Voices Within: The Lives of Truddi Chase is an ABC-Network miniseries based on When Rabbit Howls, the autobiography of Truddi Chase, a woman who was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder who had 92 separate personalities.[1] The four-hour miniseries, which was directed by Lamont Johnson[2] stars Emmy winner Shelley Long as Truddi Chase. Tom Conti co-stars as her doctor. The miniseries aired on May 20 and 21, 1990 and Chase worked closely with screenwriter E. Jack Neuman to assure her autobiography was adapted accurately.[3]Voices Within also exists as a 1-hour 46 minute version.[citation needed]
Plot
Truddi Chase phones her therapist to tell him she intends to travel to upstate New York to kill her stepfather. During her plane ride to New York, she flashes back to her traumatic childhood, which was filled with childhood sexual abuse suffered at the hands of her stepfather. To cope with the trauma, she develops dissociative identity disorder, manifesting approximately 90 split personalities over the course of her life, whom she refers to collectively as "The Troops".
As a young woman, Truddi marries a man named Norman, but their marriage is rocky as a result of Truddi's psychological issues. Her condition worsens when they have a daughter, Paige, resulting in the breakdown of her marriage. Truddi seeks assistance, eventually meeting Dr. Stanley Phillips, who seeks to integrate Truddi's numerous personalities. Eventually Truddi decides to confront her stepfather in person.[4]
