Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse: Part 1 is a biography written by A.J. Mouse. The author is a forty-eight-year-old woman who has Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. Her DID started while she was quite young, in response to the ongoing and brutal sexual abuse she was subjected to as a young child. The original personality, Mouse, formed new personalities to help her survive her ordeal. Neal, a leonine and fierce defender, was her safety net, a calming presence who could become quite terrifying if Mouse felt threatened. Nancy, pragmatic and cold, kept them all surviving in the everyday world, despite their DID. Jade was one of the oldest of the personalities, the one who took on that name when Mouse decided she no longer wanted to come outside for very long and wanted to be known as Mouse. Mouse stayed hidden in The Deep most of the time. She had never grown up and was still the tortured frightened child who had been told she was ugly and unlovable and treated oh, so badly. When Roger, the husband of Lucy, called her a name that triggered those feelings anew, Anne was born in response. Mouse seemed to have distinct reasons for bringing Anne and her automatic take-charge attitude into existence. Anne instantly started a regime of diet and walks designed to help shed the extra weight, and she seemed surprisingly comfortable to being one of ten personalities within one body. Anne was also determined to resolve the issue of the Monster and bring him to justice.

A.J. Mouse’s Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse: Part 1 answered a lot of questions I’ve always had about multiple personality disorder. Mouse’s biography was, quite bluntly, a mind-blowing and welcome dose of reality. I loved reading Anne and Jade’s correspondence and marvelled at how the personalities in Mouse’s world had become a family who, for the most part, work so brilliantly together to survive and protect their Mouse. Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse is beautifully written, and it reads like the most taut and compelling fictional thriller you’ll come across. What happened to Mouse, and who is the Monster that the personalities will most assuredly encounter some day? How do they handle the day-to-day complexities of work and other social obligations? Is there something wrong with those who have DID or is it just another way our marvelous minds have for making us our best and brightest? Anne and Jade and the other personalities you’ll meet have a lot to say about these and other issues, and I’m so glad to have gotten to meet each one of Mouse’s tightly-knit and supportive family. I love reading biographies and have read and reviewed quite a few -- this has to be one of my all-time favorites. I am most definitely looking forward to reading Part 2. Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse: Part 1 is most highly recommended.

A quote from the character Ray, “An outsider, a hippie, and a psychopath walk into a bar…” perfectly captures the essence of this remarkable work of autobiographical fiction, Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse by A.J. Mouse. Mouse (through Jade) has written a fascinating tale, told in first person narrative by two of the ten personalities that live within the physical body of Mouse. Jade is the primary alternate personality and it’s through her eyes that the story begins as she welcomes personality number ten, Anne. Jade provides familial background and history to help Anne integrate, while Anne struggles to accept her “birth.” Anne, a psychologist, is perceived as the person necessary to finally tackle and destroy The Monster that created the Dissociative Identity Disorder within Mouse many years earlier.

Conceiving a story of this type, establishing the concept and presentation is a challenging undertaking. But who better to tell the story than the afflicted person, Mouse, through her alternate personalities, Jade and Anne? Writing that story in a cohesive and entertaining manner that keeps the reader involved in an environment of multiple characters - with different dialogue and story lines - is an achievement few can match. Mouse’s obvious knowledge of DID, technical writing skills and imagination have produced a masterpiece by far and away more interesting, captivating, and delectable than the only other book I’ve read in this genre, the 1973 true story of Sybil. Mouse expertly mixes humor, anger, love and hate that will create empathy and/or sympathy in all readers. Written as fiction, Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse is an autobiography that highlights, in some cases, the results of a sexually abused childhood.

Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse is the most intriguing and courageous memoir I’ve ever read. Jade has Dissociative Personality Disorder. She is not the body’s original personality. Mouse is, but Mouse stopped growing when she was 11 years old so Jade—the survivor—was born and given the body’s name. For years, Jade and the other eight alternative personalities have learned to blend in with society and co-exist in peace. Then Anne is born. There’s something different about Anne as she seems incapable of sensing and hearing the others at first, except for Jade. With Jade’s guidance, Anne needs to meet the other alters and uncover the purpose for which Mouse created her.

Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse is an important book on Mental Health as it exposes the truth about living with Dissociative Identity Disorder. This being one of the more wildly misunderstood mental health issues makes it prone to sensationalism and harsh judgement. Both Anne and Jade illuminate the fallacies surrounding DID while discussing the intricacies in a manner that makes it easy to understand. I was deeply touched by the sense of fellowship between Jade, Anne, Peter, and the other alters, and their intense love and desire to protect Mouse. The abuse inflicted on Mouse is heart shattering, rage inducing, and the only part of this book that I struggled to wrap my head around. "Monster" is an apt moniker as any creature who perpetrates such violations cannot be considered human in any way except appearance. I applaud Anna and Jade for having the courage to write their story, and Mouse for finding a way to survive such horrors. Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse is unique in many aspects and notable for the way it simultaneously broadens the mind and imprints its story on the heart. This is an amazing book.

Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse (Book One) by AJ Mouse is a non-fiction biography that would appeal most to an audience made up of a mix of mature young adults and adults who have an interest in Dissociative Identity Disorder, and who do not mind the use of explicit language, mentions of childhood abuse, and suicidal ideation. The book is about a woman who has Dissociative Identity Disorder and has lived with it for most of her life. The personalities for a long time were Jade, Peter, Neil, Jane, Zen, Nancy, Ray, and Lucy. However, everything changes when a negative remark from their husband led to a new personality by the name of Anne being created. Will the personalities be able to successfully integrate Anne or will they fail with disastrous results?

Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse (Book One) by AJ Mouse is a well written book that I greatly enjoyed as a psychology graduate. I have read and studied Dissociative Identity Disorder in college, but I never read anything written by a person with the condition. I found that I not only learned a lot about Dissociative Identity Disorder from the perspective of the personalities that have the condition, but that I also found the book to be an enjoyable read. The authors did a wonderful job in sharing their story in an open and honest manner while also keeping their writing styles interesting to an audience. I personally liked the way that the authors made the book have the feeling of a story to it instead of a textbook feel. Overall, I feel that this book is a necessary read for anyone even considering working in the mental health field, and I plan on reading book two when it becomes available!

Alternative to a Frozen Mouse...i guarantee you will find it hard to put this book down...written with passion you will learn so much about Disassociate Identity Disorder....it takes u on a journey that will keep you engaged and wanting more. Love it thank u ..cant wait for book 2

I could only feel love and compassion for each and every personality as they struggle to understand their 'life' and make it work in the world around them - and also keep their condition a secret for fear of discrimination. This book goes a long way in bringing understanding of DID to the mind of the average person whose perception has been coloured by inaccurate and sensationalised versions, in the world of popular entertainment.

I knew I was going to review this book and within the first few chapters, I knew it was going to be 5-stars. The thing is how to review it; this stirred emotions in me that range from sadness to anger to wonder and on to happiness. There is a lot in this book, and being only 276 pages, all I can say is wow!
Being a fictional (fantasy) writer, I can appreciate the different feel of this book. As it wasn't written by one person but many, which in turn did not detract from the flow and beauty of this wonderfully written book. 
I want to write more, but I have nothing left to write. This has become one of my favourite books of all time! 
All I can say is thank you, Jade, Anne, Peter, Neil, Jane, Nancy, Zen, Ray, Lucy and most of all Mouse for creating this moving book and sharing your story.

cover. This time I dived in without reading the blurb.

Oops!

Instead of a book of poetry or a version of Watership Down, as I interpreted the cover, I found myself in the murky (and sometimes) confusing consciousness of multiple personalities trapped in the same mind. And no! I'm not criticising the cover because it forms an important part of the story. But more on that later.

The premise fascinates me. It's an adventure story packed with drama, but this is a very real story as many people with Dissociative Identity Disorder will tell you. I found the book well written, better than most Indie books I read, and it's powerful - keeping me turning pages as I follow the efforts of Zen, Peter, Neil, Jane, Nancy, Ray, Lucy, and Jade help their fellow personality Mouse who created them. This is all so they can navigate through life with a semblance of functioning normality, something some conventional treatments for mental illnesses fail to achieve.

Some people battle to operate a household, be a good parent, or keep a job. This story shows the ultimate battle: mastering yourself when you are ten different personalities.

That brings me back to the cover and its importance. You can never judge a book by its cover. Neither can you judge a person you meet in life until you know their full story.

Thank you for sharing your story, AJ Mouse.

What an exceptional book!
Confronting and honest, Alternatives to a Frozen Mouse opens up the world of Dissociative Identity Order (D.I.D) to the uninitiated. At times I felt quite emotional reading this book. I empathised with the pain and frustration of the alters, recognising their united front in protecting little Mouse, who created them after terrible abuse, just so she could survive in the world.
Thank you for sharing your story A.J. Mouse, it really opened my eyes (and heart) to D.I.D.

I applaud the author for sharing this. Many years ago - so many that the disorder did not have a name, a patient was admitted to the hospital where I was a psychiatric nursing sister. Psychiatry had no acceptance for this 'condition' but a very skilled psychologist did. I think I only met three of the alters but the psychologist had conversations with most.
As I journeyed through the book with these people, I shared their roller-coaster ride. I laughed at the humor, cried, became angry - and prayed for ALL people who have this condition.
Yes, some bits resonated with deep hurts in me, but I never had to endure what the first person, or the alter they had to banish did.
In spite of everything this is a book of hope.

Wonderful book. Such an insightful look at life from someones with DID; a moving and devastating and funny memoir that was at once horrible and beautiful. Such a life is far from what I personally could ever imagine, but the story, told mostly in a dual narrative from two of the main personalities, Jade and Anne, is courageous in its honesty. It wasn't the easiest read (due to the content alone, it's perfectly readable), but it's definitely one that I won't forget. With Anne, Jade, Neil and Nancy leading the charge, the Monster is going down. As a whole, the author is inspirational. And I especially loved the Acknowledgements from Nancy. She's a stone-cold legend.

This book is amazing and unique opportunity to gain an understanding of what it is like to live with Dissociative Identity Disorder. Something true and real to be valued amidst all the Hollywood bastardisation of mental illness.

The story is delivered in such an engaging way that keeps you hooked as Anna and Jade take you along for the ride.

Such a powerful and intriguing novel. The more that Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D) is talked about, the more questions I have.
The brain is so mysterious and we have learnt very little about how it works (just the basics really) and we have a long way to go before we know it all.
It seems when some of us are faced with unbearable trauma, the brain splinters to protect itself so that it can survive, forming alters, each has their own reason for being and their own story.
Thank you for sharing your story and helping to take the stigma associated with D.I.D away.

I must say that before I started reading this I was unsure of what to expect. I didn't read anything about the book before starting. I just opened the book - or swiped from right to left on my tab - and started reading. After completing the first chapter I turned to my wife beside me and said, "You have to read this book, it is amazing."
From then on, AJ Mouse continued on in the same vein to produce an amazing book.
Now for the grit. The book is assembled from two perspectives and the insight that these two perspectives offer is unique. The writing style is fairly similar, more one person with two disparate viewpoints, that is trying to reconcile them. I thoroughly enjoyed watching one of the main characters explore the unique position that she was placed in and the other trying in vain at some points to explain to her what is going on. I enjoyed how each of the different characters appears, each feeling very relatable and yet distinct, from each other.
I would love to see a conclusion to the story, forgiveness or revenge, would really be appreciated. I understand that the writer would like to write more about the book so I am hoping for a satisfactory end.
I credit the author with great gumption to tackle this problem, it is well written and truly evocative - if this is an autobiography 'I am so sorry.'
Overall, the book felt like a whirlwind, one minute I am laughing along with the writers humour next I am saddened and then I am disgusted- all within one chapter. I craved the end of the chapters so that I could rest from the emotional rollercoaster that AJ Mouse put me through.
Truly fantastic. 6/5 (less)

What a Brlliantly Brave Biography.

This book affected me profoundly. It gripped my attention from the very first page. I love and admire every single alternate - especially Nancy. I would like to give each and every one of you a star. You are amazing. Please write on.

This book is life changing !
Alternative to a frozen mouse is a masterpiece it gives a truly unique and raw insight into not only a rare mental health issue but the pure inner strength of the human mind . The book is written by a person with DID Disassociate identity disorder and therefore is co wrote by a number of alternative personalities (Jade and Anne being the main two ) . They take you on a journey of not only the daily issues facing them all but of the troubled past that they have all had to survive. As someone who has a connnection with mental health i feel this book not only helps show you that there is a strength in you , you don’t always know you have . It show that there are other way of coping and taking control back .
I can not say enough about this book and the amazing people that wrote it other than they have helped people more than they will ever know .