4 out of 4 stars
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Alters by Erin Lee is the first book in a series about a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder(DID) which was previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Dissociative identity disorder or DID is a psychological condition where parts or aspects of a person’s personality split to help them cope with a traumatic experience.
Lola has seven such alternate personalities excluding herself, all differing in age, gender and personality. Maria and Tim are the older ones. They are like parental figures to Lola and the other alters. Claire is daring, mischievous and Lola’s best friend. Zoe is an ambitious woman, who is hoping to one day become a successful actress. She also yearns for a love life. Frog is an introverted bookworm and philosopher. Rabbit is a suicidal teenager who just wants a normal life. Samantha is the only happy one of the seven alters. The seven-year-old loves her 'family' and wishes things would never change.
The story begins right after Lola gets caught running naked down the halls of Rosewood Hospital for Mental Wellness. She ends up restrained, her meds increased and transferred to a new wing in the hospital. This setback finally makes the alters more determined than ever to try to get back into the real world. Yet, even after three decades in the Institution, Lola is far from being ‘cured’. Her only hope of a cure is when all the alters merge and form one dominant personality. However, since none of the alters would consent to such a merge they are left to find other ways to escape.
Though I do not know how accurately Lola represents patients with DID, this novel is a great beginning point for anyone interested in the topic. The narrative style is simplistic. The alters and their origin story is in the first person. This helps a great deal in sympathizing with them and makes them feel more real to the readers. Lola's point of view, however, is in the third person, which I think perfectly represents her dissociation with herself and her life.
Erin Lee’s strength lies in creating characters that are unique but still relatable. Despite never having DID, I could easily see aspects of myself through Lola and the rest of her alters. Everyone has a good side and a darker side to their personalities and the alters are just exaggerated versions of these qualities we have within ourselves. Maria is that over protective part of our brain. Claire is our sense of adventure and humor. Zoe represents ambition. Lola’s need for dissociation is similar to how we readers try to escape our lives and be someone else through our books.
My only problem was that the book feels too short. It is around two hundred pages, but I could easily have read a hundred more. The author teases readers with references to some significant trauma in Lola’s past without it ever actually being explained. So I won’t give any trigger warning for Alters but would definitely add disclaimers for possible triggering material in the future installments if one wants to continue with the series.
All that said, I rate Alters by Erin Lee with 4 out of 4 stars. Mental health is a topic best taught from an early age. Therefore, I recommend this book to anyone, adult or young adult, looking to read about Dissociative Identity Disorder or about mental illnesses in general.
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Alters
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