“True Crime, a memoir” by Patricia Cornwell (1, 2): Imaginary Companion “Mr. Owl,” and Alternate Personality, Protagonist “Kay Scarpetta”

“That afternoon when I got home from school, I retreated to my bedroom closet in hopes I might have a chat with my secret friend Mr. Owl. I don’t know his origin. He wasn’t a character in any story I was aware of, including those I wrote. The Mr. Owl in the Tootsie Pop commercial didn’t exist at the time. My Mr. Owl was unique, and I believed he was real…

“As I would feel when writing novels someday, it didn’t seem he was my idea or invented. One day he fluttered into my mind of his own volition. It was as if he discovered me and not the other way around. Decades later, I’d feel the same way about my medical examiner protagonist Kay Scarpetta and other characters…” (1, p. 104).

“If I’m receptive and attentive, treasures find me, including stories. My ideas aren’t premeditated, my best work is never forced. I’m constantly surprised by what I consider gifts from the universe. The only requirement is that I try” (1, p. 179).

Comment: In Multiple Personality (a.k.a. Dissociative identity), an alternate personality is a part of the mind that is experienced as having a mind of its own.

1. Patricia Cornwell. True Crime, a memoir. New York Grand Central Publishing, 2026.

2. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Cornwell.

Added same day:  Search 'Patricia Cornwell' for past posts in this blog.

Is Multiple Personality Rare? Not Everyone Thinks So.

1. Martha Stout, Ph.D. The Myth of Sanity, Tales of Multiple Personality in Everyday Life. Divided Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness. New York, N.Y. Penguin Books. 2002.

Added May 4, 2026: I've asked A.I. ("Rufus") why both Martha Stout (in her other books) and H. Cleckley (in his books) have discussed Multiple Personality and Psychopathy. The answer is that both disorders involve deceptive and manipulative behavior.

The key distinction is that Multiple Personality involves too much feeling (overwhelming trauma creating self-protective splitting), while psychopathy involves absence of empathy and conscience.

“The Stranger Within: Living With Multiple Personality Disorder” by Judith Skillings, Psy.D., a story about coming to terms with being Transgender

“I found I often identified with the struggles of both 'Stacey' and 'Jack'," adds the author on the back cover (1).

1. Judith Skillings, Psy.D. The Stranger Within: Living with Multiple Personality Disorder. Victoria, BC, Canada, Transgender Publishing, 2023.

Do Cross-Gender Appearance and Attitude Prove a Person is Transgender, and Does Not Have Multiple Personality? No. And since the distinction is NOT self-evident, it has been studied:

International Journal of Transgender Health 

Article Link:  https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2025.2573832 

Dissociative identity disorder and dissociative symptoms in people with gender incongruence: a critical review of literature and a case series by Riki Lane, Matthew Kaufman, David Colón Cabrera & Gurvinder Kalra …Published online: 15 Oct 2025

 

Comment:  

The New York Times Book Review of April 4, 2026 recommended Authority (Essays) by Andrea Long Chu, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, so I ordered it. 

The book makes it clear that the author is assumed to be Transgender, but since its index makes no mention of distinguishing it from multiple personality, how did the author, the publisher, or the Pulitzer Prize judges know her correct diagnosis? I guess they looked at Chu’s photo on the back flap and assumed it was self-evident. However, the International Journal of Transgender Health knew you have to evaluate for hidden, alternate personalities.

I am not saying that Chu is not transgender, but only that it is not proven.

1. Andrea Long Chu. Authority (Essays). New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025.

“On Morrison” by Namwali Serpell: Preliminary Dissociative Clues

I have just begun reading this book about Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison by the eminent Harvard English professor, Namwali Serpell (2), whose own novels I have ordered, but not yet received.

My own past posts have suggested that Toni Morrison had the novelist’s normal, creative version of multiple personality (a.k.a.”dissociative identity”) which I call “multiple personality trait,” a creative asset. There are three possible clues to this at the beginning of Serpell’s book.

Three Possible Clues to Morrison’s Creative Trait

1.“The two Pecolas discuss... in a mono-dia-logue...” (1, p. 43).

2. On what psychological basis does Serpell interpret a character’s “shadow self” as “black humor” instead of an alternate personality (1, p. 43)?

3.“In this way it produces the effect of a particular feature of this character’s consciousness: a repeated dissociative forgetfulness, or fugue state, during which she loses her grasp on the names and uses of things" (1, p. 109).

Comment: To read past posts on “Toni Morrison,” search her in this blog.

1. Namwali Serpell: On Morrison. New York, Hogarth, 2026.

2. Wikipedia. “Namwali Serpell.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namwali_Serpell 

“The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts” by Kim Fu: Adult Protagonist Confesses Multiple Personality (a.k.a. Dissociative Identity”), Probably Reflecting Author

“I just wish she [my late mother] was still here, to tell me what to do. I constantly wish I could ask her advice. I feel like a child, in the worst possible way. Like I’m five years old and she abandoned me in a parking lot. Sometimes I’ll be talking to someone, a bank teller or a waiter or a canvasser on the street, and I’ll have this moment of genuine dissociation and confusion, like, why are they talking to me like this? Can’t they see I’m only a child?” (1, p. 25).

Child and infant personalities are found in virtually every MPD patient’s system of alter (alternate) personalities (2, p.107).

Comment: I suspect the author's protagonist has multple personality because the author has the creative version discussed in this blog: "multiple personality trait."

1. Kim Fu. The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts. New York, Tin House, Zando, 2026.

2. Frank W. Putnam. MD. Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder. New York, The Guilford Press,1989. 

“Graphology Signatures: A Comprehensive Book on Signature Analysis” by Varun L. Rupani: A Possible Application to President Trump

“Cursive with Angular Pattern:" (1, p. 286 ) 

The above signature is NOT President Trump’s, but strikes me as similar to his presidential signature, so the author’s graphological interpretation of its author’s character might approximate his graphological interpretation of Trump. Anyway, Graphology, like Psychiatry, is not an exact science.

Thus, the following interpretation should be taken with many grains of salt. But some readers may find the graphology intriguing.

“A signature characterized by angular formations, particularly sharp-angled strokes connecting letters, unveils significant traits of the writer’s personality and approach to life. Angularity in a signature reflects a writer who is principled, opinionated, and exhibits a militant stance toward their beliefs and decisions. This sharpness in form suggests a mental sharpness in thought and discrimination, showcasing an individual who is analytical, investigative, and strategic. Such a writer approaches life with a keen eye, evaluating situations and people with a critical mindset, rarely giving in to blind faith or unexamined beliefs.

However, this pronounced angularity also hints at a lack of softness or flexibility…Their actions are driven more by principle than by feeling…”(1, pp. 286-287).

Comment: I haven’t seen President Trump’s signature outside of his role as president (for example, in his personal life or as a creative businessman). If his other signatures were significantly different than his presidential signature, there might be multiple sides to his personality, a creative issue that interests me.

1. Varun L. Rupani. Graphology Signatures: A Comprehensive Book on Signature Analysis. Notion Press. India, Singapore, Malaysia, 2024. 

“Darkness Visible, A Memoir of Madness” by novelist William Styron: His "Second Self,” and “Double”

“A phenomenon that a number of people have noted while in deep depression is the sense of being accompanied by a second self—a wraithlike observer who, not sharing the dementia of his double, is able to watch with dispassionate curiosity as his companion struggles against the oncoming disaster [suicide], or decides to embrace it” (1, p. 64).

Comment: Another novelist with multiple personality trait.

1.William Styron. Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness. New York, Vintage Books, 1992.

2. Wikipedia. William Styron. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Styron 

“Why I am NOT an ATHEIST (The Confessions of a Skeptical Believer)" by Christopher Beha

Comment: Honest self-contradiction suggests multiple personality trait.

1. Christopher Beha. Why I Am Not an Atheist. New York, Penguin Press, 2026.

The New York Times (1) Finally Takes Serious Notice of Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly called Multiple Personality Disorder)

Comment: In this blog, I mostly discuss a normal, creative form of the disorder, which I call “multiple personality trait"  (illustrated with novelists). Are there other people in the news with undiagnosed versions?

1. Maggie Jones. What It’s Like to Live With One of Psychiatry’s Most Misunderstood Diagnoses. New York Times’ Magazine Section, February 15, 2026.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/magazine/dissociative-identity-disorder-mental-health.html?searchResultPosition=1 

“The Woman In Me” by Britney Spears: a memoir that does NOT say she has ever been mentally ill

She does say that a relative had once been hospitalized and treated with Lithium (1, p 6.), a treatment for bipolar disorder (a.k.a. manic-depression), and she does acknowledge that she, herself, Britney Spears, had had some erratic behavior. 

Comment: My opinion is that she has a normal, creative version of dissociative identity, what I call “multiple personality trait,” common among novelists.

I base my opinion on the title of her memoir, “The Woman In Me”, since only people with a version of multiple personality have “people” (alternate personalities) inside them, like novelists have characters.

1. Britney Spears. The Woman In Me. New York, Gallery Books, 2023/2025. 

“This Exquisite Loneliness” by Richard Deming: Amnesia and Mirror Symptoms of Multiple Personality (a.k.a. Dissociative Identity Disorder)

“I first began drinking and using drugs when I was about thirteen; at fifteen people started saying I was a nice guy until I got a drink in me; it was sixteen when I began to drink so heavily that I lost hours and whole days to amnesia (2, p. 59) A few years later, someone asked what it was like. I compared it to the sci-fi TV drama from the 1990’s: Quantum Leap. My whole body buzzed and I reappeared in myself, unsure of where or sometimes even who I was”(1, p. xiv).

“Behind this impulse to learn about my own loneliness by way of other people’s experiences is the idea that there are at least two distinct categories of loneliness. There is acute loneliness…The other kind of loneliness is what I’m hoping to drag into the light: the kind of loneliness so deeply felt that it not only is what we might describe as chronic but is somehow the very stuff of a person’s emotional DNA” (1 pp.13-14).

“During the worst period of my active addiction, I was a blackout drinker because I wanted to make myself disappear. The loneliness that I have wrestled with since I was a little kid stood at the core of my substance abuse…Even before the drinking, I had come to feel that I was a ghost haunting my own life. Looking into a mirror (2. p. 62) was like seeing a shadowy figure pass by an empty window at midnight, and the drinking and the drugs were a way to either propel myself through that emptiness or slip inside it, as if stepping into that mirror” (1. p. 135).

Comment: Professor Deming, director of Creative Writing at Yale University, does not raise the possibility of a creative form of multiple personality, the thesis of this blog.

1. Richard Deming. This Exquisite Loneliness: What Loners, Outcasts, and The Misunderstood Can Teach Us About Creativity. Viking, 2023.

2. Frank W. Putnam, MD. Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder. New York, The Guilford Press, 1989. 

“The Devil Wears Scrubs” by Freida McFadden: This bestselling novelist’s first novel has a protagonist with an italicized voice in her head:

To buy a sandwich in the hospital cafeteria, newly minted intern, Dr. Jane McGill, borrows cash from Sexy Surgeon and thinks, “The last thing I want is to owe money to Sexy Surgeon, no matter how great he looks in blue scrubs” (1 p. 33), which is followed by the warning from an italicized voice in her head:

“Jane, stop staring at Sexy Surgeon and eat your lunch. Right now, Jane!” (1, p. 33).

Comment: To repeat, her own thought is followed by the italicized command from a voice in her head. Thus, there are two speakers, her self and the voice in her head, the latter of which which I attribute to a creative, alternate personality, as discussed in many past posts of this blog (search “italicized voices" in this blog).

1. Freida McFadden. The Devil Wears Scrubs. © 2013 by Freida McFadden.

2. Wikipedia. “Freida McFadden.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freida_McFadden

“Alchemised,” a novel by SenLinYu: Front Flap says protagonist has “inexplicable memory loss”; back flap indicates author is nonbinary; both suggestive of Multiple Personality Disorder (a.k.a. Dissociative Identity Disorder).

Memory gaps are a cardinal symptom of multiple personality (2), and many persons with multiple personality have both male and female alternate personalities (2).

1. SenLinYu. Alchemised. New York, Del Rey, 2025.

2. Frank W. Putnam, MD, Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Personality Disorder. New York, The Guilford Press, 1989. 

“The Mind of Your Story” by Lisa Lenard-Cook: Fiction Writers may have a natural, creative form of multiple personality

“Perhaps I’m lucky: I’ve got voices in my head, and when one of these voices begins speaking, it’s all my 120-words-per minute can do to keep up. Plus my characters arrive with names, biographies, even astrological signs. If you prefer not to be a veritable Sybil of fiction, however, you’ll want to create biographies for your characters before you begin” (1, p. 14).

Comment: Sybil was a famous case of multiple personality.

1. Lisa Lenard-Cook. The Mind of Your Story (discover what drives your fiction). Writers’s Digest Books, 2008.

Old News About President Trump’s Lies by Barbara A. Res —Praised by Trump on the back cover! (Added next day! See below!)

1. Barbara A. Res. Tower of Lies: What My 18 Years of Working With Donald Trump Reveals About Him, Los Angeles, CA, Graymalkin Media, 2020, pp. 273.

Back Cover: "Barbara has represented me with the utmost integrity and professionalism. She is well respected throughout the industry." Donald J. Trump

I asked Google “Why does President Trump applaud himself?” Some of Google’s AI Overview was as follows:

—“Prompting the audience…

—“Self-Adulation…

—“Joining in with the audience…

—“Excitement or Stress Relief…

—“Performance and Style…

“Ultimately, the exact motivation remains speculative, as Trump has not provided a definitive explanation for the behavior, which is widely considered unusual for a head of state.”

Comment: What do you think?

Added the next day: President Donald Trump’s signature: Has it changed over the years, which might suggest changes in personality? I have not been able to get a clear and consistent answer.

 "Book of Lives, a Memoir of Sorts” by Margaret Atwood, a Writer's Multiplicity (post 2): 

“There’s a set of emotions familiar to anyone who has been the victim of a con artist. First, anger at the perpetrators. Why have they been so mean? But also anger at oneself: Why have you been so stupid? You ought to have figured it out sooner. Also again: Being conned has been a violation of your trust, and trust is a thing you will never extend so easily again. Possibly, you will never entirely trust anyone. You will be endlessly wondering about hidden motives and secret agendas. You will know that there are likely to be at least two stories: the one you’re being told, and the other one.

You might become a detective. You might become a con artist yourself. Or, a blend of the two: you might become a novelist” (1, pp. 74-75). 

Comment: Also search my old past posts on Margaret Atwood in this blog in which she previously acknowledged the multiplicity of novelists.

1. Margaret Atwood. Book of Lives, a Memoir of Sorts. New York, Doubleday, 2025, 599 pages.

"Book of Lives, a Memoir of Sorts" by Margaret Atwood: a Writer's Multiplicity (post 1)

“I wish I could have a body double in my real life, I thought. It would be so handy. Of course, I do have one. Every writer does. The body double appears as soon as you start writing. How could it be otherwise? There’s the daily you, and then there’s the other person who does the actual writing. They aren’t the same. But in my case, there are more than two. There are lots… 

'The one doing the writing has access to everything in the memory bank. The one doing the living might have some idea of what the writing self has been up to, but less than you’d think… 

“Is writing a trance state”…Not quite, you can break off…Yet the sensation of something taking over can’t be ignored; too many writers have testified to it. Flow state, inspiration, characters seizing the initiative from their authors…these kinds of testimonies are too numerous to be dismissed…” (1, p. xiv-xix).

1. Margaret Atwood. Book of Lives, a Memoir of Sorts. New York, Doubleday, 2025, 599 pages.

“Relentless Pursuit: Our Battle with Jeffrey Epstein” by Bradley J. Edwards: Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump were Rich Neighbors

“Jeffrey Epstein’s house was on a cul-de-sac in the billionaire section of Palm Beach Island, not far from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club (1, p. 25).

“Most of the messages that were confiscated were taken by the butler, who in 2005, was a man named Alfredo Rodriguez. Other messages were taken by Epstein’s various assistants…Someone named Ghislaine Maxwell also took messages and was one of the few people other than Jeffrey who received messages. She was referred to in the messages sometimes as Ghislaine, and other times, by the staff, as Ms. Maxwell. The regular callers included Donald Trump…Epstein’s close friends…left more detailed messages during that time period, which gave better insight into what Epstein was up to” (1. p. 48).

Comment: I have just started reading this book, which was written by a Florida-based victims’ rights attorney. He has not said that Trump was anything other than a rich neighbor and regular caller.

1. Bradley J. Edwards with Brittany Henderson. Relentless Pursuit: Our Battle with Jeffrey Epstein. New York, Gallery Books, 2021.