Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities

Imagine pretending to be asleep in order to overhear conversations between your family and friends, so that you can learn your mother's name, or where your husband works. Karen was continually searching for ways to hide her obvious insanity until a desperate call to a crisis hot-line in 1989, led her to Dr. Richard Baer. The complexities of the human mind have never before been revealed with such detail, dimension, and compassion. Horrific, unimaginable abuse had forced Karen to create different personalities, with widely varying characteristics and abilities. As new personalities were introduced, the depth of Karen's suffering became obvious, as did the fear that the darkness would consume her. With careful guidance and unwavering show more patience, Dr. Baer was able to gain the individual trust of the seventeen alters, convincing each that although they had been created to protect Karen, her very survival now depended upon their complete and total destruction.

This is an amazing read! The level of abuse, the detailed characteristics of the created alters are almost beyond comprehension and leads you to question how it is someone that has suffered so greatly could ever be whole again. Which is, yet another testament to the human will to survive. Switching Time is by far one of the best non-fiction books I have read in years. Just as the alters were created as a means of survival, during the darkest and most frightening experiences imaginable, their destruction became a necessary step in the journey from divided survival to whole living. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a compelling, thought-provoking, inspiring read... absolutely 5 stars!

Happy Reading!
RJ show less

This book is hard to read. (I listened to it on CD) The unbelievable abuse that occurred to this lady is gripping and sickening. The part that is most amazing is the human ability to create a coping mechanism. The process of working with her through many, many years of therapy is also fascinating. It is wonderful to walk with her through a unique healing process that incorporated all of her alter-egos into herself to finally become a whole person. It was also fascinating to hear her explain how she would 'switch' from one alter to another in order to cope with each situation.

Book is not for everyone. Some really vivid, heavy details. A very important work in the field of psychiatry.

This story is of a young woman coming to a psychologist for seemingly a case of depression. What emerges is far more harrowing and terrifying. Over a period of years, it becomes apparent that there are 17 distinct personalities living inside her. They were necessary for her to survive the horrendous abuse she endured as a child.
Baer does an excellent job of telling enough to help the reader understand the circumstances that precipitated the mental illness of his patient, but did not get morbid or voyeuristic in the details. We are witnesses of the process of integration of the personalities which is told in a very readable and engrossing form. I couldn't help but get drawn into the process and its incredible complexity and difficulty. show more Excellent read. show less

Imagine pretending to be asleep in order to overhear conversations between your family and friends, so that you can learn your mother's name, or where your husband works. Karen was continually searching for ways to hide her obvious insanity until a desperate call to a crisis hot-line in 1989, led her to Dr. Richard Baer. The complexities of the human mind have never before been revealed with such detail, dimension and compassion. Horrific, unimaginable abuse had forced Karen to create different personalities, with widely varying characteristics and abilities. As new personalities were introduced, the depth of Karen's suffering became obvious, as did the fear that the darkness would consume her. With careful guidance and unwavering show more patience, Dr. Baer was able to gain the individual trust of the seventeen alters, convincing each that although they had been created to protect Karen, her very survival now depended upon their complete and total destruction. .
This is an amazing read! The level of abuse, the detailed characteristics of the created alters are almost beyond comprehension and leads you to question how it is someone that has suffered so greatly could ever be whole again. Which is, yet another testament to the human will to survive. Switching Time is by far one of the best non-fiction books I have read in years. Just as the alters were created as a means of survival, during the darkest and most frightening experiences imaginable, their destruction became a necessary step in the journey from divided survival to whole living. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a compelling, thought provoking, inspiring read... WOW!

Happy Reading!
RJ show less

This was a fascinating account of one therapist's experience treating a woman with 17 personalities. The story was interesting, although some of the accounts of abuse suffered by this woman were difficult to read and made me feel a bit like a voyeur. Still, the work that Dr. Baer did in helping "Karen" to integrate her personalities was monumental. I can't imagine embarking on a task that would take close to two decades to reach a conclusions. The mind is a fascinating thing.

This was a strange read. It was reminiscent of Sybil, which made me skeptical as Sybil was found to be a fraud years after the book and movie. Apart from the similarity to Sybil the story of Karen is interesting. The descriptions of abuse are heartbreaking. The description of the therapy sessions by Dr. Baer keep the story and context flowing, which I appreciated.

The book is well written. I cannot say it has made a believer out of me. It has convinced me that Dr. Baer believes in the story he wrote. In particular it was his afterward that persuades the reader that he documented this case all the way through and truly believed in the multiple personalities of Karen.

I'm not sure what to think of this book. It wasn't terribly well written; however, it's not necessarily a book for entertainment value.

I do appreciate that Dr. Baer admitted when he wasn't sure that all the stories of abuse were true. I have read quite a few stories of survival. It's astounding the shape sexual abuse can take. It's Karen's tales of ritual abuse and Satan worship that sends up the red flags - it is true or not. Were all those people involved? There were quite a few people that were said to be a part of the rituals, sex parties and other things.

However, we know that everyone can see an event in a different light. And children can interpret things in their own special ways. I can't imagine what Karen went through.

The book show more reads as if we were reading Dr. Baer's own notes instead of an actual narrative. I also felt that things were repeated over and over again as if the author knew he needed more words to make the story longer.

I think the sub-title is a little too dramatic for this book. A Harrowing Story - the harrowing thing is not his treatment but Karen's abuse.

The book was pretty dull to be honest. It might have been more interesting if Dr. Baer had taken time to flush out his descriptions and meetings with the alters. I felt like he glossed over them. They were very two-dimensional. Alters are, if anything, NOT two-dimensional.

The premise of the book was interesting, but if you're interested in the psychology and the stories of multiple personality disorders, I suggest Cybil or another book. show less