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Hello Everyone. PLEASE read this because it may be enlightening, and I need your help. As some of you know, I authored the book "Feeling Unreal" with Daphne Simeon MD, and then "Stranger To My Self" a few years later. The former, published by Oxford University, was the first book in English on the topic of DPD, the second, from a small independent publisher, was a more readable, personal account with whatever new information was available at the time. I also founded one of the earlier DPD websites, Depersonalization.info, more than a decade ago.
I experienced DPD in its most horrible forms long before some of you were even alive. I've studied it and written about it from every possible angle-from the medical aspects to the philosophic and spiritual possibilities. Through the years, I've answered literally thousands of emails and tried to offer help, advice or referrals whenever I could. In time, it became clear that I was answering many of the same questions over and over again. With the internet, DPD went from a topic of complete obscurity to one of endless conversation and speculation, often by people who may or may not have the condition itself. Self-help programs have emerged and some people are clearly trying to profit from people looking for any glimmer of hope. If some of them work, great. But I have never offered anything other than these books, and I've never aggressively marketed them, especially in the many DP forums or facebook groups. I have made my living as an editor and writer my whole life, and have always been a strong believer in what is known as editorial integrity. I believe that it is the writer's job to do the work, the publisher's job to market it. Like most writers, I do a bad job of self-promotion.
These books were not written to make money, but to bring this thing called DPD to light by putting all that is known about it, or theorized about it all together in one place. I believe I have succeeded in that. Whatever money can be made off of the condition has gone to the psychiatrists and psychologists who are now able to cash in on a whole new class of patients. Sad but true.
"Feeling Unreal" was met with some skepticism by the emerging online DPD communities when it first came out in 2006. A lot of nasty people were questioning my motives and credentials. Some were quite insulting personally. So I withdrew from all of the online communities and limited my communication to depersonalization.info or questions directed to me via email. I have kept a low profile, and tried to let the work speak for itself while I went on to other, more profitable endeavors. For better or worse, however, all of that must now change. My publishers have not been happy with this low-key approach and I need to do a little more to get the word out on my own.
I am currently communicating with a film maker in France where a new DPD study will attempt to use Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat the condition. (TMS has shown promise for people with severe depression and MAY help with DPD). I want to take part in this research, and also have the publisher do a French translation of 'Stranger To My Self." If the TMS works, I would also like to update the book to include this information. To do all this, however, the publisher needs to see a surge in sales. It's just a cold hard face in this rapidly changing book-publishing world.
I also want to found a nonprofit group specifically for the study of DPD, and sponsor regional conferences where people from the lay and medical communities can discuss it. All of this takes public interest, and money.
So here's the deal. I don't claim to be the world's expert on DPD, or anything else. I am not competing with nor knocking anyone's programs or products. But everything I've gathered and everything I know was put into the book "Stranger To My Self." Most, if not all of your questions will be answered therein. I have drawn heavily from Dr. Sierra's book within its pages, putting all of that valuable information into plain, understandable English. Check out the reviews on Amazon and see what people have said about it. It DOES offer suggestions in terms of good treatment, even cures. It DOES go into all the literary references and philosophical ramifications, as well as all the medical and psychological factors. Please PLEASE take a chance and order this book.
Imagine if everyone on this, and similar pages read this book as a point of departure. Discussions could then go beyond the most rudimentary questions, the answers to which are provided within it. It is essentially a primer on the topic-a condensed version of everything you would find during years of research, most of it not online.
If you will order it, I will personally address any questions you may have after you've read it. Promise. You can get it from Amazon, but I prefer you order it here:
http://www.the-book-source.com/
The price should be as low as Amazon, and if it isn't just contact them and tell them.
I will post this in several places as my one attempt to boost sales of this book and move forward with the study of DPD. Knowing that I am doing it for future research, and a higher purpose as it were, just makes all this a little easier for me. Thanks in advance to all of you.
I experienced DPD in its most horrible forms long before some of you were even alive. I've studied it and written about it from every possible angle-from the medical aspects to the philosophic and spiritual possibilities. Through the years, I've answered literally thousands of emails and tried to offer help, advice or referrals whenever I could. In time, it became clear that I was answering many of the same questions over and over again. With the internet, DPD went from a topic of complete obscurity to one of endless conversation and speculation, often by people who may or may not have the condition itself. Self-help programs have emerged and some people are clearly trying to profit from people looking for any glimmer of hope. If some of them work, great. But I have never offered anything other than these books, and I've never aggressively marketed them, especially in the many DP forums or facebook groups. I have made my living as an editor and writer my whole life, and have always been a strong believer in what is known as editorial integrity. I believe that it is the writer's job to do the work, the publisher's job to market it. Like most writers, I do a bad job of self-promotion.
These books were not written to make money, but to bring this thing called DPD to light by putting all that is known about it, or theorized about it all together in one place. I believe I have succeeded in that. Whatever money can be made off of the condition has gone to the psychiatrists and psychologists who are now able to cash in on a whole new class of patients. Sad but true.
"Feeling Unreal" was met with some skepticism by the emerging online DPD communities when it first came out in 2006. A lot of nasty people were questioning my motives and credentials. Some were quite insulting personally. So I withdrew from all of the online communities and limited my communication to depersonalization.info or questions directed to me via email. I have kept a low profile, and tried to let the work speak for itself while I went on to other, more profitable endeavors. For better or worse, however, all of that must now change. My publishers have not been happy with this low-key approach and I need to do a little more to get the word out on my own.
I am currently communicating with a film maker in France where a new DPD study will attempt to use Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to treat the condition. (TMS has shown promise for people with severe depression and MAY help with DPD). I want to take part in this research, and also have the publisher do a French translation of 'Stranger To My Self." If the TMS works, I would also like to update the book to include this information. To do all this, however, the publisher needs to see a surge in sales. It's just a cold hard face in this rapidly changing book-publishing world.
I also want to found a nonprofit group specifically for the study of DPD, and sponsor regional conferences where people from the lay and medical communities can discuss it. All of this takes public interest, and money.
So here's the deal. I don't claim to be the world's expert on DPD, or anything else. I am not competing with nor knocking anyone's programs or products. But everything I've gathered and everything I know was put into the book "Stranger To My Self." Most, if not all of your questions will be answered therein. I have drawn heavily from Dr. Sierra's book within its pages, putting all of that valuable information into plain, understandable English. Check out the reviews on Amazon and see what people have said about it. It DOES offer suggestions in terms of good treatment, even cures. It DOES go into all the literary references and philosophical ramifications, as well as all the medical and psychological factors. Please PLEASE take a chance and order this book.
Imagine if everyone on this, and similar pages read this book as a point of departure. Discussions could then go beyond the most rudimentary questions, the answers to which are provided within it. It is essentially a primer on the topic-a condensed version of everything you would find during years of research, most of it not online.
If you will order it, I will personally address any questions you may have after you've read it. Promise. You can get it from Amazon, but I prefer you order it here:
http://www.the-book-source.com/
The price should be as low as Amazon, and if it isn't just contact them and tell them.
I will post this in several places as my one attempt to boost sales of this book and move forward with the study of DPD. Knowing that I am doing it for future research, and a higher purpose as it were, just makes all this a little easier for me. Thanks in advance to all of you.
