One of the things I found most striking in reading Erin Lale’s autobiography, Greater Than The Sum Of My Parts, is that her life seems relatively normal—except when it isn’t. A litany of memories, many of them seem everyday scenes from childhood or teen years that present the puzzling picture life with DID. Lale’s book is not a psychiatric pamphlet or even a story presented from her viewpoint now. She goes through everything in her life as she saw it at the time, letting her reader go through it with her with as little preconceptions of what they should be thinking as a person living it would. Her style of narration can be informative both to people trying to understand DID from an outsider perspective and those who have it. I almost, as a reader, shared the same reactions I imagine she did at the random acts of cruelty and loneliness that dotted her life back to back with stories of simplicity or happiness that one might find in anyone’s autobiography. Simply with surprise and confusion, and then shoved it to the back of my mind since it had no explanation or place in this world, and quickly got back to the things that did seem to fit and make sense. Later those things had obvious consequences that showed in her emerging ‘divisions’ as she refers to them, sides of her that functioned primarily to fight, or be still, or be silent. Some things stand out such as extraordinary intelligence and frequent yet untreated health problems.
After facing a nearly complete breakdown of mind and body simultaneously, Lale narrates how she used her own methods in recovery. Using her experiences trying to survive after her internal system of divisions (alters) crashed, including hospitalization, lawsuits, and bankruptcy, she demonstrates how difficult it is to navigate a legal system that actually makes receiving help extremely difficult, if not impossible, for someone who suddenly is incapable of the most basic life functions. Having chosen to “integrate” her divisions, Lale finds herself now able to not only function as she couldn’t before, but able to utilize all the skills and knowledge her divisions had individually. Having chosen to “integrate” her divisions, Lale finds herself now able to not only function as she couldn’t before, but able to utilize all the skills and knowledge her divisions had individually. She uses this to attempt to change the system for the mentally ill, explaining it from an insider perspective and fighting for their right to dignified treatment. Greater Than The Sum Of My Parts is jointly a narrative of life with dissociation and a description of the American legal system for those struggling with mental illness. It is a much needed voice for those who cannot use their own.
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