it's worth it. But I won't lie, it's rough. This book was not made for the layman.PART THREE: MULTIPLES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVESOkay, I feel parts 1 and 2 pretty much cover the multi history stuff most folks on the Internet don't bother with. Those are the bits I cared most about. But continuing onward, plurals were moving online and speaking for themselves by the mid-90s (with Usenet groups like alt.support.dissociation). So here are some other things, overlapping with and progressing from the backlash period, which I myself hope to read and learn from (but in many cases haven't gotten to yet; I'll note those with the word 'UNREAD').ATW (a multiple)2005The best self-help book I've seen on living multiple. Does NOT focus on trauma.The majority of queries I see from new baby multis about how to get their act together is covered in this book: getting to know your system, treating it with respect, building a headspace and mapping system members, time management, building co-consciousness, self-care, relating to others. If it doesn't work for you, then fine, but please just try it first. Yes, there's an annoying thing in the start from a shrink about how system members aren't people, but ATW themselves never make that claim. This book does not focus on trauma; it is not particularly intense or upsetting, compared to the rest of this list, and it focuses on working with your system, rather than against them.Amongst Ourselves: A Self-Help Guide to Living With Dissociative Identity DisorderAlderman and Marshall (two queer therapists, a multiple and her singlet partner)1998Exactly what it sounds like. Title says it all really.Honestly, this book is harder to find than got parts? and isn't as good, thus why it is optional. (Also it's not in ebook form.) If you DO choose to read it, do so after reading got parts?, because got parts? is the practice, while Amongst Ourselves is more the theory. Does have some stuff in the back for significant others, family members, and doctors, and a chapter on coming out that I recall being helpful.Many.1989-2012A complete archive of a newsletter made by and for multiples! (I admit, I haven't gotten to read it yet.)Ms. Wasnak, blessings upon her, made the whole archive free for everyone to read when she died in 2014. I dare say it'll be hard to find a more continuous record of multiples discussing their experiences, and I want to see how terminology and philosophy evolve over the course of twenty-plus years.Chunks of alt.support.dissociation Many1995-today! (Yes, it's STILL freakin' going!)A Usenet group (now yoinked by Google) made by dissociatives for dissociatives.Just from what I've skimmed through so far while looking for OTHER things, I get the sense that this group has a really devout userbase and its own very specific ways of doing things. It's a subculture I haven't spent much time in, and I'd love to learn about it to compare and contrast with the plural groups I have spent time in.The Anachronic Army2000-2003The earliest for-sure record I can find of a multiple explicitly denouncing and separating themself from the DID/MPD definition.This seems to be where a lot of the "healthy multiplicity" rhetoric comes from, online-wise, and seems to have been made specifically in backlash to the rules of alt.support.dissociation. I want to go through this site and compare and contrast to the rhetoric now. Also I want to check out their recommended mailing lists with similar philosophies, if any of them still exist.