Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin

The quick cut: A college aged girl starts losing days at a time and discovers that she has dissociative identity disorder. 

A real review:

 Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the arc for an honest review. 

We all become different versions of ourselves over time, but what if that was true all of the time for you? What if you weren't as singular a person as you always thought? This is a struggle and process for Dylan. 

 Dylan has had many doctors, medications, and therapies over the years for her issues. She's not new to losing time, but when she wakes and discovers she's lost three days? It's a bigger span than ever before. Soon discovering a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (also known as DID), she's forced to grapple with the reality she's never dealt with before and the trauma that started it. Can she find a balance to move forward with her life? 

 I've read many ARCs before, but rarely do they inspire me as much as this one. Every now and then I read one I know I'll want to read again, but this had me preordering a physical copy before I even finished it! It's such a profoundly well written representation of DID, which is far too often demonized in media. The movies Identity and Split (while entertaining) are not accurate representations of DID and this book makes that point spectacularly! 

 We get to watch Dylan go through the entire process of diagnosis: from the breaking point (a 3 day time loss) all the way to acceptance (of her alters and inner life). Her struggles to deal with her diagnosis and understand the trauma her alters have been carrying for her feel genuine. The alters also very much have their own personalities and feel like their own unique selves. It's clear the author was deliberately careful in their representation of DID in this book. 

 Like many mental health conditions, this story also shows how frustrating getting a true diagnosis can be: with multiple doctors, medications, and misdiagnoses. So many people go through this agony to the true answers and it's a good thing to have that represented. It's okay to stand up for yourself so that you can find the truth. 

 There's also mentions of depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. They are only mentions though, not truly represented in the story. They do occur often though in the diagnosis process for DID. 

 While this book deals with some difficult topics like suicide, sexual assault, and mental health, I do feel like they're tackled in an appropriate and authentic way. It's a great book for older teens who are ready for a story with solid disability representation that shows what proper support looks like. 

A powerful story on dissociative identity disorder (DID). 

My rating: 5 out of 5