Sybil Exposed

I won this as part of a Goodreads First Reads giveaway, but that has in no way influenced my review.

This was a wonderful book. The amount of research Debbie Nathan put into her book is staggering. I can't help but shake my head at how Shirley a.k.a. Sybil, Dr. Wilbur and Flora managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes with the story. Shirley may have been mentally ill, but I certainly don't believe she was a multiple. I believe Dr. Wilbur wanted her fame and recognition in this field as a psychiatrist so she latched onto Shirley and ran with her problems. She drugged and manipulated the woman and took advantage of Shirley's loneliness and attachment to her. Then together, they roped Flora into writing Sybil. Flora had her doubts, but she too wanted her fame and recognition, and she was conned with the fake diary that Shirley and Dr. Wilbur gave her. These three women all needed something: Shirley needed attention from Dr. Wilbur, Dr. Wilbur, as a woman, needed recognition as a woman in her field of psychiatry, and Flora needed fame and riches from a bestseller. They kept this lie under wraps and deceived the world and the disservice that Dr. Wilbur did not only to her patient(s) but to the field of psychiatry is shameful. Debbie Nathan has done a great job of breaking down the stories of all three women and exposing the lies and each woman for what they were.