Girl From The Tree House

This is a fascinating book about a woman, Elise, who has multiple personalities (DID). The story begins at the funeral of Horace, Elise’s husband, who was also her childhood guardian after both of her parents died. The chapters are cleverly written from different points of view from members of the Tribe following their escape and journey. Elise is the ‘default’ person. I couldn’t put this book down! I was intrigued by the Tribe and I cannot wait for the next book! Thank you to Ms. Frerichs and the publisher for a wonderful new series! Highly recommended.

First I want to thank Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I rate this book 4.5/5. I absolutely love how the author described what it would be like to have multiple personalities inside your head. As a psychiatric nurse, DID is in my wheelhouse.
As far as the story line itself, it took time for it to flow. There was so much internal chit chat going on (which was necessary to understand the condition) that I felt the story didn't move as quickly as it could have.
I am interested to see where the author goes from here. I will definitely recommend this book to readers.

“I feel sorry for Elise. She doesn't know that when the shit hits the fan, most of us go to ground. That means we disappear. Not that we want to, it just happens. Is it a habit or an inbuilt mechanism? I don't know. I wish she would stop with the mea culpa rubbish. She may have the ability to see into a person's character, but it's just as much our fault as hers. We were desperate to trust someone.”

This was such an amazing look into DID. I like the way the character and her alters are portrayed. It’s unlike any multiple personalities story that I’ve read in the past. Makes it seem like this is what it would be like living with the disorder, not like movies portray.

I believe this is the first book I have read that deals with multiple personalities and I didn't really know what to expect. I guess for me there has always been some distrust with the idea of multiple personalities because...if you don't know who you're talking to, how can you know where you stand? I can't say that I'm not still a little uneasy with the idea, but this book did help me understand a lot about how Dissociative Identity Disorder really works. It makes more sense to me now. It was really interesting to see how different personalities served different purposes and interacted.

For the most part the story flowed well and I found it very easy to hope that the Tribe succeeded. The fear of hospitalization came through loud and clear. There were one or two times that I checked to see which personality was telling the story, but most of the time they were distinct enough that I didn't have any trouble knowing who was speaking. The only part of the book that didn't really work for me was the little bit of paranormal in the story. I'm not sure if it's meant to play a bigger role in the series, but it really didn't seem to serve much purpose here.

This book is the first in a series but I think it works very well as a standalone. The little bit of romance was sweet and felt right for the story.

This book hooks the reader from the start! A change from this author's typical work...looking forward to the next in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley foran ARC of this ebook. I absolutely could not put this book down. I was amazed at how the author put the mind of someone with DID together. So clever! She did a great job and this is now one of my favorite books. Such a great read can't recommend enough.

Girl From The Tree House is a fantastic thriller that will keep you flipping the pages until the early morning hours. I could not put it down.

Omg I love thrillers periodttt and this was no exception. Hooked since the start of the book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Girl From The Tree House
(Women of Our Time- Book 1)
by Gudrun Frerichs
due 6-28-2019
BooksGoSocial
#NetGalley. #GirlFromTheTreeHouse

Easily the best book I've read about DID (dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personality disorder) with clear insight into how, why and when the personalities surfaced and interacted with each other, and how it affected the life of a young girl in New Zealand.
This helped me understand much more about how the disorder can consume the mind and life of people and how their emotional well being is further constrained by society's stigma and their own fear of being hospitalized.
Well written and engaging, I look forward to the next book in this new series.
Thank you to the publisher and author for sharing this e-book ARC for review.

This is a portion of my original review on my blog Trails of Tales
Girl from the Tree House‘ is an attempt, an excellent attempt to encase the reader into the inner world of a woman living with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her struggles to accept her ‘disorder‘ as a part of herself and then healing herself through acknowledgment is potrayed just the way it is. No guise. Absolute rawness.

We therapists tend to use the word ’empathy’ a lot. It really is at the crux of what we do. But the meaning of this potent and powerful word is often misunderstood.

What the author Gudrun Frerichs did when she created Elise and crafted her journey is an elegant example of empathy. Being a former psychotherapist and trauma specialist, Gudrun Frerichs could have easily introduced a therapist’s observations into Ellise’s or the Tribe’s voice. In fact, it must have required continuos conscious efforts to not let a psychologist’s thinking sneak in. No. It was completely, unapologetically, marvellously Elise and every individual part of hers.

It was overwhelming how precise the author has been in building the voices of every part of Elizabeth and giving them their individuality. Their unique personalities and motivations subtly nod towards the reasons for their conceptions without putting undue focus on it. This would have required acute observation and careful sensitivity. I cannot help but be in awe of the capabilities that seep through Gudrun Frerichs’ writing.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a different reading for me, I like psychological thriller and this is quite so. The book category is Mystery & Thrillers and Women's Fiction on NetGalley website, but I have to say that the "thriller" part, isn't about a crime as I thought when I read the synopsis. There isn't even a "real crime" and with that I mean that the murder isn't the "protagonist" or the main thing that needs to be solved. There is a murder but the protagonist's tale is the main subject of the book.

The book is told by different points of view, but those points of view belong to the same person. This woman, because of the trauma endured when she was a child, has developed a dissociative identity disorder so the book is told by these multiple personalities that live inside her.

The main personality is Elise, who is the "first born" personality after the trauma that young Elizabeth endured (we don't know anything about this trauma, we can guess at first but then little by little what really happened becomes clear and to know the complete story we need to read the complete book, which I like). Elise doesn't think about herself as a "multiple" (as they call her) but she knows she has blackouts.

Then there is Lilly with whom the tale begins. She is at her husband Horace's funeral, an over seventy man, and Lily begins her tale about the "tribe", as they call all the ensemble of the personalities,

There is Sky, who with Luke plan the escape. The tribe knows that Elizabeth has a aunt, Amanda, who died 30 years prior who left her her house in the South of the island so Sky and Luke want to take the tribe there, to escape the husband's sister, Helen, who wants to lock them in a mental facility.

Then there's Ama who is the cleaner of the group. While she's cleaning she finds an old photo album. Why the woman in the photo looks like her? The picture is 30 years old! Those small facts, such as Ama who looks like her aunt Amanda, explain how the personalities were born.

And then Amadeus, Casper and even children. Because the personalities aren't the same age. They're from 5 years old to 52 (if I recall correctly).

Where do I start to comment this book? It's a wonderful journey, very different from the usual, I liked meeting all those personalities so much and read about different behaviour of Elizabeth and that those personalities have a voice. They are all so different! I liked the author's style so much and the fact that the chapters are told by different people is so particular. I liked how she describes all the different personalities in relation with external forces especially with Scott (friend and aunt Amanda's neighbour, possible Elise's romantic interest or better Lilly's).

I liked the comparison that one of the personalities does with a broken vase that is glued together. It is still a vase (still a person) but there are cracks and those cracks are the different personalities. I believe that this is the sentence that best describe this situation.

Another personality says that each one of them can speak a foreign language. I wonder whether this is how Elizabeth is shown in the real world, I mean, when, for example Casper is present can Elizabeth speak Finnish? (because Casper knows that language). If this is true Elizabeth must be a wonderful person. I mean the real person knows a lot of languages.

The book is set in New Zealand, written by a German author but who lives in that far away place. I have a question: Do people in New Zealand use the imperial system (feet and pounds...)? or it's something that the author uses so Americans will understand it better? And then there are "slang" terms that I thought they were only Americans such as "AWOL", but I see that she uses them here (maybe they are used in NZ, too). I need to research New Zealand. Right now I know that there are Alps there, too, and that if we excavate, pass by the centre of the earth and come out the other hemisphere, we're in New Zealand (from Italy of course). Well that's what they told me in elementary school.

I need to say that when things started to get bad, I almost lost hope to give 5 stars to this book, but luckily everything was solved quite soon and how I hoped. The theme of the book isn't easy, it isn't for everyone, but violence scenes aren't described. It's said about them but they aren't shown.

I think I will read the next book because I want to know how the tribe's story ends (I hope the next book is a sequel of this one) and whether all the personalities will coexist in Elise, or they will be "put to sleep".

I have a question about the book. During the tale, Elise says she married Horace in 2001. And in the next sentence she says that the marriage lasted 24 years. We're in 2015 in the book, so it should be 14 years. I don't know if it is Elise that remembers wrong or if it's an author's slip. Or maybe 24 are the years that Elise knew Horace (she was 10 when her parents died). But I'm sure that in the first chapter she says 24 years of marriage. And even Elise's age is an enigma. In the book, she says she's 42, but the synopsis says 32. I have an ARC so maybe they corrected everything.

What an interesting read about person with mental disorder. In Elise case its Dissociative Identity Disorder. She has so many personalities living in her head. Book talks about very difficult problem, that abused people usually developed some mental problems and system instead to help them, threats them like a crazy lunatic. I think the abuser should be locked and filled with tones of medications not other way around. Institutions let down victims of abuse on daily basis. Author did really good job of creating this difficult mind of a struggling person.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am new to NetGalley and Girl From The Tree House was the first pick. I could not have picked a better book to begin my journey with NetGalley.

I truly enjoyed reading the book. Right from the word go, the book grabbed my attention. I have not read such a brilliant fictionalized depiction of dissociative identity disorder It is indeed a well-crafted book that manages to seamlessly integrate the different personalities. Looking forward to the next book in the series. I highly recommend the book.

Girl From The Tree House by Gudrun Frerichs. Intriguing book about a woman with multiple personalities. It is uniquely told with the POV of the alternate personalities of the "Tribe". One of best stories that has been written about multiple personality disorders.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

This book will stay with you after you've read the last sentence.
Girl from the Tree House is one of those books you may encounter by chance if this is not your typical read, but it's written so well and grips you with it's intensity and truth.

There are still people who don't believe in multiple personality, people who can't believe what can happen to little children and more over, how incredibly strong even the most broken ones can be.

As some readers of this eARC already pointed out, this book is not overly graphic and it's really about the different personalities but I still want to give a warning for a few still hard to read scenes where it is made clear in a few words what happened that broke Elizabeth.
Still, Gudrun Frerichs never writes for popularity or shock value, she wrote this story to try and show how a person with multiple personality disorder tries to stay alive while coping with a trauma so severe it caused the original personality to go into hiding. That's my best way to describe it without giving away too much.

If you are researching this difficult theme or have interest in it, I'd recommend this book. Frerichs writing style is easy to follow, you will like the protagonists who are also guardians and it gives a little bit of insight to the vast, polarizing and difficult working of the mind. If you start on multiple personality, start with this book as it has the personalities in the spotlight and not so much the trauma. It is difficult enough to experience their feelings and sorrows.

Thank you to Gudrun Frerichs, the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this eARC.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.
This book totally touches down realistically on DID. The character and her alters were portrayed amazingly.
i cannot wait to read the rest of the series!

Crime fiction writers have always had a field day with a DID protagonist . They are always in the thick of a web of lies , deceit and conspiracies but completely clueless damsels in distress . In my previous reads , there has always been an understanding therapist who helps them to get to know the other alters ‘ secret and eventually facilitate the alters ‘ integration with the host . But here , the protagonist ‘ s alters seem to be able to look out for Elise ( the default alter ) themselves . They often remind each other about Miss Marple ‘s comments during their therapy sessions with her ( their nickname for their therapist ) but they don’t seem to miss the therapy couch to get to know each other – they have their black book where they write letters / short notices to the others when one of them gets the ‘body-time ‘ . Perhaps Gudrun is showing how normally can a person with DID can function in a regular scenario . It seems somewhat ideal but not entirely impossible .

from my earlier reads is that ” integration of the parts ” means that the person is cured of DID. A quick research showed that Gudrun might be more honest about the integration subject than several other authors . Lillie observes , ” I don’t know if there exists such a thing as integration . I suspect it’s a myth spread by a bunch of zealous clinicians , who still haven’t paid off their mortgages and need income . “

There is the ‘ mother – figure alter ‘ , ‘ the wise-person-in-the-crowd alter ‘ , ‘the hard-headed & unsentimental alter ‘ , ‘ the lost-little-one child alter ‘ which I identified from my previous read . But its the personality and the little details of the characters that actually make these characters stand out from several others . For example , Casper can speak Finnish & Lizette French (!!) . Lilly is German while the others are Kiwis (!!!) . These details can come only from somebody who has a deep understanding about DID .

Check out the entire review at https://sherlockedsharon.com/2019/07/08/girl-from-the-tree-house-women-of-our-time-book1-book-review/

'Girl From the Tree House' is a tough read at times, but is one of the most fascinating books I've come across. The mental Health issues of the main character are dealt with in a very sensitive matter, simultaneously quenching my thirst for the unusual whilst giving me an enormous amount of sympathy. I have read about mutliples before, but never with this amount of depth and understanding.

Description
It all unraveled at the funeral... Horace Reid's death opened the door to our freedom. His widow, Elizabeth, exists only on paper. She disappeared thirty years ago. It's us, the Tribe, who live in her body now. But nobody knows that. Us are Elise, the reluctant host, Lilly the closer, Ama, the proverbial mother, Sky, our wise guide, Amadeus, the warrior, and Luke, the man around the house. There are others, but we make sure they stay hidden and away from harm.

After Horace's funeral, they tried to lock us in a mental hospital. Our sister-in-law had it all carefully planned. Thanks to quick thinking—yes, being a multiple has its advantages—we escaped to New Zealand's South Island. Tucked away in the West Coast wilderness we... well, the plan was to continue our healing. We didn't expect that monsters from our past still had us on their radar. When the police accuse us of murder we have to run again. Where to go, which way to turn? Our neighbor Scott appears helpful, but can we trust him? Can we trust ourselves? Can we trust anyone?

The GIRL FROM THE TREE HOUSE is the first of a series of psychological thrillers set in current day New Zealand. It describes how Elizabeth, a thirty-two-year-old woman with multiple personalities (Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID), fights for her sanity and freedom. Four core personalities tell the story from the inside out, giving a touching insight into the workings of the dissociated mind. There are no graphic descriptions of abuse.

My Review:

The Girl From The Tree House is a thought provoking account of Elizabeth and her struggle with multiple personality disorder. It is very well written. It goes into details leaving you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next. Because of the subject matter this is not a book that is one you should be afraid to read. It is extremely well thought out and describes the Tribe in such a way that is easy to understand and follow. Well Done!!

This book was provided for free in exchange for my honest opinion, and I can tell you, that you will not be disappointed. It is a book you need to definitely read.

I give this book a 5 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Girl From the Tree House by Gudrun Frerichs was one of my favorite summer reads thus far. This book had me from the first page. Elizabeth and her multiple personalities, all of whom had their own personalities, despite sharing the same body. I wish the book came with a map/description for all of her personalities so you could keep track of them. However, Gudrun does an amazing job of describing whom (is this the play to use whom) is in control of the "body".

There were twists and turns along with some action in this book.

I feel like if I explain any more I'll give the book away. I must say that despite having multiple personalities, Elizabeth is a pretty bad ass character. If you are looking for a good summer/beach read you should pick this book up, you will not regret it.

Thank you to Gudrun Frerichs, BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for the advanced copy for my Kindle. I apologize that my moving has delayed this review a couple of weeks :-(

This book pulled me in from the beginning! The characters are vivid and the storyline is great. Definitely a must read.

I have read and re-read this book x2. It is a fantastic and tasteful book on a life of a multiple. Many times we read from an outside perspective, or rather a disjointed ramshackle attempt at a first person view. This book is neither. Their flight, fight to cope alone is read worth, and adding in the extra elements in this story it is just outstanding. I read this as I said twice. And it was as good the second time. I had talked about it on my FB page, people wanted to read this. A tasteful fictional story with the built in psychological there before you open the book is refreshing. Read this book. I was able to read this in return for my unbiased opinion on the story, compliments of Netgalley.

The read is very interesting, all about a person with a mental disorder, more precise Dissociative Identity Disorder.
She simply has a plural of personalities living inside of her head.
The most interesting thing about the book is that it is treated like a "what happens if...?"
It is a study of how bullying can affect a person's life and alter their personality.
Brilliantly done!

Girl From The Tree House by Gudrun Frerichs - Book Review

Girl From The Tree House by Gudrun Frerichs is an extra ordinary thriller. I believe the author being a psychotherapist herself wrote this story in a great detail especially in the perspective of a person who is suffering from Dissociative Identity Disaster. I can't imagine how much of a shock it is for anyone who realized how false her whole thirty years of life was.

I loved every single personality of Elizabeth. The multiple personalities inside Elizabeth call themselves 'The Tribe' and they each come to the rescue of Elizabeth on various occasions. Elizabeth's fight for her sanity and freedom is incredible.

Girl From The Tree House is the most complex story I read in the recent times but don't let the complex get you. I'm sure every single reader can relate themselvs to at least one or two of the multiple personalities of Elizabeth. A well written and extremely insightful book. Definitely one of the best psychological thriller released this year.

#GirlFromTheTreeHouse #NetGalley #GudrunFrerichs #TheClippedNightingale #BooksGoSocial #Thriller #BookReviewer #BookBlogger #Librarything #BarnesandNoble #goodreads #amazon

I couldn't put it down! What a ride😳😱😫
👍👍🗻🌿
I was blown away by this suspenseful, fast-paced tale of a tortured mind that needed its multi-personalities to cope with the abuse and horrors suffered since early childhood. There's such urgency to the action as Elizabeth/Elise and her many personae escape to a remote cottage on New Zealand's wild South Island West Coast. So much 😕confusion, 😫 pain and 😱 fear. With her former sister-in-law intent on shipping her off to a mental ward, Elise gets caught up in an ever-expanding conspiracy to keep her quiet.

The quick change from one personality to another was confusing at times, but no more confusing than for an individual experiencing this form of mental illness. I found the story enlightening, fascinating, and engrossing; I finished it in one day because I just could not put it down! This is an author with such insight and a terrific ability to share it with her readers. Well done!😊

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an advance complimentary copy; this is my voluntary and honest review.

What a book! First of all, if you plan to read this make sure you have nothing on your agenda that day - because it will not get done. The premise was spectacular: 1 woman with multiple personalities, the story is narrated by each of the main (dominant) personalities. Fast paced, thrilling ride.
The novel will leave the reader with a whole new perspective of what it’s like to live in the mind of many and how one is affected by same.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest review. Magnificently written

My word what a book. It ought to be on any reading course for people dealing with possiblemental illnesses. Mother Nature, God, Great Creator or whatever you want to call them is wonderful thing - when we can't take any more, when we've been damaged beyond all thought, we can take each part of our personalities and make them into individuals that come to the surface as we need them making us into a tribe or 'people' in one body.

Loved this book and it has given me a lot to think about.

I read a free advance review copy. This review is honest, voluntary and my own opinion.

This was such a captivating read about a woman with multiple personality disorder. You actually get to hear from each personality in the story and how they cope with different situations. I can't wait to read more from this author. Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Totally engaging read! I was hooked from the start. The characters are very well developed and the plot is interesting and intense. I absolutely recommend!

A good suspense story with interesting psychological twists.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy to read and for which I'm providing an honest review.

Whilst written by a psychotherapist she failed to completely proofread the book for terms
spelt incorrectly. Which is a shame as this will confuse those readers who are not of her
community.
Multiple personalities do exist in the DID world but it is rarer than most fiction writers would have us believe. Nevertheless, as this book is written by a psychotherapist, what we get here, is an amalgam of her true experiences with such patients.
For someone like me, who is not an expert, this is fascinating. And yes, ECT is still used occasionally it seems. But childhood trauma is so often a cause of dissociating as Miss Marple says- it isa normal response, to any
trauma in fact.
And our narrator says she belongs to a Tribe, not all of whom are female. And only I got married.

This is not light reading, but it is thought provoking, especially in relation to our own internal worlds. We all have them. And, in the right circumstances, we can hold two contradictions as equally true and valid. Do we have more
than one personality? It often seems so. There is the way we interact with strangers, which is different from our interactions within family, and which may be different from how we interact with rich or poor or famous people.
So 5 stars for tackling a difficult issue- and think on- there are a very high percentage of prisoners with trauma related mental health problems which cause them to have difficulty operating in 'normal' society.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

A fascinating take on a psychological thriller, with a nuanced look at a main character living with mental health difficulties. An interesting read, something a little different in the genre.

This involves a few very difficult topics. Abuse (which is never gone into in detail or graphically), mental illness (specifically DID), and the upheaval that can come with death and change when you feel like you have very few you can lean on for help. Frerichs handles the situation well, and we get distinct voices narrating for each alter. A great psychological thriller that may be difficult for some readers, so practice self-care before you dive into this captivating tale!

Elise begins to unravel just after her husband’s funeral. They were married for so long that she doesn’t seem to know who she is without him. When she overhears her sister in law talking to someone about sending her to a psychiatric hospital she blacks out only to find herself in a completely different place hundreds of miles from the place she called home. Unable to remember how she got there and when, she finds instructions telling her where to go next. What she doesn’t realise is that she is just one of many people who live in the body of Elizabeth, a thirty two year old woman who has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder).

As a small child Elizabeth endured horrendous mental, physical and sexual abuse and her identities were born as a result. Most of the identities are aware of each other though such as Ama, Lilly, Luke and Maddie and some aren’t as Elise begins to discover. Just as she’s beginning to come to terms with her ‘tribe’, she feels a net closing in around her and any hope of freedom starts to disappear. She needs help but who can she trust when she even trust herself?

This was a really interesting story and I’m so glad that I read it. The writer has done a great job of writing about this little understood disorder and I feel better educated for having read this story.

Huge thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was amazing, though hard to read at some points due to tough subject matter. It's a survivor story and a fantastic one at that. A beautiful story of healing.