Marlene Steinberg

Very fascinating insight into disassociation. The book is split between a deep dive into disassociation and case studies. I enjoyed the first half and found the case studies to be very intense.

In the first half, I enjoyed understanding the relationships between disassociation, derealization and depersonalization, which often are used interchangeably when, in fact, they are very different experiences related to different issues of the self in relation to the world. The author describes the three in a bermuda triangle in which the self is fully lost. Depersonalization relates to the self-image while derealization relates to where one relates to the world, your self in context.

"When someone can't remember large blocks of time, the person's sense of identity as a continuous life story with a narrative 'shape' and a coherent sequence of events over time is compromised or lost." (p. 101).

The quizzes can be a bit misleading without guidance/assistance from a trained provider, which she also insists on readers finding.

I highly recommend for anyone. As the title implies, this is a hidden epidemic and impacts many people. I think it can help people experiencing these symptoms and also people who are friends, relatives, colleagues, or practitioners.… (meer)