Joan Machlis’ stunning Split artfully recounts an arduous, years-long journey through therapy that uncovers a shocking revelation.

The power behind Machlis’ story lies in its raw simplicity. Short chapters. Typically, brief paragraphs. Stark sentences devoid of emotion or melodrama. Instead, a quiet but relentless unfolding of a life lived where competence masked exposure and detachment shielded her from vulnerability.

Machlis structures her story, written in first person, as a series of conversations between herself, in her 70s, and her therapist, Jimmy, to whom she dedicates the book. Therapy is what finally gives her the ability to understand her patterns, take ownership of all that has come before and make peace with what it has wrought. “Inside, something felt missing in a way I couldn’t quite name. Not depressed. Not panicked. Just unfinished – as if I had been speaking my whole life in a language that wasn’t actually mine,” she writes.

The shocking disclosure comes midway through. A declarative statement, tucked into the dialogue, that arrives without fanfare. It is something, she says, that simply happened. To cope, she developed other personas within herself, each with a specific duty to guide and protect her. One to perform. One to assess danger. One to fight. One to remain skeptical. One to feel a deep unexpressed pain. “I was one person with a history too large for a single container,” she says. It is the inspiration behind the title.

Achieving true self-awareness is rarely neat or linear. Machlis leads readers on that journey but leaves enough unsaid so they can draw their own conclusions and find their own connection to the lessons unveiled. At its heart, this book is about becoming present in your life, devoid of the buzzy psychology often shouting from the crowded self-help bookshelves or the luridness of victimhood.

This is one that rises above and should not be missed.

Also available in hardcover and ebook.