Sybil's Friend

SYBIL'S FRIEND

Nancy, 1971

How lucky I am to have known someone

Who was so hard to say goodbye to.

Shirley Mason

the lady known as Sybil

Shirley was my longtime friend and mentor. We met when she was my art professor at Rio Grande College We talked, visited, and wrote letters for over twenty-five years until her death in 1998. My last letter and phone call from her were in January, 1998. She died the following month from the breast cancer that had recurred after a long remission. I treasure the time we spent together for many reasons. Although she was the victim of horrific childhood abuse, she was a survivor in every sense of the word. She became a successful artist in Lexington, Kentucky, where she lived for many years. She also designed toys and formed her own company called Mason Arts. Shirley lived quietly, and died quietly, doing the things she loved. Shirley told me of her Sybil identity and swore me to secrecy before the book was published in 1973 . I kept that secret until well after her death. It would be fine with her that I am talking about her now. She would want people to know that you either rise above the circumstances of your birth and upbringing, or you sink beneath the mire. Others suffering from this disorder can find hope in her story.

Life After Sybil...From the Words of Shirley Mason

My book is based on Shirley's letters to me.

Using those letters, I tell her story in chronological order from 1971-1998.

Both Flora Schreiber's book and the movie, Sybil, ended in 1965 with the integration of Shirley's personalities. My book begins Shirley's story in 1971 when she was an assistant art professor at Rio Grande College and ends with her death in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1998. The manuscript has been with my agent for several years and I have just recently ended my contract with her. I am now in the process of entirely revising the ms. I thought to make a few quick changes, but when I got started I kept finding things I needed to say. I also decided to include a section based on others who are living with DID and have much to say about what their daily lives are like. The good news is that my book should be finished and out before too much longer. Since it is based on letters that Shirley wrote to me, there can be no disputing the truth about how she lived her life.

Sybil, the Original Movie, 1976

Sally Field and Joanne Woodward

The director's cut of Sybil and a documentary about the making of the original movie were released July 18th, 2006 in a two DVD set. I was interviewed about our long association and that interview is included in the DVD in the section The Paintings of Sybil (it can also be found on youtube). It is interesting to note that Shirley's name is not mentioned in the DVD. I was told that it was due to legal problems with the use of her real identity in connection with the book Sybil. The re-make of the movie, starring Jessica Lange as Dr. Wilbur and Tammy Blanchard as Sybil, was filmed in Canada and some of Shirley’s art is featured in it. Both movies are now frequently rerun on cable television. Shirley told me that Sally Field was her first choice to portray her because of the actress's wonderful rubbery face. I like the introduction of the remake as it accurately portrays how Shirley's therapy art was found hidden in her basement after her death; and how that art was subsequently purchased by Mr. James Ballard of Lexington, Kentucky. I felt the endings of both movies were too rushed and did not accurately portray how the integrations took place.

Sybil, the Remake, 2007

Tammy Blanchard and Jessica Lange

New Book by Patrick Suraci

While my book is still being revised, Dr. Suraci has written and published an account of his relationship with Shirley during the 1990s.

Biography

Born May 31, 1936 in Rochester, New York, Patrick Suraci received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Assumption College, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the New School for Social Research, New York in 1981. Dr. Suraci was a Staff Psychologist for the New York Police Department and is now in private practice in Manhattan. He has taught at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Baruch College at the City University of New York. Sybil In Her Own Words: The Untold Story of Shirley Mason, Her Multiple Personalities and Paintings is now available on Amazon.com and other outlets.

My Links:

E-Mail Me

sybilsfriend@windstream.net

Shirley

Details about my friend

teacher and artist

Multiple Expressions

the Art and Words of Multiples

Tena's Tribute to Shirley

Shirley's Art

Fresh A.I.R. Gallery

Footbridge in Georgia