Perspective

The preface of the book presents the author's credentials. Flora Schreiber is a well educated woman whose combined background in psychology and English make her an excellent person to present Sybil Dorsett's story. Flora takes a personal interest in Sybil prior to agreeing to write the book. This personal relationship gives validity to the book and pervades the story to make Sybil relatable to the reader. Additionally, the author's relationship with Sybil prompts her to spend a considerable amount of time researching multiple personality disorder so that Sybil's story is factual from both a medical and personal perspective.

The author admits that she was hesitant to write Sybil's story. The reader can understand this position given the fantastic quality of Sybil's life. The depth of Sybil's condition is overwhelming. However, Sybil's personality cancels out the intensity of her mental state and endears people to her. One can immediately...