Us

Us is a masterful rendering of the life and relationships of Margaret, a young woman tortured by her struggle with dissociative identity disorder, written by psychologist Dr. Matthew McKay.

Dissociative Identity Disorder, a severe and controversial psychological disorder, is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct identity states or personalities. Treatment is aimed toward ultimately integrating the multiple personalities. Us is the story of a woman who chooses to live her life without undergoing this recommended integration, and wants her boyfriend, Walker, to accept her as she is?alternating between a frightened child, an angry male adolescent, a bawdy southern belle, and a suicidal woman who seems to belong nowhere. Us explores the question of what happens in relationships when one is damaged, but seeks acceptance as opposed to being ?fixed.” As Margaret teeters at the edge of self-destruction, Us examines the far limits of what can be given in the name of love.

Matthew McKay, PhD, draws from years of experience as a psychologist in clinics and private practice, which has included the treatment of the controversial dissociative identity disorder. He is a professor of psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley and author of more than thirty professional psychology and self-help books, which have sold a combined total of more than three million copies. He is co-founder of independent self-help publisher, New Harbinger Publications. He was the clinical director of Haight Ashbury Psychological Services in San Francisco for twenty-five years and is currently the director of the Berkeley CBT Clinic. McKay is an accomplished novelist and poet. His poetry has appeared in two volumes from Plum Branch Press and in more than sixty literary magazines. His novel, Wawona Hotel, was published by Boaz Publishing Company in 2008.