The Real Sybil
Itzia Paulina Cumes
Shirley Ardell Mason
- Her identity in novels and films was protected under the name Sybil Isabel Dorsett.
- She was born on the 25th of January 1923 in Dodge Center, Minnesota
- She died the 26th of February 1998 in Lexington, Kentucky
- Shirley has a love for painting, but found in her Lexington home locked in a closet was about 103 hidden paintings that were discovered after her death.
- Shirley would not sign any of her paintings that she disregarded as hers, testament to her dissociative identity disorder.
- Her mother "Mattie" was indeed diagnosed with schizophrenia
- Shirley's psychotherapy lasted for 11 years with Dr. Wilbur
- Shirley died of breast cancer
In my opinion Sybil has made an impact on my life, for better or worse I dont know yet. But I will say as a person aspiring to become a psychiatrist, Sybil has broaden my mind's knowledge and wisdom in the understanding of the mental state of a human's mind. I can tie my own experiences and say "oh now that makes sense." Thank you Sybil for giving us an account of someone suffering in the world as the rest of us.
Dr. Cornelia B Wilbur
Shirley's Psychiatrist
Flora Rheta Schreiber
Author of Sybil
Sybil
Novel based on Shirley's case