Strange Country Ep. 41: Shirley Mason
May 17, 2018
Before the book Sybil, there were only a handful of cases of Multiple Personality Disorder. After the book, the number exploded. But was Sybil's story all it was said to be? Her mother's orgies in the woods with teenage girls, her mother defecating on the lawns of neighbors, giving Sybil ice-water enemas? Or was it all suggested by a therapist while the patient was hopped up on a variety of barbiturates and methamphetamine? In Strange Country Ep. 41, co-hosts Beth and Kelly look into the debunking the story of Sybil whose real name was Shirley Mason and the behavior of her beloved therapist Dr. Cornelia Wilbur.
Make Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case by Debbie Nathan your book club selection and then meet Beth at Cazenovia Bagels to talk about it.
As always, give credit where credit is due:
Inglis-Arkell, Esther. “What Truths Does ‘Truth Serum’ Sodium Pentothal Actually Reveal?” io9, io9.Gizmodo.com, 19 Apr. 2012, io9.gizmodo.com/5902559/what-truths-does-truth-serum-actually-reveal.
Nathan, Debbie. Sybil Exposed: the Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case. Free Press, 2012.
RetroReport. Sybil: A Brilliant Hysteric? The New York Times, 24 Nov. 2014, www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000003250377/sybil-a-brilliant-hysteric.html.
“Tapes Raise New Doubts About 'Sybil' Personalities.” The New York Times, 19 Aug. 1998, www.nytimes.com/1998/08/19/us/tapes-raise-new-doubts-about-sybil-personalities.html?action=click&contentCollection=Magazine&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article.
“Vitamin Deficiency Anemia.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 9 Nov. 2016, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/vitamin-deficiency-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355025.