Synopses & Reviews
In 1989, Robert B. Oxnam, the successful China scholar and president of the Asia Society, faced up to what he thought was his biggest personal challenge: alcoholism. But this dependency masked a problem far more serious: Multiple Personality Disorder.
At the peak of his professional career, after having led the Asia Society for nearly a decade, Oxnam was haunted by periodic blackouts and episodic rages. After his family and friends intervened, Oxnam received help from a psychiatrist, Dr. Jeffery Smith, and entered a rehab center. It wasn't until 1990 during a session with Dr. Smith that the first of Oxnam's eleven alternate personalities an angry young boy named Tommy suddenly emerged. With Dr. Smith's help, Oxnam began the exhausting and fascinating process of uncovering his many personalities and the childhood trauma that caused his condition.
This is the powerful and moving story of one person's struggle with this terrifying illness. The book includes an epilogue by Dr. Smith in which he describes Robert's case, the treatment, and the nature of multiple personality disorder. Robert's courage in facing his situation and overcoming his painful past makes for a dramatic and inspiring book.
Review
"A Fractured Mind is a story I urged him to tell." Jane Pauley, host of The Jane Pauley Show and author of Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue
Review
"...Oxnam reveals how someone who appears so successful and talented on the outside can be filled with overwhelming self-hatred." Marlene Steinberg, M.D., author of The Stranger in the Mirror The Hidden Epidemic
Synopsis
In the tradition of An Unquiet Mind comes the heartbreaking memoir of a prominent scholar's long journey to put the pieces of his fractured life together.
Synopsis
The harrowing, insightful, and courageous account of a prominent man's struggle with multiple personalitiesRobert Oxnam was a high-profile, successful man: A renowned scholar and president of the Asia Society, he appeared frequently on television and traveled the world as a sought-after expert. But what the millions of people who'd seen him didn't know--what even those closest to him didn't know--was that Oxnam suffered from multiple personality disorder. It was only after an intervention staged by family and friends, in response to frequent blackouts and episodic rages assumed to be alcohol-driven, that he sought treatment with Dr. Jeffery Smith; the first of his eleven personalities emerged in a session in 1990. After years of treatment, he has integrated them into three: Robert, Wanda, and Bobby, who take turns narrating this remarkable, unprecedented chronicle.
About the Author
Robert B. Oxnam is internationally recognized as an outstanding Asia specialist and dynamic speaker. He often accompanies prominent Americans such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, former President George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush as they seek in-depth, first hand knowledge of China. He was president of the Asia Society for over a decade, which has headquarters in New York, across the U.S., and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He has hosted MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour specials on Asia. He lives in New York with his wife Vishakha Desai.