The Minds of Billy Milligan

Daniel Keyes

In 1977 a series of abductions and rapes in Ohio were followed by the arrest of William Stanley Milligan, who was assigned a public defender by the court. Milligan, who had previously been convicted of rape and armed robbery, was given a routine psychological evaluation by prosecution-friendly psychiatrists who quickly concluded that something was seriously wrong - that Milligan, in fact, had multiple personality disorder. Milligan eventually became the first multiple to receive a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict in a criminal trial.

I read this book originally as an adolescent, and recently picked it up again, curious if the book would hold the same power as an adult. I was pleasantly surprised. Daniel Keyes - author of the classic Flowers for Algernon - wrote this book in a fashion that takes the reader inside the mind of a remarkable, fascinating human being.

Each of Billy Milligan's 23 distinct personalities had their own voice, their own histories, their own character (or lack thereof) -- they were different people, quite literally. Keyes captures this well, making it possible to clearly envision all of these people running around inside the body of one man. His further account of attempts to treat Milligan and "fuse" his personalities was even more fascinating.

Keyes is a solid novelist with a very good grasp of what happens inside people's hearts and minds. Applying those skills to a non-fiction, "true-crime" book, he has produced a masterpiece.

I was very disappointed to learn that the "sequel," the Milligan Wars, has only been published in Japanese and will not be available in North America until the movie based on the first book comes out. This book apparently covers what happened to Milligan after 1981 and the end of the first book. Based on what I could find on the web, no one really knows when or if the movie will actually be made, which means no one knows when or if the second book will be published.

A fascinating read and highly recommended.