Shattered but Unbroken: Voices of Triumph and Testimony

by Valerie Sinason (Editor), Amelia Van der Merwe (Editor)

Overview

Shattered but Unbroken is an edited volume focusing on Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), which combines the narratives of survivors of ritual abuse with academic contributions on the causes, correlates and interventions applicable to DID. The book is divided into two distinct parts. Part 1 begins with the missing memoir of Anna, a survivor of ritual abuse. Anna chose not to publish her memoir for fear of retribution from her perpetrators. The plight of Anna is interwoven between all the contributions in the book, be they life writing or academic contributions. So too are the life writings of Annalise, writing under pseudonym. Instead of using Anna's memoir, the politics of anonymity is addressed by a range of survivors of ritual abuse, who write about their decision to use their real name in their narratives, or to use pseudonyms. Part 2 of the book contains academic contributions, which deal with the causes, correlates and interventions applicable to the most common response to ritual abuse, DID.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780429919138
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	310
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Valerie Sinason

Table of Contents

Prologue , Introduction , Voices , Remarks on the publication of detailed case studies , Commentary on life writing from survivors , Testimonies , Introduction to Part II , History of trauma-related dissociation, with a focus on dissociative identity disorder , Cross-temporal and cross-cultural perspectives on dissociative disorders of identity , "Dissociating dissociation"*—debates and controversies , Variations in identity alteration—a qualitative study of experiences of psychiatric patients with dissociative identity disorder , Dissociative identity disorder, culture, and memory , The psychiatric comorbidity of dissociative identity disorder: an integrated look , Dissociative identity disorder and its saturation with shame , What's different about ritual abuse and mind control , Reflections on the treatment of dissociative identity disorder and dissociative disorder not otherwise specified—a closer look at selected issues , Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

"Amelia van der Merwe and Valerie Sinason have pulled together a stellar group of authors who bravely confront the fact that in the most industrialized nations in the world there persists the idea that systematic mistreatment of children, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, including infanticide, is normal, desirable and unquestioned. For a child to survive such experiences, as is now well known, dissociation is essential. Stories of survival fill these remarkable pages, together with vital mappings of the traumatic journeys that have been navigated by so many brave souls - individuals who have survived, who have questioned, and who have moved towards integration and a robust joyful valuing of self and others. Mental health professionals of every stripe will find this book invaluable."--Howard Steele, PhD, Professor of Psychology, New School for Social Research, New York City

"This is a very important book. It demonstrates a passionate commitment to hearing the voices of people who are least likely to be heard, together with a depth of scholarship and debate across a number of disciplines. The contributors demonstrate the personal and intellectual courage to engage with subject material that is challenging. The implications of this book go far beyond the question of dissociative identity disorder itself; each chapter asks the reader to think about what is at stake in trying to understand and help people whose stories may be very difficult to hear, and to bear."--Leslie Swartz, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

From the Publisher