Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities

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Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 1,494 ratings · 257 reviews

One afternoon in 1989, Karen Overhill walks into psychiatrist Richard Baer’s office complaining of vague physical pains and depression. Odder still, she reveals that she’s suffering from a persistent memory problem. Routinely, she “loses” parts of her day, finding herself in places she doesn’t remember going to or being told about conversations she doesn’t remember having....more One afternoon in 1989, Karen Overhill walks into psychiatrist Richard Baer’s office complaining of vague physical pains and depression. Odder still, she reveals that she’s suffering from a persistent memory problem. Routinely, she “loses” parts of her day, finding herself in places she doesn’t remember going to or being told about conversations she doesn’t remember having. Her problems are so pervasive that she often feels like an impersonator in her own life; she doesn’t recognize the people who call themselves her friends, and she can’t even remember being intimate with her own husband.

Baer recognizes that Karen is on the verge of suicide and, while trying various medications to keep her alive, attempts to discover the root cause of her strange complaints. It’s the work of months, and then years, to gain Karen’s trust and learn the true extent of the trauma buried in her past. What she eventually reveals is nearly beyond belief, a narrative of a childhood spent grappling with unimaginable horror. How has Karen survived with even a tenuous grasp on sanity?

Then Baer receives an envelope in the mail. It’s marked with Karen’s return address but contains a letter from a little girl who writes that she’s seven years old and lives inside of Karen. Soon Baer receives letters from others claiming to be parts of Karen. Under hypnosis, these alternate Karen personalities reveal themselves in shocking variety and with undeniable traits—both physical and psychological. One “alter” is a young boy filled with frightening aggression; another an adult male who considers himself Karen’s protector; and a third a sassy flirt who seeks dominance over the others. It’s only by compartmentalizing her pain, guilt, and fear in this fashion—by “switching time” with alternate selves as the situation warrants—that Karen has been able to function since childhood.

Realizing that his patient represents an extreme case of multiple personality disorder, Baer faces the daunting task of creating a therapy that will make Karen whole again. Somehow, in fact, he must gain the trust of each of Karen’s seventeen “alters” and convince them of the necessity of their own annihilation.

As powerful as Sybil or The Three Faces of Eve, Switching Time is the first complete account of such therapy to be told from the perspective of the treating physician, a stunningly devoted healer who worked selflessly for decades so that Karen could one day live as a single human being.

From the Hardcover edition.(less)

Hardcover, 368 pages

Published October 2nd 2007 by Crown

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Lists with This Book

The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes

I'm You, He is You, I'm Him- Books on Multiple Personalities (or Disassociative Identity Disorder)

4th out of 83 books — 47 voters

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Women and Mental Illness

90th out of 403 books — 910 voters

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Jan 09, 2011 Christina White rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, nonfiction

I finished this book last night at 2 AM, I couldn't put it down. This has been the most twisted, disturbing and crazy book I have ever read. I rated four stars, but I wouldn't recommend it to the ladies in my book club! I think I might be sick in the head lol, but I was so fascinated by this book, the same way I am fascinated when I see a fatal car accident on the side of the highway. The things that happened to Karen when she was younger were hard to believe and it is also hard to believe that...more

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Mar 08, 2008 AJ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: one-of-my-favorites, favorites

Horrifying story. Fantastic book. My compliments to Dr. Baer for his patience, sacrifice, and success. My deepest regards, admiration, and respect for Karen Overhill.

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Oct 13, 2007 Jessietaylortanner rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hannah, Robin, Rachelle, Shell

Shelves: non-fiction, bio

Although the details in this book are nauseatingly graphic, I found great hope and peace in it. The trauma and abuse that was suffered by this woman is beyond any normal person's understanding- the mind simply cannot reach far enough into the depths of hell to fathom such torture. Seriously, it's that intense. While reading, I found I was often grimacing, my face screwed up and only half looking at the words, trying to shield myself from it. That said, the indomitable will of the woman ('Karen')...more

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Oct 10, 2007 RJ McGill rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Imagine pretending to be asleep in order to overhear conversations between your family and friends, so that you can learn your mother's name, or where your husband works. Karen was continually searching for ways to hide her obvious insanity until a desperate call to a crisis hot-line in 1989, led her to Dr. Richard Baer. The complexities of the human mind have never before been revealed with such detail, dimension and compassion. Horrific, unimaginable abuse had forced Karen to create different...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Shana rated it 3 of 5 stars

In this true story, Dr. Bear spends a decade working with a woman who was severely abused since she was a baby. Eventually, it is revealed that she has dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder). In order to cope with the horrific abuse inflicted upon her, Karen (the patient) had 17 alter egos that took over and handled her day-to-day living.

This book is an account of the therapy and the process through which Karen was able to integrate her various alter ego...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Mike King rated it 1 of 5 stars

There were many problems with this book. The one I noticed first was composition. Dr. Baer is a terrible writer. He has a tendency to repeat words within the same sentence. I can't remember how many times a sentence would start out with the word "Suddenly," only to have the same word appear toward the end of the sentence, as in "Suddenly, X shook her head and suddenly changed her mind." Furthermore, Baer tends to repeat words and phrases - particularly descriptive terms - in three or four consec...more There were many problems with this book. The one I noticed first was composition. Dr. Baer is a terrible writer. He has a tendency to repeat words within the same sentence. I can't remember how many times a sentence would start out with the word "Suddenly," only to have the same word appear toward the end of the sentence, as in "Suddenly, X shook her head and suddenly changed her mind." Furthermore, Baer tends to repeat words and phrases - particularly descriptive terms - in three or four consecutive sentences. This makes for a boring, repetitive read.

Baer also writes with a sense of complete emotional detachment. I understand that, in practice, psychologists and psychiatrists need to be emotionally detached from their patients, so that they can give that patient the best treatment without feeding his or her mental illness. However, Baer maintains this emotional distance throughout the book. In moments that are supposed to be frightening or disturbing, such as when one of the personalities is talking about ritual abuse and its desire to kill others and itself, the narration is flat and boring. For all the depth of emotion displayed in this book, Dr. Baer could have been napping instead of treating an extraordinarily difficult patient.

Finally, I'm convinced the book is a hoax. The story relies heavily on the patient's recovered memories or ritual Satanic abuse as a child. This is reminiscent of the recovered memories scandals of the 1980s, where hundreds of children "recovered" memories of Satanic abuse, hundreds of families were destroyed by the revelations, and years later it came out that the recovered memories were hoaxes that had been accidentally planted during hypnosis. I'm not saying the character's abuse could never have occurred, just that I find the presentation suspicious. It may not even have been an intentional hoax - suggestion is a very powerful thing, especially when the patient is under hypnosis, and it is entirely possible that Dr. Baer could have accidentally suggested a possibility of MPD, which resulted in the patient displaying such suspicious memories and symptoms. Then there's the fact that Dr. Baer can't keep his story straight. He gets dates and locations jumbled, saying that something occurs before something else, but then providing dates that would necessitate that it occurs AFTER, not before, the other thing. Then there's the doctor's breach of ethics - treating a patient for free, in his own home, rather than in an office. Then there is the fact that I've looked up Dr. Baer online. The photos and resume all matched the author's information on the back of the book, so I know I was referring to the correct doctor. Dr. Baer had terrible patient reviews - I couldn't find a single patient who said they would recommend him. The reviews said he was rude, was not punctual, and was generally uncaring. Lastly, the patient from the book supposedly has a Twitter feed. She advertises herself as "I am Karen, from the book "Switching Time" author Richard Baer." She also has a Facebook page. She appears to use both pages to advertise "Switching Time," Dr. Drew, articles from psychology magazines, and other such media. Her pages seem more like a marketing ploy than the social networking sites of a real person.

This book was a quick, easy read, but that does not save it. I wish I could have the time I spent reading it returned to me, so that I might read something better.(less)

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Jan 21, 2012 Frank Tibbetts rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have always been fascinated with multiple personality disorder, or dissociative identity order as it's called now.
Karen Overhill has spent her life in fragmentation. Her seventeen seperate personalities are the result of her traumatic and severely abusive childhood. Dr. Baer takes us on a journey through Karen's horrifying childhood. Karen's alters describe to us, the atrocities she suffered at the hands of her parents.
My heart truly went out to her in this wonderfully descriptive story. Kar...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Shawna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir

This book started out good but then started to d-r-a-g once the reintegrations began. The doctor could have summarized most of those. It is actually the same feeling I had while watching "Sybil." It felt like I was watching that movie for the 11 years it took her to integrate. I suppose this would be fascinating reading for someone studying psychology and needed a clinical step-by-step for dealing with a patient they believed suffered from this affliction. I also (forgive me for being cynical) h...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Wendi rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what to think of this book. It wasn't terribly well written; however, it's not necessarily a book for entertainment value.

I do appreciate that Dr. Baer admitted when he wasn't sure that all the stories of abuse were true. I have read quite a few stories of survival. It's astounding the shape sexual abuse can take. It's Karen's tales of ritual abuse and Satan worship that sends up the red flags - it is true or not. Were all those people involved? There were quite a few people that we...more

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May 16, 2009 Nancy rated it 1 of 5 stars

This reads as two parts Jerry Springer and one part self-indulgent, self-important indulgence on the part of the doctor and author, Richard Baer.

It is fascinating, in the deepest sense of the word, to read about the patient's family history. I'm not squeamish, and am not repelled by the details, but the patient and her history serve only as a backdrop to the doctor's feelings and thoughts. It is rather as if he's saying to us over dinner "Ooo, I have the freakiest patient! You would not believe...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Katrina rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really am not sure if I can say I 'like' this book or not. The topic of multiple personalities is an intriguing one and this book is definitely intriguing.

The first part of the book is the 'diagnosis phase' and I nearly stopped reading the book before this phase ended. i found the 'voice' of the Author/Dr. during this section to be a bit conceited and self-important. This section was almost more about how wonderful he was than a reflection of the patient. This 'voice' changed fairly drastical...more I really am not sure if I can say I 'like' this book or not. The topic of multiple personalities is an intriguing one and this book is definitely intriguing.

The first part of the book is the 'diagnosis phase' and I nearly stopped reading the book before this phase ended. i found the 'voice' of the Author/Dr. during this section to be a bit conceited and self-important. This section was almost more about how wonderful he was than a reflection of the patient. This 'voice' changed fairly drastically in the 2nd half of the book and the Dr. was portrayed more humble and definitely more respectful and courteous of his patients condition. This book was apparently written from notes compiled over 18 years. That 18 year progression of notes may explain the transition from a cocky young man to a more seasoned and humble Dr. In the later pages.

Throughout the book the childhood (and adult) trauma that caused Karen's personality splits are described with great detail. These trauma's are so horrific as to actually be unbelievable. I find it implausible that the scars from such repeated physical trauma would be unnoticed for nearly 4 decades and that she should even be capable of physically bearing children (she had 2). This was a child who attended school, was involved in sports and activities, attended public Church functions, had a job as an adult, married and had children. It is unbelievable that the horrific physical torture (committed by many different people) was real and unnoticed by the public around her. She had a few surgery's as a child, had been hospitalized a few times and had even given birth in a hospital. This is a woman who supposedly had pieces of her skin cut off during ritualistic abuse (to just scratch the surface of the abuse), and had severe trauma done to her reproductive organs - yet none of the Doctor's who operated on her or gave her Gyn exams noticed? Not likely. After making it through the description of 2 or 3 'events' that make Stephen King look like a writer of children's books, I skipped over EVERY other description of the torture - picking up only enough keywords such as 'fish hooks', 'hammers' and 'clamps' to get the gist.

I did find the identification of the Alters fascinating and actually enjoyed reading about the Alters. The Author did a good job of depicting them in such a way as to engage the reader. I found myself wanting to finish the book, in spite of the problems mentioned above, so that I could learn more about the Alters. The integration process is the best part of the book and is the readers reward for making it through (or skipping) the truly disturbing depictions of torture.

I'm not sure that I accept the validity of this story and I truly think it could have been told with less graphically depicted violence of a small child. (less)

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Aug 09, 2009 Shelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: borrowed-from-the-library, finished-in-2009, non-fiction

I've always found multiple personality disorder to be a fascinating topc to read about, and was glad to see my library had a copy of this in when I went hunting for it.

Knowing it is written by the doctor that treated the patient, rather than by the patient herself, makes it a little more interesting to read for me. I rather liked having his thought process outlined and how he reacted to each alter as they were presented to him. I also really enjoyed the fact that he included actual copies of the...more

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Jun 15, 2009 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

I'm not sure how to rate this book as I can't really say I "liked" it. It was incredibly disturbing, graphically detailing the horrific systematic physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and torture of a little girl for years. I was disgusted by the evil and depravity that led so many adults to hurt her in so many ways for their enjoyment, and also by the willful ignorance of so many other adults in her life who could have made a difference and didn't. It was inspiring reading of Karen's strength...more I'm not sure how to rate this book as I can't really say I "liked" it. It was incredibly disturbing, graphically detailing the horrific systematic physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and torture of a little girl for years. I was disgusted by the evil and depravity that led so many adults to hurt her in so many ways for their enjoyment, and also by the willful ignorance of so many other adults in her life who could have made a difference and didn't. It was inspiring reading of Karen's strength and courage to accept and unravel these dark, unspeakable events so she could start to heal. It was fascinating to learn how the human mind is capable of adapting and functioning under unbearable pain and stress and to be led though the decade-long process of merging her personalities.

Dr. Baer's almost inhuman commitment to this patient (she was the only one he kept when he closed his private practice and he saw her at his home after he ended the lease on his office space) floored me. He seemed to maintain an appropriately professional doctor/patient relationship while gaining the trust of all 17 personalities, but I wondered at the toll on his personal life. After several years, he agreed to see her for no charge because of the negative associations money held for her. In addition to their scheduled appointments, he spent hours and hours on the phone with her. While he didn't go into much detail, his marriage suffered because of this commitment and eventually ended, though I'm sure there were other factors. His devotion is laudable and he was obviously instrumental in her healing (I'm sure that moving her care to someone else would have set her back) but it makes me wonder where the line should be for physicians treating their patients. Not to cast aspersions on his intentions, but I also wondered how much of it was his true altruistic desire to help her and how much was his professional fascination with her case.

As for the book itself, I would have liked a more general background on multiple personality disorder (MPD) at some point to provide a better framework for Karen's situation, though I recognize that hers was an extreme case.(less)

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Apr 11, 2013 kathleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

While I found this book interesting, I had an underlying concern about credibility. I realize the patient identity needs to be protected, but there appears to be no efforts to substantiate whether this is true or not. There are so many gaps such as it is hard to believe she would stay with her abusive husband through the 18 years of this therapy, or why aren't he and her children involved in her treatment. I've tried to find reviews regarding it and mainly find his wensite which is like asking W...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Lauren Ruth rated it 5 of 5 stars

I learned so much from this book. My hat is off to the phenomenal achievement it documents. Faced with unrelenting terror from such a young age, this girl not only survived, she developed the kind, loving, generous, and sensitive aspects of herself by creating 17 distinct personalities.

The world considers multiple personality disorder a disease, but in this case, I think it was a truly creative response to shattering circumstances. Living a life the rest of us can barely imagine, this kid found...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Resti rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

pertama tama, ini buku paling mengerikan dan paling melelahkan plus buku yang paling lama aku baca.
perlu waktu 2 minggu untuk menyelesaikan buku ini.bukan karena buku ini enggak bagus. karena aku jelas-jelas kasih 5bintang buat buku ini. tapi karena buku ini terlalu berat dan mengerikan buatku. jadi bacanya mesti sedikit sedikit.

buku ini bercerita tentang Karen yang saat masih kecil mengalami banyak hal buruk akibat kekejaman ayah dan kakeknya, serta ketidakpedulian ibunya. sehingga untuk mengh...more pertama tama, ini buku paling mengerikan dan paling melelahkan plus buku yang paling lama aku baca.
perlu waktu 2 minggu untuk menyelesaikan buku ini.bukan karena buku ini enggak bagus. karena aku jelas-jelas kasih 5bintang buat buku ini. tapi karena buku ini terlalu berat dan mengerikan buatku. jadi bacanya mesti sedikit sedikit.

buku ini bercerita tentang Karen yang saat masih kecil mengalami banyak hal buruk akibat kekejaman ayah dan kakeknya, serta ketidakpedulian ibunya. sehingga untuk menghindari rasa sakit yang dideritanya, tanpa sadar ia menciptakan pribadi pribadi lain dalam dirinya untuk menjalani kehidupan sehari harinya.

cerita buku ini diawali saat Karen sadar dari kelelahannya pasca melahirkan anak keduanya (kalo gak salah. udah lama banget baca buku ini. dan enggak sanggup baca ulang), ia tidak ingat apa apa. tidak kenal siapa pun, bahkan suami dan orang tuanya pun dia tidak kenal.
karena merasa depresi dia pun memutuskan untuk mendatangi seorang psikiater, Dr.Richard Baer .

nah melalui kesabaran Dr Richard Baer inilah mulai terkuak satu per satu kepridaian Karen yang lain. dimulai dari sebuah surat dengan tulisan bulat bulat milik anak perempuan bernama Claire. kemudian Katerine, Holdon, Karen 2 dan 3, Julie, si pemarah, dan lain lain.
mereka semua muncul dari penderitaan yang dialami Karen. mulai dari pemerkosaan oleh teman teman ayahnya, siksaan pada alat kelaminnya (maap), belum lagi pukulan dan sebagainya. mereka semua terus hidup dalam diri karen. dan sering mengambil alih tubuhnya. sehingga Karen sering kehilangan waktu.

ketabahan Richard Baer sangat mengagumkan. walaupun aku enggak bisa enggak sedih pas tau kalo Dr Baer cerai dengan istrinya. tapi dia enggak meninggalkan tanggung jawabnya pada karen. salut dah.

buku ini penuh dengan kekerasan. jadi enggak sekali atau dua kali aku harus berhenti baca buku ini saking ngerinya. dan benar benar bikin merinding dan bikin capek.
rasanya badan ini sakit semua tiap kali baca bagian penyiksaannya. soalnya digambarkan secara jelas. detil banget setiap kejadiannya tuh jadinya walopun udah selesai baca buku ini, masih aja tebayang bayang.

aku kasih 5 bintang untuk buku ini. karena, walaupun bukan tipe buku kesukaanku, tapi bikin aku benar benar penasaran dan image Karen serta Dr.Baer bener-bener nempel di ingatanku.
dan aku jadi mikir, jangan jangan aku jg punya kepribadian yang lain. hahaha.. semoga enggak. sudah cukup sulit punya 1 kepribadian tanpa perlu tambahan yang lain lain.

intinya, ak suka buku ini :)(less)

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Aug 07, 2010 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Whenever I read a book involving multiple personalities, The Minds of Billy Milligan, When Rabbit Howls, etc, my first response is always - no way, they have to be making this up. However, with this book, Switching Time, Richard Baer makes the trauma that Karen Overhill endured come across as convincing and with her experiences explains how a multiple disorder takes form and how each part of the main, takes on the duties that it was designed for.

The reader is first introduced to Karen during her...more Whenever I read a book involving multiple personalities, The Minds of Billy Milligan, When Rabbit Howls, etc, my first response is always - no way, they have to be making this up. However, with this book, Switching Time, Richard Baer makes the trauma that Karen Overhill endured come across as convincing and with her experiences explains how a multiple disorder takes form and how each part of the main, takes on the duties that it was designed for.

The reader is first introduced to Karen during her first meeting with Baer first in January 1989, when she came to his Chicago office complaining of depression and suicidal feelings. During her initial meetings, she begins to recount her bouts of lost memory. Ending up in locations that she does not remember, total strangers that seem to know her, waking up in the morning and her house cleaning is done. As time and therapy progress, Dr. Baer begins to suspect that there is a personality break and with time and hypnosis, 17 individual personals are introduced and explain their individual function in Karen's life.

Parts of the story are hard to fathom, how can a personality break off when Karen is a mere infant herself. How can an infants mind separate horrific childhood abuse and break off to develop an alter to take the abuse? If that is possible, it just does not make sense to my mind.

As each personality comes forward, letters are written and pictures are drawn that show how individual each "person" really is. By the end, the reader has come to know each child and adult and when they are integrated, it is like watching a friend leave. Not all personalities are likeable, not all are beneficial, but by the end, Karen is integrated into a whole person that just might be able to handle all that has happened and to one day be able to acknowledge and accept what had happened to her.

Though the middle bogged down a bit and parts seemed a bit too repetitious, over all the book was quite interesting. The study and science of multiple personality disorder, or dissociative identity disorder, are still debated, but books like help the lay person to understand how the trauma of early abuse can cause the mind to break into parts to deal with the whole.
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Oct 11, 2009 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-books

I'm not really sure how to rate this book. I had a hard time putting it down - it is a fascinating story, and Baer's description of how his patient, Karen, had created so many alternate personalities and how they functioned in different areas of her life was intriguing.

It is also a harrowing story. Karen created her alternate personalities to cope with truly horrific abuse. I found myself repeatedly not wanting to believe her stories of what happened - not because she isn't credible, but becaus...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Christina White

Shelves: biography_misc, 2011

What makes this book truly engrossing is that it is a true story that both doctor and patient were brave enough to share with the world. I found the account disturbing, gripping and fascinating. As the story begins to unfold I was shocked and horrified by the descriptions of the ritualistic and debasing abuse Karen survived in childhood. Through the discovery process of her multiple personalities, the focus really becomes about how these different people inside her were created and process of he...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Jaquilyn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

This is one of the most incredible non-fiction books I have ever read. I had to continuously remind myself that this is a TRUE story.

The title speaks for itself, but essentially, this is a story of a woman (Karen) and her therapist (Dr. Baer) discovering that she has 17 separate personalities and innumerable events from her life that she has no memory of. You go through the therapeutic process with Karen and Dr. Baer and learn of the utterly horrific events that lead to Karen's dissociative ide...more

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Aug 31, 2008 Karlyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book.
Sometimes it was hard to read due to detailed images of child abuse.
I like that Richard Baer was so honest.
I had to take notes throughout to keep everyone straight.

I would recommend this book.

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Apr 01, 2013 AJ rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: bio-memoir, psych-neuro

I struggled with how many stars to give this one. I love the topic and am fascinated by it, and it wasn't poorly written... but I just never really got into it. It was extremely repetitive and not terribly exciting.

I didn't like the author's "voice" very much, though I did get used to it as the book went along. I did learn a lot of interesting things about the nuances of psychologist behavior. The author was pretty good about describing the decisions he made in treatment and why he made them, wh...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Craig rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir, non-fiction

I was under the impression that MPD/DID was either not real, misdiagnosed, or incredibly rare. I was under this impression because my Abnormal Psychology professor barely covered it and made some dismissive comments in regards to its authenticity. This book really did not help my credibility because this woman's level of abuse and torture seemed so extreme and encompassing it was hard to even imagine. Though alarm bells occasionally go off as some things are not fully explained/questioned you do...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Dale Kiefer rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book was amazing. In the beginning I was skeptical of Dr. Baer and I wasn't sure I'd like his narration of the process, but as I read along I could understand him better. Just as I learned to understand Karen and her alters. It's almost funny how Karen, the alters, Dr. Baer, and myself [the reader] all became sort of sad once the integration started. This, I suppose, was because the alters were all different people with positive and negative traits that made them so unique. Everybody develo...more

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Sep 09, 2011 Nik rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone interested in multiple personalities.

Shelves: audio-books

**SPOILERS**

This was one heck of a ride. Dr. Baer and Karen went through a decade of psychotherapy to integrate all 17 alters only to have bittersweet feelings of loss and triumph at the end. I teared up alittle when the last alter was intergrated. I admit, like Baer and Karen, I was attached to the alters. I felt for both Baer and Karen the whole time. I enjoyed this book from the psychiatrist's POV. It was nice to learn that even a learned, trained man could "wing it" at times in the face of s...more

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Aug 18, 2011 Kristin rated it 5 of 5 stars

This may be the best book I've read all year. I picked it up at my gym's book exchange because I like medical books, though psychiatry books tend to be dry and aren't always my favorite. This one though, was anything but dry and boring, and every day when I had to put it down, it was difficult to do because I wanted to see what happened next.
Switching Time is a true story, though the names of all real people, excluding the doctor, were changed for privacy reasons, which chronicles the years of t...more This may be the best book I've read all year. I picked it up at my gym's book exchange because I like medical books, though psychiatry books tend to be dry and aren't always my favorite. This one though, was anything but dry and boring, and every day when I had to put it down, it was difficult to do because I wanted to see what happened next.
Switching Time is a true story, though the names of all real people, excluding the doctor, were changed for privacy reasons, which chronicles the years of therapeutic treatment experienced by one of Dr. Baer's patients. What makes Karen unique in Dr. Baer's practice is that her mind is inhabited by 17 different 'alters', personalities created in her mind to deal with a highly traumatic life. The book is not for the faint of heart, as once the alters start telling Karen's story, it becomes clear she was the victim of many forms of abuse at the hands of her grandfather, father, and later, her husband.
To be honest, the story seems too unbelievable to be true, yet the completeness of the story when the 17 parts are brought together makes it impossible to fathom that anyone could have created this as a fictional tale and figure out 17 different people to experience one lifetime, each completely different and necessary. Baer supplements his writings with actual notes and drawings brought to him at the appointments by Karen that were done by the alters and are completely foreign to Karen. Not all of them write to Dr. Baer, but each that does has a distinct handwriting despite the hand doing the writing being Karen's. So fascinating to me.
As the book progresses, it becomes clear to Dr. Baer that while each alter is contributing to making Karen presentable to society, each brings its own issues that prevent Karen from leading a
truly functional life. For example, events experienced while one alter is 'out' (i.e. being the one directing Karen's moves), it only has memory of what was done in previous times when it was out and possibly what other alters have 'told' it in a literal meeting of the mind. So Sidney, an alter in the form of a 5 year-old boy with a stealing habit, will swipe something from a store then go back 'in' so that Katherine, the adult female alter who handles finances, can pay for Karen's purchases. Katherine will stil be out when Karen takes her car keys out of her purse and finds what Sidney stole, but will have no idea that Sidney was out and shoplifted.
While Dr. Baer has never tried it, he reads up on integrating these alters and thinks it may be Karen's only hope for a normal life. Basically, he hypnotizes Karen, in which state he can talk to any alter that wants to come out, and eventually has each alter merge itself with Karen's body, as seen by the mind. The biggest roadblock is that with each integration, Karen learns the memories and experiences of each alter and has to adjust to up to 30 years of memories suddenly flooding in, including those of the abuse which were held by only a couple of the alters.
Overall, this book provided enlightenment into a condition I'd heard of (multiple personality disorder) but never researched. Now, I would love to read more like this because I am truly curious about the mind's way to partition itself in these patients. (less)

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Nov 08, 2012 Marissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

The issue of whether or not multiple personality disorder actually exists is a very heated topic within psychiatric/psychological circles. Despite whichever camp you may find yourself in, this book is a harrowing read--and by that same token, sometimes beggars belief. Filled with tales of the most horrific abuse you can possibly imagine, this is a prime example as to exactly why so many mental health professionals don't buy DID/MPDD. I'm not saying that I think the woman in this story made up ev...more

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Mar 27, 2008 Books Ring Mah Bell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-med-psych

This is the most disturbing book I have ever read. It makes the childhood from "a child called it" look like a day at Disneyland. Awful. Engrossing. wow...

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Dec 30, 2012 Nadine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Anybody who is interested in psychology and human behavior will find "Switching Time" to be an interesting read. The book details the story of a severely abused woman who developed 17 personalities in order to cope with her pain. The book is written in a very easy to read fashion and once you start it's hard to put it down. At times it gets hard to read about the abuse though and it's almost impossible to understand how anyone could hurt a person like that.
On the other hand I found it very inter...more

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May 04, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Quite interesting. This is one of the few books which actually give you a true idea of the horrible abuse which led to the splinterings into multiple personalities. It was horrifying but it helped to explain why it would happen. Other books just hinted or were afraid to say. My heart broke for the poor woman to have been subjected to this abuse as a child and I felt a bit vindicated to hear that one of the abusers killed himself because he was so ashamed. He admitted that he never thought it wou...more

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