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Sybil Exposed

The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case

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Sybil Exposed

By: Debbie Nathan
Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
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Journalist Debbie Nathan reveals the true story behind the famous case of Sybil, the woman with sixteen different personalities.

©2011 Debbie Nathan (P)2011 Tantor History Hygiene & Healthy Living Mental Health Popular Culture Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences Health Multiple Personalities

Critic reviews

"Leveling a steady eye on her oft-sensationalized subject, Nathan serves up a tale just as shocking as the famed original," ( Publishers Weekly)
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Sybil was the story that peaked my interest in abnormal psychology when I was young and the research presented here says it's all a lie. Loved the book, couldn't stop listening

my mind is blown

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Would you try another book from Debbie Nathan and/or Marguerite Gavin?

I'm unsure if I would read another.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It was most interesting to hear how a psychotherapist destroyed a woman's life, tried to make herself a hero in the psychotherapy society, and then how the entire world ate it up. There was too much back story on the author of Sybil, Flora Rheta Schreiber, to make it interesting. I had to really push to get through the last 2 hours.

The Narrator was excellent

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Very interesting book with solid research. Readers who questioned "so was it all a hoax?" after listening have missed the incredible depth and nuance of the story. I learned a lot about multiple personality disorder and gained a greater understanding of the mental health system.

Fascinating and educational

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Well, an interesting look into the world of multiple personalities, with the main character personality being, Sybil.

Was it real? Was it a hoax? Fascinating, that’s for sure!


The author, takes us back to over the last 100 years of treatment that was common in the United States at the time. The discussion is about various methods and treatments, medications, sexual deviance and multiple personalities.

This whole “cottage” industry sprung up and really took hold in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s at a time when women were “discovering themselves, but at the same time, were being misdiagnosed in many cases of multiple personality disorders.

Of course, many books, movies and plays became part of Western cultural folklore with all of this going on.

I've seen movies, read books about the subject in various forms and whatnot, but it’s good to see that this book was well written and exposed the whole Sybil case.

Hmmmmmmm... Nah, I Won't Go There

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I have spent a lifetime as the only child of a mentally ill woman who has a similar story of abusive childhood and histrionic behavior. I’ve read every psychology book I could get my hands on trying to deal with her. This book completely unraveled so much of what I have long suspected with my own mother. My mom also had a childhood diagnosis of anemia, fainting, blackouts. She has been full of disappearing acts and became a parasitic parent. She lived in San Antonio as a young g mom to me, during the years that Sybil was released as a newspaper periodical. All of the social media and promotion mentioned in this book were things that directly influenced my mom and she no doubt fes off of. I am so grateful to the author for her research and disection of the truth behind this story.

WOW! This Book is a Revalation!

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Once in a while, a book comes along that provides a jaw dropping moment in almost every chapter. This is one such book. Nathan's methods of research and the manner in which she dissects the myth of Sybil are so fantastic that I cannot help but hear Kelso's voice (from That '70s Show) saying, "Burn!" every time she chips away at another dearly held belief. The evidence presented is so solid it will destroy your previous notions. So many people fell in love with the story, the fragile but surprisingly strong heroin, the champion doctor, and the strange and wonderful things the human mind can do in the face of severe trauma. If you are are in love with that narrative and do not want it destroyed, in the strongest, juiciest, and most interesting way possible, don't read this book. Your ideals of Sybil and helpful Dr. Wilbur not survive.

How do you create a Sybil? Nathan can lay it out, step by step, for you. I enjoyed every page of this book. Nathan does a great job of sifting out fact from fiction (oh so much fiction). She fully understands what dissociation is and how it can be useful but also fully understands how it was exploited to provide a story that we all craved, one that satiated our need for novelty and oddity. Sybil was gaper porn. We got to see, or we thought we got to see, the most private, humiliating, and crazy parts of a mind destroyed before it triumphed once again. But what did we really see?

This sentiments in this book honor and respect the difficulties people encounter in life but warns how those difficulties can be compounded by those who "help," sometimes ensuring the patient sinks into something much deeper and darker. This is a story about human beings, belief, need, love, care, mistakes, greed, and so many other all-too-human feelings that muddy the waters of clarity.


I will never forget reading I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. I had the same romantic ideals about that book that I had about Sybil. I love when authors come along and destroy what people tend to hold sacred, and this author did it in the most delicious way! Bravo! A+

Bravo! A+ Book!

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I added this book to my library after binge watching a variety of YouTube videos from creators who allegedly have DID. My suspicion of the condition came from the "Alters caught on camera" videos as these videos seemed to perceive DID as a circus act. What began as a curious look into the life of the woman known to the world as 'Sybil' became an extensive look into how vanity destroyed the lives of many women. The ways in which many psycho-analyst treated their patients felt in a way like the YouTubers I watched portrayed themselves, like circus acts. Despite the horrific acts recalled in Sybil Exposed, Debbie Nathan did an excellent job gathering her sources and presenting the information in a neutral manner. Sybil Exposed is a great non-fiction novel and I would recommend it to everyone especially those who perceive themselves as mental health advocates.

An Impressive Look Into MPD/DID

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Provides insight to a time when psychiatric science was done poorly and egos got in the way. The story does start out slowly, as the author provides important background information.

Truthful and well researched

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Nathan doesn't clearly assert with proof that Sybil (Shirley Mason) was NOT abused. Either she was or she wasn't. IF she was abused by her mother, then it is likely she could have very well had psychiatric issues, including multiples which required medication. Is Nathan asserting that Sybil (Shirley Mason) wasn't abused, and just had Pernicious Anemia or both? Nathan is quite the skeptic, but doesn't have adequate proof. She tries so hard to disprove Dr. Wilbur, that she overlooks that Sybil (Shirley Mason's) story could have very well been true, especailly as Shirley herself has said as much . We know Hollywood embellishes things, but I cannot believe the Sybil story was an out and out lie, based on the evidence Nathan presents which is mostly hearsay, third party and her personal interpretation of therapy session/notes.

In the end, she comes across as challenging Sybil (Shirley Mason)'s memories as no more than drug induced delusions, and that her main issue was her relationship with her Psychiatrist, Dr. Wilbur; however, she doesn't mention the actual Pediatrician's records or Sybil's mother's true mental health issues (not just physical). Nathan says things such as "how do we know?" (Instead of proving her theories).

It was a good read, but I am not convinced by Nathan's point of view that there wasn't real validity to Sybil (Shirley Mason's) story.

No definitive answer, just speculations all around

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Any additional comments?

I had previously read the Sybil book, and loved it, then come to find out it was a hoax, made me so upset that I had to know why and if any of the book was true. Amazing what really happened and puts a different perspective on certain people. Good read though!!!!

SUCH A GOOD BOOK!!

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