Maggie Walters: I Have Dissociative Identity Disorder - Motherhood Helped Me Heal

Maggie Walters has lived a life most people could barely comprehend. Diagnosed in her twenties with Dissociative Identity Disorder, formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder, Maggie came to understand that her mind had created different parts, or “alters”, to help her survive severe childhood trauma.CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussion about abuse and trauma. 

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In her first book Split, Maggie shared the story of that trauma and introduced readers to “the girls”, the parts of her who protected her through experiences no child should ever have to endure.

Now, in her new book Fractured Motherhood, Maggie explores what came next: becoming a mother, adopting three children from the Philippines, and learning how to parent with love, courage and honesty while navigating DID, trauma and fear.

In this deeply powerful conversation, Maggie joins You’re Gonna Want To Hear This and tells Marie Claire Editor Georgie McCourt about what DID really is, why it is so misunderstood, how trauma shaped her childhood, and how motherhood helped her break a cycle of intergenerational harm.

This is not a story about being defined by trauma. It is a story about survival, hope, identity, parenting, and the extraordinary ways people find a path forward.

This episode covers:

* Maggie Walters’ diagnosis with Dissociative Identity Disorder / Multiple Personality Disorder

* What DID really feels like from the inside

* How childhood trauma can lead to dissociation

* Why Maggie calls her alters “the girls”

* Writing Split and Fractured Motherhood

* Adopting her three children from the Philippines

* The fear of passing trauma on to your children

* Mothering while navigating mental health challenges

* Breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma

* Why Maggie believes change and hope are always possible

If this conversation raises issues for you, support is available.

In Australia, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for domestic, family and sexual violence support, or Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380 for support around complex trauma and childhood trauma.

Maggie Walters’ new book Fractured Motherhood is out now.

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