Sybil Exposed

The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case

By: Debbie Nathan

Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin

Journalist Debbie Nathan reveals the true story behind the famous case of Sybil, the woman with sixteen different personalities.

©2011 Debbie Nathan (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Leveling a steady eye on her oft-sensationalized subject, Nathan serves up a tale just as shocking as the famed original," ( Publishers Weekly)

my mind is blown

Sybil was the story that peaked my interest in abnormal psychology when I was young and the research presented here says it's all a lie. Loved the book, couldn't stop listening

Fascinating and educational

Very interesting book with solid research. Readers who questioned "so was it all a hoax?" after listening have missed the incredible depth and nuance of the story. I learned a lot about multiple personality disorder and gained a greater understanding of the mental health system.

Hmmmmmmm... Nah, I Won't Go There

Well, an interesting look into the world of multiple personalities, with the main character personality being, Sybil.

Was it real? Was it a hoax? Fascinating, that’s for sure!


The author, takes us back to over the last 100 years of treatment that was common in the United States at the time. The discussion is about various methods and treatments, medications, sexual deviance and multiple personalities.

This whole “cottage” industry sprung up and really took hold in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s at a time when women were “discovering themselves, but at the same time, were being misdiagnosed in many cases of multiple personality disorders.

Of course, many books, movies and plays became part of Western cultural folklore with all of this going on.

I've seen movies, read books about the subject in various forms and whatnot, but it’s good to see that this book was well written and exposed the whole Sybil case.

WOW! This Book is a Revalation!

I have spent a lifetime as the only child of a mentally ill woman who has a similar story of abusive childhood and histrionic behavior. I’ve read every psychology book I could get my hands on trying to deal with her. This book completely unraveled so much of what I have long suspected with my own mother. My mom also had a childhood diagnosis of anemia, fainting, blackouts. She has been full of disappearing acts and became a parasitic parent. She lived in San Antonio as a young g mom to me, during the years that Sybil was released as a newspaper periodical. All of the social media and promotion mentioned in this book were things that directly influenced my mom and she no doubt fes off of. I am so grateful to the author for her research and disection of the truth behind this story.

The Narrator was excellent

Would you try another book from Debbie Nathan and/or Marguerite Gavin?

I'm unsure if I would read another.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It was most interesting to hear how a psychotherapist destroyed a woman's life, tried to make herself a hero in the psychotherapy society, and then how the entire world ate it up. There was too much back story on the author of Sybil, Flora Rheta Schreiber, to make it interesting. I had to really push to get through the last 2 hours.