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
This blog will be about the book "Sybil" and the life of Shirley Ardell Mason. Sybil was published in 1973 and written by Flora Rheta Schreiber about the treatment of Sybil Dorsett (which is a pseudonym for Shirley Ardell Mason) for what is now called dissociative identity disorder (then called multiple personality disorder). She was treated by her psychoanalyst, Cornelia B. Wilbur.
Showing posts with label Patrick Suraci. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patrick Suraci. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
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, October 22, 2011
Inaccuracies in Nathan's book, Sybil Exposed
Inaccuracies in Nathan's book, Sybil Exposed
October 19, 2011, Statement from Dr. Patrick Suraci
I went to the Special Collections Library at John Jay College of Criminal Justice to verify statements made by Debbie Nathan in her book SYBIL EXPOSED.
1. On pages 99-100 Nathan writes: “Connie would carry her apparatus to Shirley’s apartment and climb in bed with her. She would clamp the paddles to Shirley’s temples, twirl the dials, and press the buttons. Connie’s gadget was an old electro-convulsive machine she had retired years earlier.”
Nathan cites the evidence for this in her “Notes: Chapter 8, No.38.. FRS Box 37, Files 1081, Tape 124.” In this document on January 26, 1955, Shirley writes about “electric shock” along with her other treatments. There is absolutely no documentation of Nathan’s outrageous claim.
2. On page 71 Nathan writes: “Completely inexperienced with men, she had little idea of how to take Gene’s (O’Neill) measure. He noticed her ignorance and didn’t like it. Too‘girlish’ he called Flora, particularly when it came to sex. In a sheaf of notes she wrote to herself, she described feeling pain at having his finger inside her, let alone his penis. ‘Be an animal,’ Gene would urge her, and he blamed her reticence on the fact that she had a profession. ‘You bring Adelphi College into the bedroom. It is not that career women don’t want to go to bed – it is that they don’t know how,’ he scolded Flora.”
To prove this Nathan cites in: “Notes: Chapter 6, No.11, FRS Box 34, File 1051” In this document Schreiber writes about Eugene O’Neill: “His complaint – Be an animal – give – you bring Adelphi College into the bedroom – we’re close friends in the living room and the moment we go into the bedroom you become a stranger…he says that it is not that career women don’t want to go to bed – it is that they don’t know how. Outcome might have been different if she had gone to bed with him on the last Saturday after he told her about _____” Schreiber at no time writes about O’Neill’s “finger” or “penis.”
3. On page 232 Nathan writes: “…She (Shirley Mason) died quietly in her home, surrounded by nurses, on February 26 of that year. She was seventy-five years old. It was early evening when she died.”
In my book SYBIL in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings. On page 261 I write:
“The penultimate time I phoned Shirley’s home was on February 26, 1998, at 12:07 PM. In the background I heard her weak voice pleading to Roberta ,(Guy) ‘Tell him I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’ Roberta informed me that Shirley was too sick to speak on the phone. I mumbled, ‘Please tell her that it’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll call later.’ …
“When I called later that day at 3:01 PM Roberta stunned me with the news than Shirley had just died.”
Dr. Suraci has the telephone records of that day, February 26, 1998.
October 19, 2011, Statement from Dr. Patrick Suraci
I went to the Special Collections Library at John Jay College of Criminal Justice to verify statements made by Debbie Nathan in her book SYBIL EXPOSED.
1. On pages 99-100 Nathan writes: “Connie would carry her apparatus to Shirley’s apartment and climb in bed with her. She would clamp the paddles to Shirley’s temples, twirl the dials, and press the buttons. Connie’s gadget was an old electro-convulsive machine she had retired years earlier.”
Nathan cites the evidence for this in her “Notes: Chapter 8, No.38.. FRS Box 37, Files 1081, Tape 124.” In this document on January 26, 1955, Shirley writes about “electric shock” along with her other treatments. There is absolutely no documentation of Nathan’s outrageous claim.
2. On page 71 Nathan writes: “Completely inexperienced with men, she had little idea of how to take Gene’s (O’Neill) measure. He noticed her ignorance and didn’t like it. Too‘girlish’ he called Flora, particularly when it came to sex. In a sheaf of notes she wrote to herself, she described feeling pain at having his finger inside her, let alone his penis. ‘Be an animal,’ Gene would urge her, and he blamed her reticence on the fact that she had a profession. ‘You bring Adelphi College into the bedroom. It is not that career women don’t want to go to bed – it is that they don’t know how,’ he scolded Flora.”
To prove this Nathan cites in: “Notes: Chapter 6, No.11, FRS Box 34, File 1051” In this document Schreiber writes about Eugene O’Neill: “His complaint – Be an animal – give – you bring Adelphi College into the bedroom – we’re close friends in the living room and the moment we go into the bedroom you become a stranger…he says that it is not that career women don’t want to go to bed – it is that they don’t know how. Outcome might have been different if she had gone to bed with him on the last Saturday after he told her about _____” Schreiber at no time writes about O’Neill’s “finger” or “penis.”
3. On page 232 Nathan writes: “…She (Shirley Mason) died quietly in her home, surrounded by nurses, on February 26 of that year. She was seventy-five years old. It was early evening when she died.”
In my book SYBIL in her own words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings. On page 261 I write:
“The penultimate time I phoned Shirley’s home was on February 26, 1998, at 12:07 PM. In the background I heard her weak voice pleading to Roberta ,(Guy) ‘Tell him I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’ Roberta informed me that Shirley was too sick to speak on the phone. I mumbled, ‘Please tell her that it’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll call later.’ …
“When I called later that day at 3:01 PM Roberta stunned me with the news than Shirley had just died.”
Dr. Suraci has the telephone records of that day, February 26, 1998.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sybil In Her Own Words - The Untold Story of Shirley Mason
“SYBIL In Her Own Words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings” by Patrick Suraci, Ph.D.
SYBIL is a new book about Shirley Mason who had 16 personalities. It tells the story of her life after her cure depicted in the book SYBIL and TV movie starring Sally Field. This book contains paintings by 5 of Sybil’s alternate personalities. The author’s interviews with Shirley Mason report her own words and her new whole personality.
In the book, the author presents evidence refuting Dr. Spiegel’s claim to have hypnotized Shirley Mason. Dr. Suraci discovered an audio cassette where Ms. Mason and Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, her therapist, discuss how it was impossible for Dr. Spiegel to hypnotize Shirley, because she did not trust or like him.
Author: Patrick Suraci, Ph.D.
The author describes writing the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBgr92uC4YI&feature=youtu.be
Born May 31, 1936 in Rochester, New York, Patrick Suraci received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Assumption College, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the New School for Social Research, New York in 1981.
Author's biography: http://members.authorsguild.net/psuraci/
Art work from the book: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.108682822546007.17639.108610352553254&type=1
SYBIL is a new book about Shirley Mason who had 16 personalities. It tells the story of her life after her cure depicted in the book SYBIL and TV movie starring Sally Field. This book contains paintings by 5 of Sybil’s alternate personalities. The author’s interviews with Shirley Mason report her own words and her new whole personality.
In the book, the author presents evidence refuting Dr. Spiegel’s claim to have hypnotized Shirley Mason. Dr. Suraci discovered an audio cassette where Ms. Mason and Dr. Cornelia Wilbur, her therapist, discuss how it was impossible for Dr. Spiegel to hypnotize Shirley, because she did not trust or like him.
Author: Patrick Suraci, Ph.D.
The author describes writing the book: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBgr92uC4YI&feature=youtu.be
Born May 31, 1936 in Rochester, New York, Patrick Suraci received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Assumption College, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the New School for Social Research, New York in 1981.
Author's biography: http://members.authorsguild.net/psuraci/
Art work from the book: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.108682822546007.17639.108610352553254&type=1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)