Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Adele, et. al., by Adele R. Fors

Adele et. al.,: Jehovah's Witnesses, Hells Angels, Serial Killers, Dissociative Identity Disorder... and a 14-year-old Run-Away.  2011: Smashwords Edition ebook, 165 pps.

Adele grew up in a Jehovah's Witness family.  There were problems.  Her father was undemonstrative and pre-occupied with Kingdom Hall Elder matters.  Her mother was unhappy with this and also unable to reach Adele emotionally.  When Adele was fourteen years old, she was disfellowshipped.

For several years Adele hung out with various outlaw bikers, hooked up with a few men, and became a prostitute of her own volition.  At seventeen, she turned up pregnant and went crawling back to the Kingdom Hall to beg forgiveness.  She progressed into adulthood and pointedly identified that she had other personalities inside of her.  She got into psychiatric treatment and a bad marriage, had jobs and lost the last one, was in University.  And she was once again disfellowshipped.

sapphoq reviews says:  I've known a few folks who were diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder [what used to be called Multiple Personality Disorder].  Although Adele alluded to this diagnosis in her ebook and named several members of her system, I was unable to get a good feel for what her different personas were like nor for the transition between them.  This is vastly different from my experience with D.I.D. acquaintances.  Their personas had distinct personalities and not just distinct ages.  The other memoirs that I've read about D.I.D. folk were convincing in their descriptions of their alters.  Adele's descriptions were not.  
     At the same time, I must admit that I have zero professional qualifications in respect to dissociative disorders and I've never met Adele.  After M.P.D. became a controversial diagnosis, its' name got changed.  Even so, the arguments over it did not cease publicly or privately.  Forgive me audience if I am somewhat skeptical over the whole D.I.D. thing.
     I do know that it is an act of bravery when anyone talks about their psychiatric symptoms.  Adele certainly is brave, and a survivor of a bunch of really traumatic stuff like multiple rapes.  I was saddened to discover that she was disfellowshipped [the first time] at the age of fourteen and therefore effectively thrown out of her parents' home.
     Adele et. al. did not totally sustain my interest.  Thus I find I cannot recommend this book.

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