Words deleted from the dust jacket of "Sybil Exposed"
Authentication of Simon & Schuster's legal department stating that they would delete the words "first person" from the dust jacket of Debbie Nathan's book "Sybil Exposed",
giving the impression that Ms. Nathan was the first to discover something new proving the Sybil case a fraud,
Evidence on website below or "SYBIL in her own words" Facebook page
http://members.authorsguild.net/psuraci/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sybil-In-Her-Own-Words/108610352553254
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Sybil in Her Own Words by Patrick Suraci, Psychologist
Sybil in Her Own Words by Patrick Suraci, Psychologist 12/15/11
....I recently published Sybil In Her Own Words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings. It is a follow-up to the case of a woman who had 16 personalities, then called Multiple Personality Disorder. Flora Schreiber wrote this story titled Sybil. The therapist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur used unorthodox, but not unethical, treatment for ten years, such as, psychoanalysis, hypnosis and Sodium Pentothal which resulted in the complete integration of the 16 personalities.
Sybil was the pseudonym for Shirley Mason who was born on January 25, 1923, in Dodge Center, Minnesota. She was an artistically gifted and shy only child. Her family was well known in this little town; therefore, her mother's bizarre behavior was overlooked. During Shirley's treatment the alternate personalities emerged and told of the abuse by her mother. Whenever her mother committed an atrocious attack on Shirley, she would split and development another personality to cope with the trauma.
Attacking the veracity of Sybil published in 1973 did not begin until April 24,1997, when Dr. Herbert Spiegel gave an interview to the New York Review of Books. He stated that Sybil was not a multiple, but rather an hysteric. He claimed to have hypnotized her, performed regression studies and filmed her for the class he taught at Columbia University, thus, discovering that Sybil's therapist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, had been: "helping her (Sybil) identifying aspects of her life, or perspectives, that she then called by name. By naming them this way she was reifying a memory of some kind and converting it into a 'personality'..." In fact, he accused Dr. Wilbur of implanting false memories....
When I asked Dr. Spiegel for the film hypnotizing Sybil, he said he could not find it. When asked why he had waited 24 years to report this so-called fraudulent case, he said no one had ever asked him about Sybil....
After Ms. Nathan received many negative criticisms over her inaccuracies and fabrications in Sybil Exposed, a fact checker from the Times claimed she had verified the documents in the Schreiber archives in the Special Collections Library at John Jay College. The sign-in book, which is meticulously guarded, requires a person's signature and date. There is no such entry from this fact checker.
While researching my book, Shirley's cousin Naomi Rhode, found an audio cassette made by Shirley and Dr. Wilbur on February 18, 1977.They were discussion publishing a book about Sybil's paintings. They spoke about the time Dr. Wilbur sent Shirley to Dr. Spiegel. Dr, Wilbur says, "I think that hysterics are people who are willing to enter into a contract with someone whom they trust.
Now if they don't trust that individual to some extent, they may appear to enter into a contract, but they don't really. And as an example of that, I would like to point out that, although Sybil was very readily hypnotizable by me...An expert used her as a demonstration subject, and she agreed to this and he was disagreeable to her.
As a consequence he could not really hypnotize her" Shirley added, "She (Sybil) didn't trust him as much. He tried to make her make something special out of things in her life that weren't special, like birthdays...".
....Shirley gave me information, journals, art work, anything I wanted to make my book an accurate picture of her life. She wanted people to know the benefits of therapy and that she was cured and lived a productive life....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-suraci/post_2699_b_1152241.html
Patrick Suraci received his Ph.D. in psychology from the New School for Social Research. He taught at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Baruch College, City University of New York. He worked as a staff psychologist for the New York Police Department and is now in private practice in Manhattan. His first book was Male Sexual Armor: Erotic Fantasies and Sexual Realities of the Cop on the Beat and the Man in the Street and recently published SYBIL in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-suraci/
....I recently published Sybil In Her Own Words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings. It is a follow-up to the case of a woman who had 16 personalities, then called Multiple Personality Disorder. Flora Schreiber wrote this story titled Sybil. The therapist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur used unorthodox, but not unethical, treatment for ten years, such as, psychoanalysis, hypnosis and Sodium Pentothal which resulted in the complete integration of the 16 personalities.
Sybil was the pseudonym for Shirley Mason who was born on January 25, 1923, in Dodge Center, Minnesota. She was an artistically gifted and shy only child. Her family was well known in this little town; therefore, her mother's bizarre behavior was overlooked. During Shirley's treatment the alternate personalities emerged and told of the abuse by her mother. Whenever her mother committed an atrocious attack on Shirley, she would split and development another personality to cope with the trauma.
Attacking the veracity of Sybil published in 1973 did not begin until April 24,1997, when Dr. Herbert Spiegel gave an interview to the New York Review of Books. He stated that Sybil was not a multiple, but rather an hysteric. He claimed to have hypnotized her, performed regression studies and filmed her for the class he taught at Columbia University, thus, discovering that Sybil's therapist, Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, had been: "helping her (Sybil) identifying aspects of her life, or perspectives, that she then called by name. By naming them this way she was reifying a memory of some kind and converting it into a 'personality'..." In fact, he accused Dr. Wilbur of implanting false memories....
When I asked Dr. Spiegel for the film hypnotizing Sybil, he said he could not find it. When asked why he had waited 24 years to report this so-called fraudulent case, he said no one had ever asked him about Sybil....
After Ms. Nathan received many negative criticisms over her inaccuracies and fabrications in Sybil Exposed, a fact checker from the Times claimed she had verified the documents in the Schreiber archives in the Special Collections Library at John Jay College. The sign-in book, which is meticulously guarded, requires a person's signature and date. There is no such entry from this fact checker.
While researching my book, Shirley's cousin Naomi Rhode, found an audio cassette made by Shirley and Dr. Wilbur on February 18, 1977.They were discussion publishing a book about Sybil's paintings. They spoke about the time Dr. Wilbur sent Shirley to Dr. Spiegel. Dr, Wilbur says, "I think that hysterics are people who are willing to enter into a contract with someone whom they trust.
Now if they don't trust that individual to some extent, they may appear to enter into a contract, but they don't really. And as an example of that, I would like to point out that, although Sybil was very readily hypnotizable by me...An expert used her as a demonstration subject, and she agreed to this and he was disagreeable to her.
As a consequence he could not really hypnotize her" Shirley added, "She (Sybil) didn't trust him as much. He tried to make her make something special out of things in her life that weren't special, like birthdays...".
....Shirley gave me information, journals, art work, anything I wanted to make my book an accurate picture of her life. She wanted people to know the benefits of therapy and that she was cured and lived a productive life....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-suraci/post_2699_b_1152241.html
Patrick Suraci received his Ph.D. in psychology from the New School for Social Research. He taught at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Baruch College, City University of New York. He worked as a staff psychologist for the New York Police Department and is now in private practice in Manhattan. His first book was Male Sexual Armor: Erotic Fantasies and Sexual Realities of the Cop on the Beat and the Man in the Street and recently published SYBIL in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-suraci/
Friday, November 25, 2011
words deleted from the dust jacket of Sybil Exposed
permission given to post this:
"The original letter from Helen Vogel, executor of Flora Schreiber's will, giving access to Dr. Patrick Suraci to all of Schreiber's archives, dated Sept. 5, 1998, is in the Special Collections Library at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The archive was made public shortly after that. Simon & Schuster has agreed to delete from the dust jacket in future editions of the book "Sybil Exposed" the words "first person'" in the sentence: "The Sybil archive became available to the public only recently, and Nathan is the first person to have examined all of it...."
"The original letter from Helen Vogel, executor of Flora Schreiber's will, giving access to Dr. Patrick Suraci to all of Schreiber's archives, dated Sept. 5, 1998, is in the Special Collections Library at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The archive was made public shortly after that. Simon & Schuster has agreed to delete from the dust jacket in future editions of the book "Sybil Exposed" the words "first person'" in the sentence: "The Sybil archive became available to the public only recently, and Nathan is the first person to have examined all of it...."
Sunday, November 20, 2011
SYBIL in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason - now available at Amazon
SYBIL in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings [Kindle Edition]
Patrick Suraci Ph.D. (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/SYBIL-her-words-Personalities-ebook/dp/B0067QMNVU/
SYBIL in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings (Volume 1) [Paperback]
Patrick Suraci Ph.D. (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/SYBIL-her-own-words-Personalities/dp/0615560474/
Patrick Suraci Ph.D. (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/SYBIL-her-words-Personalities-ebook/dp/B0067QMNVU/
SYBIL in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings (Volume 1) [Paperback]
Patrick Suraci Ph.D. (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/SYBIL-her-own-words-Personalities/dp/0615560474/
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Review of "Sybil in her own words"
Permission was given to post this here.
The book "Sybil in her own words" by Patrick Suraci, Ph.D. is for sale at Amazon.com
After reading the book "Sybil in her own words" by Patrick Suraci, Ph.D., I realized the importance of this book. The people in the Sybil story are treated like human beings and they are allowed to speak about their own life stories. What is interesting about this book, is that it is written by a professional who has experience with the scientific knowledge of MPD.
The book shows how Dr. Connie Wilbur's treatment was successful and that Shirley Mason (Sybil) never had a relapse or return of her MPD symptoms after her treatment with Wilbur. She was able to live a full life, as shown in her interactions and discussions with Patrick Suraci, Ph.D.
In chapter seven, Dr. Suraci goes back to Shirley Mason's home town to check on her story and validate it. He speaks with three women, Wilma Bode, Betty Christen and Patricia Alcott, who were classmates and playmates with Shirley in her childhood. Wilma and Betty were two of the few children that were able to enter Shirley's household.
Wilma stated, "We always said that her mother was an old witch." She describes Shirley as having troubles concentrating in school and not knowing if she was day dreaming or that her attention was drawn away. Wilma is asked if she believes if Shirley was abused. Wilma states that she believes that some of what is written in the book did happen.
Betty talks about Shirley's mother. She states that her mother never came over to visit, but would come over and look (or peek) in the windows when they had company. She said that "Ms. Mason relieved herself in a neighbor's yard."
Patricia describes Shirley's mother as "strange, stern, raucous" and "someone to stay away from." She states that Shirley's mother (Mattie) "had a shrill voice and ridiculed Shirley." Shirley's mother repeated things over and over again. Patricia stated Mattie "played the piano too loudly, bombastically, venting anger. She was harsh." She said that Shirley's father (Wilbur) "stood in shaded corners with his head down."
Patrick Suraci describes the mechanism of "splitting" that contributed to the development of Shirley's personalities. Shirley came to view Mattie sometimes as the "good mother" and sometimes as the "bad mother."
In his chapter on Shirley in New York, Patrick Suraci speaks with Jim and Naomi, Shirley's closest living relatives. Jim had noticed that on the phone Shirley "was a different personality, a different person." Naomi agreed and described a strong change in personality also. Naomi in Chapter Nine tells Patrick that Shirley and Dr. Wilbur confirmed that the book Sybil "was 100% accurate."
The pictures in the book are excellent. Under one of the pictures drawn by Shirley's alter Peggy of a Christmas tree (in black and white), the note describes that Christmas was unpleasant for Shirley because she would receive a lot of games and toys which her mother would put away and not let her play with. Shirley was told she could play with them another time. Yet her mother would give them away to a poor family that didn't have anything.
Patrick Suraci states in his chapter Controversy Over Sybil that Mason, Schreiber and Wilbur were offered money, television and media interviews to reveal Shirley's identity, but did not do this. He discusses the problems with Dr. Herbert Spiegel's view of the Sybil story, as well as other skeptical of the story.
I highly recommend this book to those interested in the Sybil story. It is very well documented, using actual transcripts of conversations with those in the story and those that knew Shirley, showing that the original Sybil book was an accurate description of Shirley's life.
The book "Sybil in her own words" by Patrick Suraci, Ph.D. is for sale at Amazon.com
After reading the book "Sybil in her own words" by Patrick Suraci, Ph.D., I realized the importance of this book. The people in the Sybil story are treated like human beings and they are allowed to speak about their own life stories. What is interesting about this book, is that it is written by a professional who has experience with the scientific knowledge of MPD.
The book shows how Dr. Connie Wilbur's treatment was successful and that Shirley Mason (Sybil) never had a relapse or return of her MPD symptoms after her treatment with Wilbur. She was able to live a full life, as shown in her interactions and discussions with Patrick Suraci, Ph.D.
In chapter seven, Dr. Suraci goes back to Shirley Mason's home town to check on her story and validate it. He speaks with three women, Wilma Bode, Betty Christen and Patricia Alcott, who were classmates and playmates with Shirley in her childhood. Wilma and Betty were two of the few children that were able to enter Shirley's household.
Wilma stated, "We always said that her mother was an old witch." She describes Shirley as having troubles concentrating in school and not knowing if she was day dreaming or that her attention was drawn away. Wilma is asked if she believes if Shirley was abused. Wilma states that she believes that some of what is written in the book did happen.
Betty talks about Shirley's mother. She states that her mother never came over to visit, but would come over and look (or peek) in the windows when they had company. She said that "Ms. Mason relieved herself in a neighbor's yard."
Patricia describes Shirley's mother as "strange, stern, raucous" and "someone to stay away from." She states that Shirley's mother (Mattie) "had a shrill voice and ridiculed Shirley." Shirley's mother repeated things over and over again. Patricia stated Mattie "played the piano too loudly, bombastically, venting anger. She was harsh." She said that Shirley's father (Wilbur) "stood in shaded corners with his head down."
Patrick Suraci describes the mechanism of "splitting" that contributed to the development of Shirley's personalities. Shirley came to view Mattie sometimes as the "good mother" and sometimes as the "bad mother."
In his chapter on Shirley in New York, Patrick Suraci speaks with Jim and Naomi, Shirley's closest living relatives. Jim had noticed that on the phone Shirley "was a different personality, a different person." Naomi agreed and described a strong change in personality also. Naomi in Chapter Nine tells Patrick that Shirley and Dr. Wilbur confirmed that the book Sybil "was 100% accurate."
The pictures in the book are excellent. Under one of the pictures drawn by Shirley's alter Peggy of a Christmas tree (in black and white), the note describes that Christmas was unpleasant for Shirley because she would receive a lot of games and toys which her mother would put away and not let her play with. Shirley was told she could play with them another time. Yet her mother would give them away to a poor family that didn't have anything.
Patrick Suraci states in his chapter Controversy Over Sybil that Mason, Schreiber and Wilbur were offered money, television and media interviews to reveal Shirley's identity, but did not do this. He discusses the problems with Dr. Herbert Spiegel's view of the Sybil story, as well as other skeptical of the story.
I highly recommend this book to those interested in the Sybil story. It is very well documented, using actual transcripts of conversations with those in the story and those that knew Shirley, showing that the original Sybil book was an accurate description of Shirley's life.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
information from person that has MPD/DID
posted with permission
I have MPD/DID and was diagnosed by one of the most famous physicians, and treated by one of the most famous psychologists, but I got physically ill and had to stop treatment. This was back in the late 90's. Since then, my memories have come back on MY OWN, without a psychologist. No, I do not have a B12 deficiency because I was tested at a muscular dystrophy clinic for Pernicious anemia.
My memories of horrific abuse and torture have been helpful to the district attorney's office in Philadelphia, and I am not the only one reporting this abuse. I have had several district attorneys to my home to interview me. I don't think they would waste their time with numerous interviews if I was delusional.
I have never been integrated, I am still a multiple. This abuse and torture of a child is a gift that keeps on giving........This horrific abuse has to stop. I wonder who finances these people? I have my guesses.
I have nothing to gain financially from this, are the false memory people able to say the same? I never wrote a book, there will be no movie, but I know I am helping the Philadelphia DA's with my memories of abuse and torture.
I will die a poor women, but I have my dignity, and I know the circumstances surrounding my life. That was important to me, to know what, where and why this happened. This was my one and only goal. And to know that I have helped for the greater good, and have been a voice for so many.
Respectfully,
Judith Weiss Collins
I have MPD/DID and was diagnosed by one of the most famous physicians, and treated by one of the most famous psychologists, but I got physically ill and had to stop treatment. This was back in the late 90's. Since then, my memories have come back on MY OWN, without a psychologist. No, I do not have a B12 deficiency because I was tested at a muscular dystrophy clinic for Pernicious anemia.
My memories of horrific abuse and torture have been helpful to the district attorney's office in Philadelphia, and I am not the only one reporting this abuse. I have had several district attorneys to my home to interview me. I don't think they would waste their time with numerous interviews if I was delusional.
I have never been integrated, I am still a multiple. This abuse and torture of a child is a gift that keeps on giving........This horrific abuse has to stop. I wonder who finances these people? I have my guesses.
I have nothing to gain financially from this, are the false memory people able to say the same? I never wrote a book, there will be no movie, but I know I am helping the Philadelphia DA's with my memories of abuse and torture.
I will die a poor women, but I have my dignity, and I know the circumstances surrounding my life. That was important to me, to know what, where and why this happened. This was my one and only goal. And to know that I have helped for the greater good, and have been a voice for so many.
Respectfully,
Judith Weiss Collins
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
from Sybil's closest living relative
posted by permission from Naomi Rhode
As Shirley Mason's (Sybil) closest living relative, I was close to her for the 30 plus years through the saga of her life journey. In fact, I was with her for several days during the week of her death, at her request, and was one of the only people that was in constant contact with her over those 30 years. I kept her identity confidential at her fervent request. Through all these years up until literally the day before she died, she verified the complete accuracy of the book, 'Sybil'. Debbie Nathan claims that she contacted me for an interview in 2008 and that I declined. Over the years many people have contacted me for information about Shirley's life. Not knowing their intent, always, I have declined all such interviews. If Debbie was one of those people, I do not recall the call, as I do not keep records of every call in a busy business life. I apologize for this, but I do not recall her calling. Knowing Dr. Connie Wilbur, and Flora Schreiber, also, the book concerns me greatly. It is an attack on their credibility, their research, and their professionalism. And, the book is a complete attack on the person I loved, Shirley Mason.
Shirley did not die a recluse. Shirley was a loving, and productive woman until her final,lengthy bout with cancer. She painted, and taught painting. She sold her paintings. She corresponded with friends, and regularly with us. She was a woman of strong spiritual faith in God, loved her books and her music, and loved our family greatly. She chose, however, to live carefully and confidentially because she was adamant that her identity not be known. She was very protective of our family and any recourse her life and story may have on us.
As Shirley Mason's (Sybil) closest living relative, I was close to her for the 30 plus years through the saga of her life journey. In fact, I was with her for several days during the week of her death, at her request, and was one of the only people that was in constant contact with her over those 30 years. I kept her identity confidential at her fervent request. Through all these years up until literally the day before she died, she verified the complete accuracy of the book, 'Sybil'. Debbie Nathan claims that she contacted me for an interview in 2008 and that I declined. Over the years many people have contacted me for information about Shirley's life. Not knowing their intent, always, I have declined all such interviews. If Debbie was one of those people, I do not recall the call, as I do not keep records of every call in a busy business life. I apologize for this, but I do not recall her calling. Knowing Dr. Connie Wilbur, and Flora Schreiber, also, the book concerns me greatly. It is an attack on their credibility, their research, and their professionalism. And, the book is a complete attack on the person I loved, Shirley Mason.
Shirley did not die a recluse. Shirley was a loving, and productive woman until her final,lengthy bout with cancer. She painted, and taught painting. She sold her paintings. She corresponded with friends, and regularly with us. She was a woman of strong spiritual faith in God, loved her books and her music, and loved our family greatly. She chose, however, to live carefully and confidentially because she was adamant that her identity not be known. She was very protective of our family and any recourse her life and story may have on us.
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