Body Scripture: A Therapist's Journal of Recovery from Multiple Personality

by Barbara Hope

Book by Hope, Barbara

199 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2000

Reviews

[Iamshadow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to find, because I assume the print run was small, and the copy I found needed spine repair before reading, but 100% worth it. Beautiful writing, really interesting exploration of the therapeutic process and transference, and a number of rarely-documented-in-print system experiences - a system with 100+ members, a system with at least one subsystem, and a system with system members who are themselves multiple. It's also a memoir that hasn't been ghostwritten or penned by the therapist. The author is a therapist/social worker by profession, but they are the patient. That this story is not filtered through an outsider's lens is so rare and important. This is a memoir that touches on the shape of traumas without being a litany of horrors described in graphic detail. It's more an exploration of the little shifts and changes that take place over time to rebuild connections within a person (or a system) going through therapy that make it possible for healthy attachment, deeper relationships, and an anchor in the present, all of which mean a more vibrant and fulfilling experience of life. It's a rare bird in the realm of trauma memoir and multiplicity memoir, and well worth getting hold of if you can.