Cameron West was born in Chicago, married Rikki while working as a touring musician in Boston and became a father while working as a recording artist in Nashville. He was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder in 1993. During the course of his treatment, 24 separate personalities emerged.
Cam earned a Ph.D. in psychology in the years following his diagnosis, and his condition is now largely under control. After years of living around the world, the Wests now reside on California’s Central Coast, where Cam is working on a new young adult novel.
Meet Davy, a 4-year-old with harrowing memories of abuse. Switch, a self-harming 10-year-old. And Dusty, a shy pre-teen girl. Unique individuals with one thing in common: They live, along with 21 others, in the body of Cameron West.
In this intimate memoir of life with Dissociative Identity Disorder, West struggles to understand the workings of his fragmented mind and heal his damaged spirit — all while desperately hanging on to the slender thread that connects him to his wife, son and some semblance of normal life.
A bestseller, the book was published in 22 countries. Disney Studios purchased the movie rights and developed a script, though the movie has yet to be produced.
Hollywood stuntman Reb Barnett lives on the edge to avoid the nightmares of his past -- until an anonymous phone call pulls him from his world of cinematic illusion and sends him to Italy on a desperate quest where danger and violence are chillingly real.
Reb seeks Leonard da Vinci's Circles of Truth, a coded fifteenth century map that will lead him to the Medici Dagger,an ingenious but lethal invention -- a weapon so light and indestructible it's worth a fortune to arms manufacturers.
To Reb, the dagger is his only link to his father's suspicious death years ago. But breaking the code means matching wits with Leonardo. And staying alive means evading the killer who haunts Reb's dreams.
"Unlike Flora Rheta Schreiber's Sybil, which presented a fairly dispassionate and professional view of multiple personality disorder, now called dissociative identity disorder (DID), West's account is an intimate memoir of the pain and frustration he encountered before and after being diagnosed... West compellingly recounts his journey toward sanity and his decision to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology in order to better understand his illness.
Illustrations from his journal, in which all alters were allowed to write, and drawings done by his child personalities give weight and detail to West's account... Readers who must cope with DID or other debilitating mental illnesses, either in themselves or friends and family, will appreciate West's honesty and insight about the subject." - Publisher's Weekly
"West, a psychologist, relates a deeply painful narrative of his battle with dissociative identity disorder (DID). He describes the horrors he endured, both mental and physical, as a child who was grossly abused by his mother, attributing the fragmentation of his adult life to these appalling experiences and telling how his long, happy marriage and family relationships were nearly ruined by the effects of DID. The book is not entirely dark; it provides hope and encouragement to DID victims and suggests how they can be helped through the support and understanding of others.
It's also a practical guide for future clinicians, offering insight into a perplexing condition. West concludes with an epilog in which he lays out his theory that abused children can achieve a sense of wholeness through the understanding and acceptance of others and the reinvention of the self. Highly recommended for any public library." - Yan Toma, Queens Borough P.L., Flushing, NY
Cameron & Rikki telling their story as it unfolded, really helped me feel as if I am not the only one experiencing this. I want to thank them for their courage...Thank You! -Desiree
I was recently diagnosed with DID and was looking to learn more about the condition. This book captures your attention and opens your mind to the world of dissociative identity disorder. I highly recommend this book if you are interested in learning more about the condition. -Trina
As an individual living with DID, this book has been the one which I have most identified with...During the intervening years after I was correctly diagnosed... we were holistically treated to truly accommodate our true needs. I remain ever grateful to Cameron for write this eloquent autobiography! -There_is_HOPE
I have been with a multiple for years now, and this book really helped me understand just what he is going through. It is a very rough life and I don't know if we will make it, but the book really gave me some hope. -Sheila
Not only is this a wonderfully and humerously written book, Cam's story describes in detail exactly what it has been like for me to live with DID... Newly diagnosed, this book is helping me to deal with my own 'denial's rake'... Thank you for its honest and caring mention.
Incredible book. I used to have D.I.D. and I'm studying to be a L.P.C., but this man...my hero! I would love to meet him in person. I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to walk along side the traumatized in their journey to recovery. -Unnamed
...By now, I probably have read it five times. It is one of a kind. (Later, I watched Sybil and read other books about DID, but this one was my very first.) I was shocked by its raw human cruelty, but in the mean time, intrigued by our omnipotent brain. My curiosity eventually drove me to study psychology and then neuroscience. -Li
Cam West does an exceptional job of taking us as readers into his world and his selves. I highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to learn about DID and the profound power of the human mind and its desire to survive the unthinkable. This is a touching and wonderful testimonial to the power and strength of the human spirit. -Sharron
...there has not been a more realistic portrayal of the disorder. It was and is comforting to know that the chaos I thought would be never ending was real and controllable. I now have my own copies of the book and lend them out to others who are either seeking information on DID for research. -Barbara
...this book was impossible to put down or to let go of...The pain and confusion that Cameron and his wife, Rikki, suffered is wrenching. His writing made me ache for each one of his alters. I'll be looking for a copy of this book for my permanent collection. -Kelly
This was the first "Oprah's Book Club" book that I read when I was 19....it is a fantastic, yet heartbreaking, account of a mans journey through DID, how he and his family learned to understand, cope and overcome the effects it brought upon them... -Tiffany