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Shana Mahaffey

Författare till Sounds Like Crazy

1 verk 93 medlemmar 9 recensioner

Verk av Shana Mahaffey

Sounds Like Crazy (2009) 93 exemplar

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I loved this book.
 
Flaggad
Rebecca_Hail | 8 andra recensioner | Aug 22, 2013 |
This book treated a sensitive topic (MPD) with a light hand, but not so light that it was offensive.
 
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lizzy-x | 8 andra recensioner | Jun 8, 2011 |
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.
… (mer)
 
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jewelknits | 8 andra recensioner | Dec 20, 2010 |
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.… (mer)
 
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celticlady53 | 8 andra recensioner | Dec 12, 2010 |

Statistik

Verk
1
Medlemmar
93
Popularitet
#200,859
Betyg
4.1
Recensioner
9
ISBN
3

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