Truddi Character Analysis

When children experience trauma throughout their childhood, it can manifest in dangerous ways in their later life. Much like what happens to Truddi Chase, the main character and narrator of the novel. She was subjected to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse from the age of two. This abuse she suffered by the hands of her mother and stepfather is the reason that she developed ‘the troops’ which is how she refers to her other personalities. The troops are made up of over 92 different and distant personalities, which their own names, memories and emotion range. This novel also demonstrates how difficult it can be to diagnosis multiple personality disorder or dissociative identity disorder. The troops and Truddi had met with many different doctors and specialist before meeting with Robert Philips who was able to put a name to what she was experiencing throughout her life. This book was of interest to me, because I have never really understood how multiple personalities worked. The novel breaks this down for the reader, Truddi and the troops
I do realize that not everyone will experience the disorder like Truddi and the troops have. I want to read and learn more about other’s experiences and what the root cause of their disorder was and is. For Truddi the troops were her way of coping with the trauma she suffered as a child. I really want to meet and have a sit down conversation with someone that has been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. I want to be more informed before I can consider ever working with a client that has dissociative identity disorder. I feel the best way to obtain this knowledge is to ask questions to other social workers, who have had experience when it comes to working with some that has dissociative identity disorder. I need to interact with this disorder more through literature, research, and practice in order to understand it