-
Switching Time
- A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $18.05
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Editorial reviews
Depressed, suicidal, complaining of strange pains and loss of time, "Karen" is referred to psychiatrist Richard Baer. During her treatment Baer determines that Karen has multiple personality disorder (MPD). Lloyd James's narration is mesmerizing. His narration never crosses the line into prurience. He states details matter-of-factly, including horrific tales of exploitation, cruelty, violence, torture, and ritual sexual abuse in Satanic cults. After years of therapy sessions and hypnosis, 17 separate personalities emerge. This perspective is unique because it is told from the point of view of the therapist. James's sensitive narration allows listeners to share Baer's initial skepticism, his eventual acceptance, and his thought processes as he tries to help. Fascinating listening.
Publisher's summary
In 1989, Karen Overhill walked into the office of psychiatrist Richard Baer complaining of depression. She poured out a litany of complaints, but in the disengaged way of someone who has experienced a terrible trauma. Slowly, Baer began to peel back the layers, eventually learning that Karen had been the victim of childhood sexual abuse. As time passed, though, his patient worsened and began to talk continually of suicide. Details of her abuse accumulated until he saw, via hypnosis, the true dimension of what Karen had suffered.
Baer was at a loss to explain Karen's sanity, precarious though it was, until he received a letter from a little girl, Claire. One by one, Karen's "alters" began showing themselves: men, women, young boys, a toddler, black, white, vicious, nurturing, prim, licentious. And their "stepping out" confronted Baer with the challenge of a lifetime. Somehow, to save Karen, he would have to gain the trust of her alters in order to destroy them.
Critic reviews
"Vivid...loaded with fascinating details... richly rewarding." (Colin Ross, author of Multiple Personality Order and The Osiris Complex)
Related to this topic
-
Twilight Children
- Three Voices No One Heard Until a Therapist Listened
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A light in the darkness for severely troubled children, former special education teacher Torey Hayden faced three of her most extraordinary challenges after she left the classroom. Nine-year-old Cassandra, kidnapped by her father and found starving, dirty, and picking through garbage cans - a child prone to long silences and erratic, violent behavior, whose hard-won recollections of the nightmare she endured could not be fully trusted.
-
-
loved it.
- By Lace M. Jackson on 06-23-17
By: Torey Hayden
-
Breaking the Silence
- By: Diane Chamberlain
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laura Brandon's promise to her dying father was simple: to visit an elderly woman she'd never heard of before. A woman who remembers nothing-except the distant past. Visiting Sarah Tolley seemed a small enough sacrifice to make. But Laura's promise results in another death: her husband's. And after their five-year-old daughter, Emma, witnesses her father's suicide, Emma refuses to talk about it - to talk at all.Frantic and guilt ridden, Laura contacts the only person who may be able to help.
-
-
can't listen to the narrator
- By Sandy on 01-05-15
-
Peace from Broken Pieces
- How to Get Through What You're Going Through
- By: Iyanla Vanzant
- Narrated by: Iyanla Vanzant
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Iyanla Vanzant recounts the last decade of her life and the spiritual lessons learned—from the price of success during her meteoric rise as a TV celebrity on Oprah, the Iyanla TV show (produced by Barbara Walters), to the dissolution of her marriage and her daughter's 15 months of illness and death on Christmas day.
-
-
Iyanla is Inspirational! A GREAT LISTEN!!!
- By Theresa on 12-04-11
By: Iyanla Vanzant
-
This Is Not Over
- A Novel
- By: Holly Brown
- Narrated by: Madeleine Maby, Donna Postel
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two very different women with this in common: Each harbors her own secret, her own reason why she can't just let this go. Neither can yield, not before they've dredged up all that's hidden, even if it has the power to shatter all they've built.
-
-
Pettiness Turn Twisted!
- By Jenn on 01-19-17
By: Holly Brown
-
Inconceivable
- A Medical Mistake, the Baby We Couldn't Keep, and Our Choice to Deliver the Ultimate Gift
- By: Carolyn Savage, Sean Savage
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A medical mistake during an IVF procedure.An unthinkable situation....you're pregnant with the wrong baby. You can terminate, but you can't keep him. What choice would you make?
-
-
"Misconception" and "Inconceivable"
- By Simone on 12-17-12
By: Carolyn Savage, and others
-
Suddenly
- By: Barbara Delinsky
- Narrated by: Carol Monda
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the idyllic small town of Tucker, Vermont, life flows at a rhythmic pace for pediatrician Paige Pfeiffer. But when Mara O'Neill, her best friend and medical partner, inexplicably kills herself, Paige's comfortable world is suddenly shattered. Temporarily caring for Mara's newly adopted baby daughter while she comes to grips with her grief, Paige clings to the hope that, in time, her orderly life will return.
-
-
Parent guide! (not romance)
- By christine on 10-10-11
By: Barbara Delinsky
-
Twilight Children
- Three Voices No One Heard Until a Therapist Listened
- By: Torey Hayden
- Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A light in the darkness for severely troubled children, former special education teacher Torey Hayden faced three of her most extraordinary challenges after she left the classroom. Nine-year-old Cassandra, kidnapped by her father and found starving, dirty, and picking through garbage cans - a child prone to long silences and erratic, violent behavior, whose hard-won recollections of the nightmare she endured could not be fully trusted.
-
-
loved it.
- By Lace M. Jackson on 06-23-17
By: Torey Hayden
-
Breaking the Silence
- By: Diane Chamberlain
- Narrated by: Justine Eyre
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laura Brandon's promise to her dying father was simple: to visit an elderly woman she'd never heard of before. A woman who remembers nothing-except the distant past. Visiting Sarah Tolley seemed a small enough sacrifice to make. But Laura's promise results in another death: her husband's. And after their five-year-old daughter, Emma, witnesses her father's suicide, Emma refuses to talk about it - to talk at all.Frantic and guilt ridden, Laura contacts the only person who may be able to help.
-
-
can't listen to the narrator
- By Sandy on 01-05-15
-
Peace from Broken Pieces
- How to Get Through What You're Going Through
- By: Iyanla Vanzant
- Narrated by: Iyanla Vanzant
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
New York Times best-selling author Iyanla Vanzant recounts the last decade of her life and the spiritual lessons learned—from the price of success during her meteoric rise as a TV celebrity on Oprah, the Iyanla TV show (produced by Barbara Walters), to the dissolution of her marriage and her daughter's 15 months of illness and death on Christmas day.
-
-
Iyanla is Inspirational! A GREAT LISTEN!!!
- By Theresa on 12-04-11
By: Iyanla Vanzant
-
This Is Not Over
- A Novel
- By: Holly Brown
- Narrated by: Madeleine Maby, Donna Postel
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two very different women with this in common: Each harbors her own secret, her own reason why she can't just let this go. Neither can yield, not before they've dredged up all that's hidden, even if it has the power to shatter all they've built.
-
-
Pettiness Turn Twisted!
- By Jenn on 01-19-17
By: Holly Brown
-
Inconceivable
- A Medical Mistake, the Baby We Couldn't Keep, and Our Choice to Deliver the Ultimate Gift
- By: Carolyn Savage, Sean Savage
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A medical mistake during an IVF procedure.An unthinkable situation....you're pregnant with the wrong baby. You can terminate, but you can't keep him. What choice would you make?
-
-
"Misconception" and "Inconceivable"
- By Simone on 12-17-12
By: Carolyn Savage, and others
-
Suddenly
- By: Barbara Delinsky
- Narrated by: Carol Monda
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the idyllic small town of Tucker, Vermont, life flows at a rhythmic pace for pediatrician Paige Pfeiffer. But when Mara O'Neill, her best friend and medical partner, inexplicably kills herself, Paige's comfortable world is suddenly shattered. Temporarily caring for Mara's newly adopted baby daughter while she comes to grips with her grief, Paige clings to the hope that, in time, her orderly life will return.
-
-
Parent guide! (not romance)
- By christine on 10-10-11
By: Barbara Delinsky
-
Can't Forgive
- My 20-Year Battle with O.J. Simpson
- By: Kim Goldman
- Narrated by: Kim Goldman
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Kim Goldman was just 22, her older brother, Ron, was brutally killed by O. J. Simpson. Ron and Kim were very close, and her devastation was compounded by the shocking not guilty verdict that allowed a smirking Simpson to leave as a free man.
-
-
Selfish
- By B. A. C. on 04-08-16
By: Kim Goldman
-
The Center Cannot Hold
- By: Elyn R. Saks
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Professor of psychiatry Elyn R. Saks writes about her struggle with schizophrenia in this unflinching account of her mental illness. In The Center Cannot Hold, Saks draws readers into a nightmare world of medications, a misguided health-care system, and social stigmas. But she would not be defeated. With a strength and force of will that most can only imagine, Saks reclaimed her life and went on to achieve great success.
-
-
Schizophrenia Inside Out
- By Pamela Harvey on 07-23-09
By: Elyn R. Saks
-
The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head
- A Psychiatrist's Stories of His Most Bizarre Cases
- By: Gary Small M.D., Gigi Vorgan
- Narrated by: Marc Cashman
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
True stories are more bizarre than any fiction, and Dr. Gary Small knows this best. After 30 distinguished years of psychiatry and groundbreaking research on the human brain, Dr. Small has seen it all - now he is ready to open his office doors for the first time and tell all about the most mysterious, intriguing, and bizarre patients of his career. The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head is a spellbinding record of the doctor's most bewildering cases.
-
-
90% Useless Information
- By Think B4 Eating on 10-01-10
By: Gary Small M.D., and others
-
A Necessary End: A Novel
- By: Holly Brown
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam, James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At nineteen Leah bears a remarkable resemblance to the young woman Adrienne once was. Which is why Adrienne knows the baby Leah is carrying is meant to be hers. But Leah's got ideas of her own: Her baby's going to get a life in California; why shouldn't she? All she wants is to live in Adrienne's house for a year after the baby's born and get a fresh start. It seems like a small price for Adrienne to pay to get their baby. And with Gabe suddenly onboard, what could possibly go wrong?
-
-
Long time audible listener.
- By Cherith DuBois on 07-11-15
By: Holly Brown
-
Journey
- By: Danielle Steel
- Narrated by: Brian Keith Lewis
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against a backdrop of world-shattering events, Journey is a story about abuse in its subtlest forms. With wisdom and compassion, best selling novelist Danielle Steel reminds you that no one is exempt from the effects of this devastating disease, which crosses social borders and has no respect for money, power, or success. But at its core, Journey is about hope, about change, and about daring to be free.
-
-
journey
- By Abigail on 04-27-04
By: Danielle Steel
-
Expecting Adam
- A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic
- By: Martha Beck
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the moment Martha and her husband, John, conceived their second child, all hell broke loose. They were a couple obsessed with success. After years of matching IQs and test scores with less driven peers, they had two Harvard degrees apiece and were gunning for more. But the dream had begun to disintegrate. Then, when their unborn son, Adam, was diagnosed with Down syndrome, doctors, advisers, and friends in the Harvard community warned them not to keep the baby.
-
-
True Life Fairy Tale
- By Desarae on 11-27-13
By: Martha Beck
-
Weekends at Bellevue
- By: Julie Holland MD
- Narrated by: Julie Holland MD
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
His name was Joshua Silver. He was 23 years old, educated, and had an impressive vocabulary. The NYPD had found Joshua Silver naked in Times Square, barking like a dog. It was just another night for Julie Holland, the attending doctor in the world famous Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric emergency room.
-
-
An Uneven Memoir
- By A. M. Dalessandro on 09-24-10
By: Julie Holland MD
-
Schuyler's Monster
- A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter
- By: Robert Rummel-Hudson
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Schuyler Rummel-Hudson was 18 months old, a question about her lack of speech by her pediatrician set in motion a journey that continues today. When she was diagnosed with bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (an extremely rare neurological disorder), her parents were given a name for the monster that had been stalking them from doctor to doctor, and from despair to hope, and back again.
-
-
Must-read for medical parents & those who ❤them
- By Kelly A. Wolske on 05-23-18
-
Open Your Eyes
- By: Paula Daly
- Narrated by: Emma Fenney
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jane Campbell avoids confrontation at all costs. Given the choice, she'll always let her husband, Leon, a best-selling thriller author, fight their battles. She'd prefer to focus on the good things in life: precious days with her two young children, a steady and loving marriage, their mischievously playful cat Bonita, and her fulfilling job as a creative-writing teacher. In Jane's eyes, life is altogether sweeter than any individual bump in the road. But when Leon suffers a brutal attack, Jane has to finally face reality.
-
-
Finally a book that held my interest
- By PollyAnna2 on 10-13-18
By: Paula Daly
-
The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer (Twin Peaks)
- By: Jennifer Lynch
- Narrated by: Sheryl Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lifeless and wrapped in plastic. This is how Sheryl Lee was first introduced as "Laura Palmer" in the cult television classic, Twin Peaks. Now, Sheryl returns to voice Laura's darkest secrets in the audiobook event that fans of the show have long awaited.
-
-
Wrapped in plastic
- By Phillip Frangules on 05-08-17
By: Jennifer Lynch
-
The Other Mother
- A Novel
- By: Carol Goodman
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Daphne Marist and her infant daughter, Chloe, pull up the gravel drive to the home of Daphne's new employer, it feels like they've entered a whole new world. Tucked in the Catskills, the stone mansion looks like something out of a fairy tale, its lush landscaping hiding the view of the mental asylum just beyond its border. Daphne secured the live-in position using an assumed name and fake credentials, telling no one that she's on the run from a controlling husband who has threatened to take her daughter away.
-
-
Hard to follow
- By cindy on 04-11-18
By: Carol Goodman
-
Don't Leave Me This Way
- Or When I Get Back on My Feet You'll Be Sorry
- By: Julia Fox Garrison
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Julia Fox Garrison refused to listen to the professionals she called Dr. Jerk and Dr. Panic, who - after she suffered a massive, debilitating stroke at age thirty-seven - told her she’d probably die, or to Nurse Doom, who ignored her emergency call button. Instead she heeded the advice of kind, gifted Dr. Neuro, who promised her he would “treat your mind as well as your body.” Julia figured if she could somehow manage to get herself into a wheelchair, at least she’d always find parking. But after many, many months of hospitalization and rehab, Julia not only got into a wheelchair, but she got back out.
-
-
Heroic Story
- By Pamela Harvey on 02-29-12
What listeners say about Switching Time
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- S
- 02-19-08
So sad, but so interesting
Wow- to be brief, if you're interested in the mind, psychology, multiple personalities, depression or people in general, you will probably find this hard to put down.
Having said that, if you don't like to hear about terrible things happening to people in a truly sadistic and disgusting manner (although compared to the violence we see on the news, TV and movies in general, it's probably not that shocking), then I might consider passing.
I can't stand violence, and to hear some of the things that happened to this poor woman made me sick to imagine, but it also made me truly understand her, and perhaps some other people out there who just don't seem to be with it. The reading was excellent. And the questions the book raised about the mind, at least to me, makes me wonder much more about what our minds are capable of, in both positive and negative aspects.
Highly recommended, but beware the more empathetic- it will hurt.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Luke
- 10-07-21
This book is a must read!
I know someone who may have this and this was an amazing introduction to the disorder and it was captivating from the very beginning. I would start listening and I had to force myself to press pause. Lloyd James does an amazing job at navigating an amazing book. I appreciate being able to follow the entire journey from beginning to diagnosis to repair and remission. This book is one I am so happy I bought and this will not be the last time I listen to it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 07-08-20
Overwhelming read! Impeccable narration!
This book was very well written and very immersive. Informative and insightful. I enjoyed delving into Dr Baer's perspective and thoughts at each turn. It was heart-wrenching throughout but something more people need to know. The narrator was great, he managed all of the voices so well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Reg
- 03-26-18
Unbelievable
When Karen wakes up suddenly after giving birth, she is disoriented and unsure who she is or what to do. She recognizes no one. So begins a path for Karen that ultimately reveals who she is and why she 'loses' time.
The childhood of this brave woman is stolen from her and was so horrific she had to create 17 personalities to deal with the abuse. The sad thing is that so many people were involved, including those closest to her who should have been her protectors. Dr. Baer does an excellent job of telling Karen's story and details it pretty much as it unfolded for him. There are not many parts that are out of order and it is rewarding to see the progress made by this woman. I particularly liked the way he said he didn't know when he didn't know or was stuck or baffled by Karen's behavior. I also liked the way he let Karen lead the way when it came to reintegrating her personalities.
There is much insight and grace in this listen. I wish the best for Karen and her children. I hope she lives in peace today.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Deborah R. Castleman
- 11-18-07
Engrossing
I listened to this book TWICE. I was fascinated with the story, both from the point of view of the psychiatrist's thinking and from the woman's experiences in re-integrating herself. I had a hard time listening to the horrendous aspects of her childhood abuse (I turned the volume down low for those parts), but was comforted (and gratifyingly) amazed at the love and wisdom that was in the woman all along -- despite her incredibly cruel abuse -- in the guise of some of her alternate personalities. That the human brain can protect itself this way is really marvelous! It made me think about how we all have that inner wisdom inside us (how to access it is another matter). I've been thinking a lot about what I've learned from her story, and how she is just an extreme case of what all of us manifest from time to time in a lesser form. I wish that I could thank her for letting her story be told.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jeff
- 01-28-12
jaw droppingly amazing!!
AN ASTOUNDING true story that blew my mind!! If you have any interest in how the mind works this is a must read. This incredible story which was written by her doctor remains at the top of my list of 350 books in my coveted favorites category. This book shows the unbelievable capabilities of our minds, which is far beyond our wildest imaginings.If there ever was a must read- this is it. This is a sleeper blockbuster if there ever was one!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Robin Storey
- 10-29-14
This was never boring. What a chthisnge for her.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Certainly one of the better written books about mod that I've read.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Clare
Have you listened to any of Lloyd James’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Living hell
Any additional comments?
Great book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- A. Larson
- 03-30-15
MPD is real
Any additional comments?
I didn't completely believe in MPD until I heard this audio book. The shocking thing was that each personality had its own intelligence. Some of them had low intelligence and average or less than average vocabulary. Some of the personalities had a huge vocabulary and were very articulate. I don't think this could be faked. The "original" person, who was paying (or not paying) the psychiatrist was not so bright, so it was shocking to hear from very intelligent personalities within her.
While the patient was not able to pay for all her treatment, I bet the psychiatrist got even more money from the sales of this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Barbara
- 08-20-11
Excellent!
This was one of the best books I have ever read. Multiple Personality Disorder is a fascinating topic by itself, but going on this journey with the author - the treating psychiatrist - and his patient (Karen) was a real insight into the disorder. From the opening lines to the closing epilogue, I was swept into Karen's world and felt her pain, sadness, and ultimate healing. The book is not for the faint-hearted, but well worth the time put into listening. A testiment to the human spirit.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vivian Wohlwend
- 12-08-20
Switching Time: a fantastic account of DID-Multiple Personality Disorder
Riveting! Amazing retelling of this very complicated disorder. Unforgettable and extremely instructive. Won’t forget this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!