Episode 11 of MeDIDa is a very special episode, where I review the memoir The Girl in the Green Dress, and speak one-on-one with Dr. Jeni Haynes about her book and recent documentary, We Are Jeni (review and second part of the interview coming soon)!

The Girl in the Green Dress is a memoir, published in 2022 by Hachette Australia, is co-written by Dr George Blair-West, who treated Jeni for many years. It has also just recently been released as an audiobook, narrated by Jeni Haynes! The book chronicles Jeni’s life, including the abuse she experienced at the hands of her father throughout her childhood and how this childhood formed her complex system of over 2,500 alters, and goes on to tell her journey of justice, holding her father legally accountable for his crimes, and healing.

Content warnings: childhood abuse, childhood torture, childhood neglect, childhood sexual assault, incest, rape, not being believed and gaslighting, victim blaming, systemic abuses and injustices, legal injustices, silencing, ableism, medical abuse, suicide baiting, false accusations, False Memory Syndrome and the False Memory Syndrome Foundation, and Billy Milligan.

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 10 of MeDIDa, and we are discussing Jack Stauber's Opal.

Jack Stauber's Opal is a short musical film that premiered on Adult Swim in 2020. The short depicts a child, Opal, as she explores a dark house after being drawn into it by a wailing siren song, and is repeatedly mistaken for another young girl known as Claire.

Jack Stauber's Opal is not explicitly depicting DID, but it is explicitly depicting an abusive household and the impact of that on a young child, and as a result I believe it shows strong evidence of the early stages of structural dissociation and DID. I'm curious as to if you'll agree... Does Opal depict DID?

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 9 of MeDIDa is a Special Episode, this time a Mother's Day special! I am reviewing the memoir Fractured Motherhood, and I also sit down again with Maggie Walters for an interview!

This episode is dedicated to all those who did not have the mother that they needed growing up.

Fractured Motherhood has been independently published through Blue Gum Publishing in 2026, only officially released 15th April, and discusses her journey in parenting and also her own relationship with her parents, and how DID/MPD impacts her parenting. Walters has once again been incredibly vulnerable in sharing her life with us, showing the complicated and messy parts in a deeply authentic way, while also demonstrating that parenting with DID is not what you'd think and breaking down stigma around it. You can buy Fractured Motherhood through Maggie Walters website, https://www.maggie-walters.com, as well as through Amazon or other book retailers, and I would highly recommend!

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 8 of MeDIDa, and we are discussing Petals of a Rose

Petals of a Rose is a 2023 short film created by Dylan Crumpler, co-written by Dylan Crumpler and Holly Crumpler and draws heavily on Holly's lived experience with dissociative identity disorder. The 15-minute film shows a day in the life of Rose, a women living with DID while she tries to navigate a Valentine's Day date with her boyfriend, Jeremy, without triggering her alters.

Petals of a Rose claims to be an accurate representation of dissociative identity disorder, but does it succeed? Let's discuss both the positives and the negatives of the plural community's favourite DID film.

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 7 of MeDIDa, and we are discussing The Swan Book

The Swan Book is a 2013 novel written by Alexis Wright and published by Giramondo Publishing. Set in a dystopian future, with climate change and political fallout being a central theme, the book follows Oblivia, a mute young woman who was gang raped as a child, who goes on to marry the first Indigenous President of Australia, and her struggle for autonomy in a collapsing world. The Swan Book offers an intimate awareness of the realities facing Aboriginal people; the energy and humour in her writing, which draws freely on myth and legend, finds hope in the bleakest situations.

The Swan Book does not intentionally depict multiplicity or DID, but there are a lot of indications that Oblivia may be multiple... Join Avoticat and special guest, James, as we discuss whether The Swan Book is a good representation of plurality!

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 6 of MeDIDa is a Special Episode! I am reviewing the memoir SPLIT A Life Shared: Living with Multiple Personality Disorder, and I also sit down with Maggie Walters for an interview!

SPLIT was independently published through Blue Gum Publishing in 2024, and chronicles Maggie’s journey with DID/MPD in her life so far. Walters also does author talks to share her lived experience, opening the conversation and helping to break down the stigma associated with DID, along with running workshops for mental health professions, as well as for aspiring authors and providing author support, particularly those trying to navigate independent publishing. This book is available through Maggie Walters website, as well as through Amazon and other online booksellers (though I highly recommend buying it directly from Walters herself) and is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

SPLIT is a memoir that is open, honest, and deeply vulnerable. While media representation is important in helping people see themselves in stories, and media still has a long way to go with DID and multiplicity depictions, nothing will do a better job of it than the actual voices of those lived experiences.

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 5 of MeDIDa, and we are discussing the book Set This House in Order

Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls is a 2003 novel written by Matt Ruff and published by Harper Collins, and tells the story of two different systems in two different bodies, those of Andy Gage and Penny Driver, their relationships with the world, themselves, and each other.

Set This House in Order is a book intentionally about DID, and is trying to show the complexity and nuances of this disorder, while breaking down tropes and misconceptions about DID. But does it succeed? Let's find out together!

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 4 of MeDIDa, and we are discussing the comedy TV show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock and ran from 2015-2019 and had four seasons, with a special releasing in 2020. Kimmy, the titular character, is trying to reclaim her life after spending 15 years of her life trapped in a bunker, but she has a lot to learn. Luckily, her roommate Titus, Kimmy's roommate, can help her navigate the scary world of New York.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt directly discusses trauma, but is not necessarily trying to represent multiplicity. However, there are still three characters that I think provide good discussion for plurality.

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 3 of MeDIDa, and we are discussing the graphic novel trilogy, Elle(s).

Elle(s) was written by Kid Toussaint and illustrated by Aveline Stokart and released 2021-2023. Elle is a normal high school girl... or is she? What her new friends don't know is that she has a colourful set of personalities that could take over at any moment.

Elle(s) is a series about plurality, but was it intentionally trying to represent the lived plural experience? Is it good representation? Let's talk about it!

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague

Episode 2 of MeDIDa, and we are discussing James and the Giant Peach.

James and the Giant Peach is both a 1961 book by Roald Dahl and a 1996 movie directed by Henry Selick. After James' parents die tragically, he is raised by his horrible Aunts. One day, something amazing happens: a giant peach grows on the old, dead peach tree. James ends up making his way inside the peach, coming face to face with giant bugs that will change his life.

This media is not intentionally about DID, but come along with me on this journey, and maybe I can convince you that it is a pretty good representation of it!

If you have any comments or suggestions about media to cover, or even would like to be a guest on the podcast, send an email to [email protected]

Intro and Outro music: Bug Catching by Emily A. Sprague