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Unshattered: Surviving My Mother's 123 Personalities and Transforming a Legacy of Abuse
What happens when your mother isn't one person, but 123?
Emma Churchman grew up as the eldest child of a woman with one of the most extreme cases of multiple personality disorder (now known as dissociative identity disorder) ever diagnosed. Never knowing which of her mother's alters would emerge—the playful child, the raging demon, or the suicidal depressive—Emma became the family's anchor, raising her three younger brothers while discovering that chaos could become her greatest teacher.
This unflinching account reveals how a lineage of violence, suicide, addiction, and mental illness became the foundation for extraordinary resilience. Emma navigates a shattered reality—changing personalities, a mother in a padded room, a homeless father, a six-year-old brother needing protection—and transforms each devastating moment into profound wisdom about human potential.
From trauma chaplain to successful entrepreneur, Emma demonstrates how our deepest wounds become our greatest gifts when we choose to see everything as happening FOR us, not TO us. With raw honesty and revolutionary insights, she proves that what breaks us can remake us into something far more powerful than we ever imagined.
For readers of Educated (Tara Westover) and The Glass Castle (Jeanette Walls), this transformational story shows that healing from trauma isn't about surviving—it's about discovering that your greatest challenges were always your greatest opportunities.
Emma Churchman grew up as the eldest child of a woman with one of the most extreme cases of multiple personality disorder (now known as dissociative identity disorder) ever diagnosed. Never knowing which of her mother's alters would emerge—the playful child, the raging demon, or the suicidal depressive—Emma became the family's anchor, raising her three younger brothers while discovering that chaos could become her greatest teacher.
This unflinching account reveals how a lineage of violence, suicide, addiction, and mental illness became the foundation for extraordinary resilience. Emma navigates a shattered reality—changing personalities, a mother in a padded room, a homeless father, a six-year-old brother needing protection—and transforms each devastating moment into profound wisdom about human potential.
From trauma chaplain to successful entrepreneur, Emma demonstrates how our deepest wounds become our greatest gifts when we choose to see everything as happening FOR us, not TO us. With raw honesty and revolutionary insights, she proves that what breaks us can remake us into something far more powerful than we ever imagined.
For readers of Educated (Tara Westover) and The Glass Castle (Jeanette Walls), this transformational story shows that healing from trauma isn't about surviving—it's about discovering that your greatest challenges were always your greatest opportunities.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 27, 2025
1 person is currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 4, 2025
Unshattered: Surviving My Mother’s 123 Personalities and Transforming a Legacy
of Abuse by Emma M. Churchman, MDiv
BOOK REVIEW
Not for the weak at heart, this book is heavy, and I don’t mean in a physical
sense. It’s deep.
The trauma the author, Emma Churchman, experienced growing up was astronomical. She’s more than just a survivor of mental, emotional, and sexual abuse. She is someone who thrived to become a Trauma Chaplain, Healer, and Entrepreneur, which is a testament to her strong will to live and her spiritual connection to God.
Churchman’s poignant story traces the generational sexual abuse that had been passed down in her family, starting with her great-grandmother, and her great-grandmother’s mother-in-law, on to her grandmother, and to her mother, finally resulting in Churchman’s mother adopting 123 personalities to cope with the sexual abuse she experienced.
As a result, Emma Churchman became caretaker for her entire family, and practicallythe only real mother her three younger brothers ever had. Because of her mother’s inability to function as a complete person, and her father’s rampant physical abuse, all family responsibilities fell on Emma’s shoulders.
This story is so heart-wrenching, it saddening to know that this level of sexual and physical abuse existed in one family for many generations. Even though reading about the abuse was heart-breaking, the story eventually morphed into the author’s personal journey to self-love and fulfillment.
She finally had to make a drastic decision so she could live life on her own terms. She discovered she possessed an amazing gift, which led to doors opening for her that helped others heal.
This is a wonderful story about how a woman survived and thrived after so much responsibilities were bestowed on her because of her mother’s absences, her own sexual abuse, and her father’s physical abuse. On her journey towards self-discovery, Churchman stated the following, which I found uplifting.
“Self-love is not a destination, but a daily practice. It’s choosing to speak kindly to yourself when the world feels hard.”
There were a couple of issues I had with this otherwise intriguing tale. The story jumped from one timeline to the next without warning. I was a bit confused because the story didn’t flow well sometimes. Also, there are a lot of sexual and physical abuse situations, which may be uncomfortable for some readers.
I give this book five stars and recommend it to anyone who is looking for hope after living through traumatic experiences. It will show you that the human spirit is resilient, no matter what life throws at you.
of Abuse by Emma M. Churchman, MDiv
BOOK REVIEW
Not for the weak at heart, this book is heavy, and I don’t mean in a physical
sense. It’s deep.
The trauma the author, Emma Churchman, experienced growing up was astronomical. She’s more than just a survivor of mental, emotional, and sexual abuse. She is someone who thrived to become a Trauma Chaplain, Healer, and Entrepreneur, which is a testament to her strong will to live and her spiritual connection to God.
Churchman’s poignant story traces the generational sexual abuse that had been passed down in her family, starting with her great-grandmother, and her great-grandmother’s mother-in-law, on to her grandmother, and to her mother, finally resulting in Churchman’s mother adopting 123 personalities to cope with the sexual abuse she experienced.
As a result, Emma Churchman became caretaker for her entire family, and practicallythe only real mother her three younger brothers ever had. Because of her mother’s inability to function as a complete person, and her father’s rampant physical abuse, all family responsibilities fell on Emma’s shoulders.
This story is so heart-wrenching, it saddening to know that this level of sexual and physical abuse existed in one family for many generations. Even though reading about the abuse was heart-breaking, the story eventually morphed into the author’s personal journey to self-love and fulfillment.
She finally had to make a drastic decision so she could live life on her own terms. She discovered she possessed an amazing gift, which led to doors opening for her that helped others heal.
This is a wonderful story about how a woman survived and thrived after so much responsibilities were bestowed on her because of her mother’s absences, her own sexual abuse, and her father’s physical abuse. On her journey towards self-discovery, Churchman stated the following, which I found uplifting.
“Self-love is not a destination, but a daily practice. It’s choosing to speak kindly to yourself when the world feels hard.”
There were a couple of issues I had with this otherwise intriguing tale. The story jumped from one timeline to the next without warning. I was a bit confused because the story didn’t flow well sometimes. Also, there are a lot of sexual and physical abuse situations, which may be uncomfortable for some readers.
I give this book five stars and recommend it to anyone who is looking for hope after living through traumatic experiences. It will show you that the human spirit is resilient, no matter what life throws at you.
Displaying 1 of 1 review