All of Me

"Kim Noble" is a British mother and artist, but she does not really exist; she has been replaced by 20 "alters," or personalities created by dissociative identity disorder (DID, also known as multiple personality disorder). Before Noble turned three, sexual abuse fractured her mind irreparably. Patricia, the current dominant personality, writes this memoir. Patricia chronicles a childhood of lost time and confusion. After several suicide attempts, Noble spends years in treatment and institutions, beginning at age 14. Released in her 20s, Noble experiences normalcy (a job, her own apartment, a boyfriend) peppered with crises. Only in her 30s is she finally diagnosed with DID and slowly begins to understand her life. Discovering painting is transformative; her alters all have widely disparate styles, which quickly attract the attention of galleries and buyers. Most dramatically, Patricia learn that the little girl she has been caring for is actually her daughter, and she begins a difficult and ultimately successful custody battle. Readers share Noble's frustration; the sense of persecution that permeated her childhood, her constantly questioning the world she couldn't understand. Nonetheless, Noble paints a remarkable portrait of a fractured world slowly pieced together by a tenacious set of people. (Oct.)