Two books that I read recently and they have a bit of a common theme..
."Breaking Free: My Life With Dissociative Disorder" by Herschel Walker
and
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson.
You know the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, don't you? If you get the chance, you should re-read it. It is only sixty-five pages long and as I was reading I tried to imagine that I didn't know the story, as if I didn't know that the two men were actually just the one. Imagine the people reading this when it was first published! Now, the story is so well known that the expression "he's gone all Jekyll and Hyde", is instantly understood.
Herschel Walker...he is a University of Georgia football LEGEND, a former professional football player AND an Olympian! He is now a owner of several businesses and he likes to call himself a renaissance man. I agree with him! . "Breaking Free", my one criticism of it is that sometimes it seems to become bogged down in the business side of things ( there were co-writers involved), but when it sounds as if Herschel is doing the talking, that is when it comes to life for me.
Herschel Walker was on one of those TV food shows recently, and I wanted to make sure to watch it since I have always liked and admired Herschel Walker, he is quite simply the BEST Georgia Bulldog who ever lived! (Sorry, my football loving self came forward just now.) And Herschel being Herschel, he WON the cooking contest! When I just looked at Wikipedia just now, it said at the top, "This article might be written from a fan's point of view"... You might think so, but if you read the facts of his life, it is hard not to be a fan and also, you might think that the accomplishments in his life have been overstated. On the contrary, I don't think they have been celebrated enough!
Multiple personalities or "dissociative disorders", what do you know about them? You might remember the movie "Sybil" that was made by Sally Field, or even earlier, "The Three Faces of Eve" with Joanne Woodward. Herschel Walker has come to terms with the fact that he suffers from this mental illness. He has a really positive attitude about it and he attributes that to his strong faith in God. When you see Herschel Walker, you might be surprised to know that he was overweight as a child and was terribly bullied. "Coping with life, and with life's problems" is why Herschel says that he feels that he developed these "alters" as he calls the different personalities. I found a video of him speaking of the book and if have the time, you might also want to see the video of him as a Georgia Bulldog...or as we say in Georgia...BULLDAWG.
Go DAWGS...woof, woof, woof.. Sorry, couldn't help myself.
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| From Eastbourne England. Those Brits are so funny. |
I don't know what photo to show you to go with this post but how about Batman and Robin? I remember reading a crime report once where the man arrested said that he was Batman living in a Bruce Wayne world, so maybe this might go along with it after all. And if anyone thinks that might seem a bit disrespectful, I think that Herschel Walker would laugh at it!
LOL- Love the last bit there. I have not read Jekyll & Hyde in years. I should do that one of these days.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Herschel Walker suffered from multiple personalities. Amazing and look at how he has lived his life. I remember seeing The Three Faces of Eve when I was very young. I think it was JoAnne Woodward in the version I watched. And then, Sybil. Amazing stories -all of them. xo Diana
I didn't know either until I read his book! He has coped very well with it, and is someone that I really like and admire!
DeleteGlad you like the Batman and Robin story too, that was in one of the crime reports from a small town in Georgia.
I've never heard of Herschel Walker until your post. I did see "Sybil" years ago, same with "The Three Faces of Eve".
ReplyDeleteHow strange you didn't realise that Jekyll and Hyde were one and the same person. I guess we all could have a dark side...we just keep a lid on it! ;)
Well, of course, I knew the story of Jekyll & Hyde very well, I just meant that I TRIED to read it and to IMAGINE that I did NOT know the story. It must have been quite scary for those when it was first published. I added another sentence there just to make myself clear! ;-)
DeleteAnd I think it is true that we have both good and bad within us, so that is why we have to constantly work on the good side!
Dear Kay, I am sure it won't surprise you to hear that your blog is the first place I have ever come across the name of Herschel Walker just now - me neither being in the US, nor a football fan. But it is always a sign of great courage and merits respect if someone with a mental illness comes forward and writes a book about it, giving others hope that they, too, can deal with it, and at the same time contributing to this illness not making stigmatized outcasts of the sufferers.
ReplyDeleteAs for Jekyll and Hyde, I must admit I never really read the story, I only know about it through numerous references in other books and of course in films.
It's true that Herschel is a great football LEGEND, but he is more than that...he was the Valedictorian of his high school and he trained, not in expensive gyms with weights, but by doing THOUSANDS of sit-ups and push-ups every day. (Which he still does today!) He would also race beside the trains as they rumbled through Statesboro, GA!
DeleteIt is always difficult for me to write of people that I truly admire, I really like his intelligence, his determination, and his humble, gentle nature. I think most of all, I like that he speaks of his faith in God, and not in a flashy, false way but with a genuine sense of gratitude.
Meike, I hear of a book "Under The Wide And Starry Sky", and even though it is fiction, I think I might like to TRY and read it. (It is about Robert Louis Stevenson and his American born wife, Fanny.) Since I couldn't get that from the library, I got Jekyll and Hyde instead, since like you, I had never read it. (Although, of course, I knew the story too!) I read it and tried to think what it would have been to read it FRESH, without knowing what would happen...don't know why, that is just the kind of thing that I like to do!! :-)
Hi Kay. I've seen the Three Faces of Eve and was then inspired to read the books about Chris Costner Sizemore's real life. Must be hard living with that condition so Herschel Walker is remarkable for achieving a successful career in football then in business..
ReplyDeleteOne of the main inspirations for Robert Louis Stevenson's book I only found out about recently. You might be interested in this article online.
Lost Edinburgh. The Wizard of West Bow. The Scotsman.
Thanks very much for your comment. That movie, "The Three Faces of Eve" was very memorable to me and of course, you know it is based on the case of a true story, Chris Costner Sizemore from Georgia. I read her book "I'm Eve", but I didn't read the last one that she wrote.
DeleteThanks for that link. After I read it, I was reminded of a quote by Thomas K. Beecher, "If I didn't believe in God, wickedness would not depress me so." I can see how Robert Louis Stevenson could have thought of that for his story.
I hope you like Herschel Walker as much as I do, what a great guy!
It's been since college that i've read Jekyll and Hyde. The book saddened me. Anyway, you are right about Herschel Walker being a legend, and i'm glad he has come to terms with this illness.
ReplyDeleteAh, see my quote above in my comment to Bob at Blue Sky Scotland!
DeleteI am also glad that Herschel is positive about his life. You would be surprised to hear some of the interviews that I watched, many people come right out and say that they think it is doubtful that such a thing as multiple personalities even exist! He was always very patient and kind in his replies, but I don't know if I could have been as calm and collected!
It is possible, but not certain, that Stevenson got the idea from Deacon Brodie. he was a Deacon, a town Councillor in the fair city of Edinburgh (which wasn't so fair at the time.'
ReplyDeleteThis respectable man used to go around the city at night stealing from anyone with anything valuable. Considering how close packed the city was then it is amazing how he got away with it so long.
Eventually he was caught and publicly hanged. He could have claimed 'mental illness,' but Edinburgh citizens were not PC in those days.
Deacon William Brodie...I just read about him, he worked on security locks and made copies and then, went back and robbed the houses! He was hanged from a gibbet, which he had just worked on as a redesign...perhaps, he should have used his talents in a more positive way, and he would not have come to such a bad end.
ReplyDeleteI can also see how Robert Louis Stevenson could have influenced by this too.
Thanks for another comment from Scotland!
I suppose one of the weird things about disassociative disorder is that you could be living right next to someone who has it but not know. It must be very scary to suffer from it. As you say, maybe that what was the matter with Dr Jekyll.....
ReplyDeleteYou should read Herschel's book! I think that might be why so people don't believe that he has this disorder, since he is such a nice guy! He says that he felt that he developed these "alters" in order to cope with his life. I wonder if Robert Louis Stevenson was influenced by true stories of people from his childhood when he wrote his famous story.
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