The Sum of My Parts: A Survivor's Story of Dissociative Identity Disorder
By the first day of kindergarten, Olga Trujillo had already survived years of abuse and violent rape at the hands of her tyrannical father. Over the next ten years, she would develop the ability to numb herself to the constant abuse by splitting into distinct mental “parts.” Dissociative identity disorder (DID) had begun to take hold, protecting Olga’s mind from the tragic realities of her childhood.
In The Sum of My Parts, Olga reveals her life story for the first time, chronicling her heroic journey from survivor to advocate and her remarkable recovery from DID. Formerly known as multiple personality disorder, DID is defined by the presence of two or more identities. In this riveting story, Olga struggles to unearth memories from her childhood, and parallel identities—Olga at five years old, Olga at thirteen—come forth and demand to be healed. This brave, unforgettable memoir charts the author’s triumph over the most devastating conditions and will inspire anyone whose life has been affected by trauma.
Reviews (222)
Best Book
I am so sorry for what u went thru. I had to put this book down so many x. I could not believe someone could do this to their child. My mother mentally touted me. I was the oldest girl in a family of 3 younger brothers. I was accused of everything that went wrong.It was always my fault, my mother took everything out on me. I started nursing school when I was 21. My mother started kicking me out of the house @ 13, I had to fend for myself. I worked,starting @ 13.she wasn't interested in my nursing school n neither were my brothers. I re when I got capped(it was a big show @a church, I had invited her-every time the door opened I looked to see if it was her-it wasn't. My graduation was 12/17/73 she was killed by a drunk driver on 12/16/73 I have no recollection of my graduation. I didn't even feel bad when she died. That's enough. This book brought all that up again after 46 year. It was very cathartic. God Bless You. I loved your book.
The Sum of My Parts
My husband had read this book at the request of his therapist because of the trauma he endured during his childhood. He is male who was raped by his older sister from the age of two until he was thirteen and she married then moved away. She invited her girlfriends to participate as well. My husband was well into retirement before he got help for his nightmares and he wanted to understand why he felt anger so easily. Many parts of Olga's story he related to so I wanted to have a greater understanding myself. Thank you Olga for your courage.
I couldn't put it down
Very well written Memoir about child abuse and it's life long effects on the child. The author tells her story in an inspiring and thoughtful way. Dissociative Identity Disorder is a confusing and remarkable disorder that Olga does a wonderful job describing in an easy to understand writing style. I am so impressed by this woman's ability to overcome the horrific, evil abuse that she endured from her family throughout her childhood and into early adulthood. Amazing story!
Read It!
In the reading of this book I was horrified and mesmerized at the same time. How could someone possibly survive this inescapable abuse and humiliation year after year. But alas.......it is possible, and the author does a perfectly wonderful job of showing us just how she survived, and in that survival just how complex the human mind can be. Many people do not know about DID except from the movie Sybil. Many people do not accept that forgetting is possible. Olga was so clear and concise on just how her mind handled the overwhelming knowledge of being raped by her father and brothers, over and over. She showed us clearly just how she put things away piece by piece, leaving herself a massive puzzle that would take a great deal of effort and courage to try to resolve at a later day. That book will be with me forever, and is helping me to finally see and face my own puzzle called my life. Thank you Olga for your bravery at exposing something that is so deeply shaming, must of us would rather leave it buried till the day we day. Amazing!
Very Riveting and quite informative on abuse issues!
I thought the book was very well written. Her story was so captivating yet painful almost to read. I really think the author did a great job showing how abuse or anything challenging can change people mentally in order for to cope. I think anyone suffering from anything should read her book. I really admire her and she seems very intelligent. I think if abuse was articulated in the way she does it, more often people would not feel afraid to talk about their own issues and these types of things would not be seen as taboo. I honestly feel like she opened up my eyes to a lot of issues in my life. This really was a good read that I stumbled on. She really met her purpose when she said she wanted to enlightened people about her condition. I really also believe making a movie out of this would be a good way to spread the word. Her tale of courage, bravery, sustenance,self belief, and the fact that I can tell she clearly has a special beautiful soul, is not something that only a few people should know about. A story like hers deserves to be shared. I sincerely believe this is the best money I have spent in a long time on something that has changed my life. This story actually penetrated my soul and spoke to my heart. It is a story I am very unlikely to forget. I also think she has great writing skills. I wonder if she ever tried writing fiction? :)
With an open mind
This book was well written, but sad in content. I look back at Trujillo's life and am amazed by how strong she is today. I think she's a great role model for those who are dealing with difficulties of any kind of abuse. As a psychology student and (hopefully) future psychiatrist, I recommend reading this if you're pursuing a career in the mental health field or medical field. As a person, I still recommend this with hopes that it's taken in with a open mind of someone else's trauma. I know in some parts of the book, there was some paragraphs that I couldn't read - just due to how descriptive it was. And I'm not a survivor of any sexual abuse, but I did feel triggered by some experiences. Saying that, I think that taking this book in little doses is much better than binge reading it like I had. Overall, I recommend and I think it's enlightening. I'm very glad she wrote her story.
Graphic details but incredibly eye opening
Excellent and captivating. There are many graphic details about the child abuse that she experienced, both physical and sexual. A truly inspiring story of her journey of survival as well as her incredible commitment to healing through therapy. As a person with DID, she experienced it very differently but it's eye opening and would recommend it to those who are survivors of sexual abuse, as well as those who deal with their own DID.
Horrifying experience, but beautifully written
This book starts with the writer’s thoughtful warning to let us know which pages are hard to read for some people so you can skip if you need. It is written in simple chronological order and her experience of child abuse is absolutely horrifying BUT she writes in a way that you would cry with empathy but still are able to turn pages and continue reading. She carefully avoids too much graphic detail of abuse for us and she doesn’t forget to see any small acts of kindness from her surroundings (neighbor, teacher etc) during those terrible times. It is a beautiful book written by a beautiful person.
good read
Well written about how someone survived horrific child abuse by developing Dissociative Identity Disorder. Very interesting to hear about her struggles as an adult and a glimpse of what her therapy was like. Not enough books written about successful treatment of DID, so it was very helpful to get a glimpse of what it was like from a survivor. I really liked how she brought the reader into her therapy sessions and thought process ( or parts thoughts) throughout the book. I think most survivors with DID can relate to parts of this book. It is too bad more DID survivors don't have the financial resources and dedicated therapist that she had. Definitely worth the read if you can tolerate reading about some horrific abuse.
Fascinating - Couldn't Put It Down
This book is a tough emotional read, but well worth it. Olga's story is unbelievably tragic and one that needs to be told. The way our brains work to help us survive trauma is amazing. Thank you for the courage to tell your story, Olga. I learned so much from your journey.
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