Title:  Raven and the Hummingbird

Author: Renate F. Caldwell        

Genre: Psychology / Memoir

 

An incident causes 32-year-old abuse survivor Joan’s mind to shatter into 52 alternate personalities. They emerge to enable her to dissociate from the unimaginable depravity and pain she was subjected to as an infant and beyond.

For twelve years, she struggles through daily life until, in 2003, a chance meeting with therapist Renate Caldwell causes both women to embark on a five-year, life-changing journey to integrate Joan’s alters or “parts” into wholeness.

Raven and the Hummingbird is a remarkable book that reads like an absorbing epic fantasy or allegorical novel reminiscent of Tolkien or Bunyan, yet is borne and thrives from inescapably awful facts.

The book does not shy away from revealing Joan’s horrific history but Caldwell is careful to calmly explore traumatic events with clear-sighted, purposeful, yet measured, prose.

When not directly discussing Joan, her writing is beautiful, gently elegant, and shot through with poetry. The book is fairly mammoth but never feels overlong and is hypnotic to read.

For a lay reader, Multiple Personality Disorder (“MPD”) or Dissociative Identity Disorder (“DID”) could be viewed as difficult to fully understand and empathize with. Overall, Caldwell unfolds Joan’s story with utmost clarity and consideration for readers without a mental health background.

She candidly involves the reader in her own thought processes and decision-making concerning Joan and her treatment, gently summarizing and consolidating what occurred in the sessions. This recapitulation is as much for herself as for the reader and it flows seamlessly within the main narrative.

And what a narrative it is. Caldwell paints a fascinatingly intricate picture of Joan’s fractured mind that is compelling, despite the appalling circumstances that caused it. Notwithstanding, Joan is a woman of prodigious intelligence and talent, and Caldwell is understandably keen to ensure this is fully recognized.

Although Joan’s mind created 52 parts in order to dissociate, approximately 15 come forward regularly during the sessions. The complexities and sophistication of the parts is truly astounding and profoundly fascinating.

The alters range from fully-developed, characterful young children, teenagers, and adults with distinct identities, appearances, and physical traits to semi-mythical beings, such as the titular Raven, who is an “inner self-helper,” and “Many Voices,” who is the Observer and Scribe.

All parts interact together in a visionary landscape within Joan’s mind “The Inner Realm.” This imaginary environment consists of dwellings and near-mystical features including “The Path of Crushed Lies” and “The River of Tears.”

Not all parts co-exist peacefully or are beneficial. There are toxic alters and those imbued with rage and shame. Together Caldwell and Joan steadily, yet slowly, unpick the dynamics and functions of the parts, a process fraught with setbacks, both frustrating and intriguing.

Caldwell weaves this amazing mental topography with brief, sharply focused recollections of her own childhood, which itself was not without trauma. Caldwell’s personality becomes subtly intrinsic to Joan’s sessions, and their relationship is touching and genuine albeit always professional.

There are prosaic periods dealing with Joan’s alcohol abuse and daily struggles with her husband and daughters. Caldwell offers a well-rounded, honest view of the impact Joan’s disorder and drinking have on her family and their often exasperated reactions.

The book can be overwhelming at times and occasionally abstruse, although Caldwell’s glossary is supremely helpful. The ending feels a touch sudden. Possibly, for reader closure, an epilogue seemed needed to revisit Joan a year or so later—and Caldwell, for that matter.

Raven and the Hummingbird is an immense, immersive, and affecting work.  Caldwell impresses as an exceptional therapist and a very fine writer who has produced a deeply absorbing, educational, and inspiring chronicle of her time with Joan.

 

 

This Editorial Review was written by the Book Review Directory staff. To receive a similarly honest, professional review for one of your own books, click here.