I loved this book. ( )

This book treated a sensitive topic (MPD) with a light hand, but not so light that it was offensive. ( )

I like Holly. She has to be one of my most favorite characters of the year. With her practical and often irreverent take on "The Committee" (the people in the apartment inside of her mind), she's trying to make a go of it in New York City, away from the image-conscious mother who always seems to look at her in distaste, and incommunicado with "the Father" whose only contribution is the "emergency" credit card she's had since college. Although her sister Sarah lives across the country with her husband and two sons, she serves as Holly's emotional support, the only person besides her therapist that she can speak about "The Committee" freely to.

There's The Boy, pretty much silent except for his glaringly red Converse sneakers; Sarge, with his scar, who constantly keeps The Boy with him, and attempts to impose some kind of order when the others are getting out of hand; Betty Jane, the Southern belle, with a diva's sense of entitlement-the one who "rules the roost", The Silent One, who meditates and prays; and Ruffles - 300 pounds plus, dressed in purple, who sits on a pillow stuffing potato chips in her mouth, and whose weight causes Holly's head to always tilt to the left.

Betty Jane and Ruffles help Holly with her job as a waitress, and it's Betty Jo's personality which lands her a job as a voice-over artist on the cartoon show "The Neighborhood". Holly's therapist works out an agreement with Betty Jane and the rest of The Committee that will allow Betty Jane to work on the show and step forward when needed for other voice-over work, while still maintaining Holly as the decision-maker.

Unlike my previous tentative understanding of multiple-personality disorder, Holly is fully aware of each of the members of her committee, holding conversations with them and even actively disliking Betty Jane. As she works out her relationship with her feckless boyfriend Peter and her new life as a famous voice in a popular show, her sessions with her therapist become more infrequent, as she thinks that she has it all under control. Then an embarrassing incident at an awards show, with both Ruffles and Betty Jane vying for control at the same time, shows Holly that she may need help after all. When Betty Jane leaves, taking the rest of The Committee with her, Holly is left feeling bereft and alone. When they return, Holly's therapist works out an agreement where the committee members all come forward during sessions, and slowly, the real work of integration begins.

Although the novel is about a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder, it is also a novel that we all can relate to. As Holly tries to take control of her out-of-control life, she finds out that some secrets are better uncovered, and that she is a special and unique person in spite of her parents' bad upbringing. The heartbreaking stories that brought each of the committee members to being remind us of how very fragile the human psyche can be, and as we witness her small triumphs, we celebrate her healing and the power of the mind to both protect and save us.

QUOTES

I glanced at the two writers. One said, "That was inspired, Holly. Almost like you were Harriet." He turned to the other writer. "She does these voices as if they live in her head."
If they only knew.

"With Walter's spies it could go like this: Holly is in therapy. Why is Holly in therapy? Holly's a fraud. She doesn't do voices. She has voices in her head that do them for her."

One thing my parents never managed to beat out of us was hope. ( )

Holly Miller is a woman in her late twenties with multiple personalities or as Holly describes it, voices in her head and she calls them the Committee which consists of five distinctive personalities. As Holly tells her story, we come to know the different personalities that have virtually taken over her life. It is difficult for Holly to lead a normal existence but she does try to be as normal as she can be and gets a job as a voiceover actress for a popular show. Her relationships are strained, she does not get along with her mother and her father seems to be pretty much absent from her life. Holly's mother is more interested in appearances than being a mother to Holly and Holly's father left the family and pays the bills so that leaves her sister Sarah who is very supportive of Holly even though they live far apart. Holly has been seeing a psychiatrist, Milton for quite a few years and with his help and guidance Holly is able to come to terms with the traumatic events that caused the personalities to appear in the first place. The author weaves these different personalities into Holly's daily life and we see how Holly's mind has created these very different personalities to protect her and how she becomes cured of this disorder. I really enjoyed this book, serious, dark and funny at the same time but I think with lessons to be learned as to how mental abuse can affect children's young lives and how devasting it can be for a family. ( )

What would you do with 5 different voices in your head telling you what to do?! Well Holly Miller, who stars in Sounds like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey, calls her 5 voices "the Committee", and she's brought negotiation to a new level as she tries to deal with the life before her and the people in her head that each play a key role in how she handles different situations. There's Ruffles, who weighs a ton and eats Ruffle Potato Chips all day while sitting on a purple pillow. There's the Faceless Boy, who Holly can only see his red Converse Sneakers. There's the Silent One, who prays all the time, and Sarge who is like a drill Sargent and very protective of Holly. And last but not least there's Betty Jane, the diva, the dress to the nines and "Charmin only" control freak who everyone is generally afraid of. (yes, that's Charmin as in bathroom tissue, which she makes Holly carry around because she won't let Holly use anything else if she goes to a restroom!). They make her life hell for the most part, but they also make up her life as she's always known it. What's a girl to do?! Deal with it!

Having multiple personalities makes it difficult to navigate a normal life, but Holly has the "support" of her dysfunctional parents, a long distance sister, a sometimes boyfriend, and a job as a waitress. Yes, I put "support" in quotes because basically her father left her mother, and pays Holly's medical bills (she sees a psychiatrist now) out of guilt for being a horrible father, and her mother basically dropped her off across the country at college and left her there, but gave her an "emergency" credit card, which Holly uses to support her habits, which include food, living expenses beyond the low paying wages of waitresses, and Betty Jane's expensive tastes. That's until one day a customer walks in to the diner, Betty Jane takes over flirting (always good for tips) and loves the voice of Betty Jane for his new animated TV show. Things should be looking up, except Betty Jane is even more over the top with stardom, the rest of the Committee wants to throw her out, and Holly's psychiatrist is trying to heal her for good- AND it all works together beautifully!

Shana Mahaffey has written a smart, funny, and compassionate story. What you may suspect as being just another "chick lit" selection, is really an amazing story of the healing of a woman who was so traumatized at a young age that it left her with dissociative identity disorder, or what was once known as multiple personality disorder. The plot turns from the madcap life of Holly living her life with the Committee, to what caused her trauma and ultimately how she is healed in the end. And it's because of this that the story is so much deeper than what you first see on the surface. Shana's writing is fresh & wonderful. Her characters are all so well written and fully fleshed out. Their personalities are so unique and the Committee is a blast. The story will sneak up on you, grabbing you in the end... I know because it sure grabbed me! It's original and it's a great read! it's about sisters, dysfunctional families, and it's about healing... (throw in some Ruffles potato chips and Charmin bathroom tissue and you're all set!)... ( )