A Fractured Mind: My Life with Multiple Personality Disorder Book

The harrowing, insightful, and courageous account of a prominent man's struggle with multiple personalities

Robert Oxnam was a high-profile, successful man: A renowned scholar and president of the Asia Society, he appeared frequently on television and traveled the world as a sought-after expert. But what the millions of people who'd seen him didn't know -- what even those closest to him didn't know -- was that Oxnam suffered from multiple personality disorder. It was only after an intervention staged by family and friends, in response to frequent blackouts and episodic rages assumed to be alcohol-driven, that he sought treatment with Dr. Jeffery Smith; the first of his eleven personalities emerged in a session in 1990. After years of treatment, he has integrated them into three: Robert, Wanda, and Bobby, who take turns narrating this remarkable, unprecedented chronicle.

Praise for A Fractured Mind

"A vivid narrative path into the recesses of one man's mind." —The New York Times

"I was privileged to be among the first he trusted with his secret. A Fractured Mind is a story I urged him to tell." —Jane Pauley

"Provides valuable insight into a courageous man's struggle." —Publishers Weekly

"A remarkable life that, for all its successes, took great personal courage to survive and to publicly record." —Booklist

Robert B. Oxnam is internationally recognized as an outstanding Asia specialist and dynamic speaker. He often accompanies prominent Americans—such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, former President George H.W. Bush, and Barbara Bush—as they seek in-depth, firsthand knowledge of China. For more than a decade, he was president of the Asia Society, which has headquarters in New York, across the United States, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He has hosted the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour specials on Asia. He is married to Vishakha Desai.