Memoir of a Mangled Mind (with dust jacket)

Recipient of 21 literary awards:

✅ 2025 B.R.A.G. Medallion Recipient

✅ GRAND PRIZE WINNER 2024-2025 Reader Views Reviewer Choice Awards (Overall Non-Fiction)

✅ GOLD AWARD WINNER 2024-2025 Reader Views Reviewer Choice Awards (Body/Mind/Spirit)

✅ SILVER AWARD WINNER 2024-2025 Reader Views Reviewer Choice Awards (Memoir/Autobiography/Biography)

✅ FINALIST 2024 The Wishing Shelf Book Awards (Non-Fiction Books for Adults)

✅ QUARTERFINALIST 2024 Publisher Weekly's BookLife Prize (Memoir)

✅ WINNER 2025 International Impact Book Award (Memoir-Transformative Stories)

✅ WINNER 2025 Literary Titan Book Award ★★★★★

✅ TOP 10 FINALIST 2025 The Under Covers Writing Contest (Non-Fiction Book)

✅ RUNNER-UP 2025 Southern California Book Festival Award (Memoir)

✅ WINNER 2024 The Incipere Awards (First Place, Memoir)

✅ 3^RD PLACE WINNER 2024 BooksShelf Writing Award (Nonfiction)

✅ WINNER 2024 Firebird Book Award Winner (Mental Health)

✅ WINNER 2024 Firebird Book Award Winner (LGBTQ Non-Fiction)

✅ WINNER 2024 Firebird Book Award Winner (Non-Fiction Book Cover Design)

✅ BRONZE AWARD WINNER 2024 Global Book Award (LGBT)

✅ FINALIST 2024 Indies Today Award (Memoir)

✅ WINNER 2024 Literary Global Book Award Winner (Psychology & Mental Illness)

✅ WINNER 2024 Literary Global Book Award Winner (LGBTQ)

✅ WINNER 2024 Literary Global Book Award Finalist (Memoir)

✅ WINNER 2024 NABE Pinnacle Book Achievement Award (Best Book in Memoir)

Steven Simmons Shelton's award-winning debut is a raw, first-person account of dissociative identity disorder (DID)-once called multiple personality disorder-in which his psyche fractured during childhood trauma, leaving him to fend against alternative personalities who pursued their own lives.

Written like a psychological thriller, Shelton's Memoir of a Mangled Mind holds nothing back in its unflinching portrayal of a misunderstood mental disorder that, in his case, endangered himself and everyone around him.

Blackouts take over Steve's life when he's age sixteen. He loses hours, days, and weeks at a time. Terrified he'll be institutionalized or disbelieved, Steve doesn't tell anyone.

He discovers he has multiple personalities, a mental disorder that developed years earlier when sexual predators targeted him. Originally created as a protective mechanism, these "alters" hijack his consciousness to live their own lives-one as a thief and the other as a gay prostitute.

By refusing to tell anyone of his condition or seek proper mental health treatment, Steve grants his doppelgangers free rein to drag him down the paths of crime and debauchery.

To maintain his freedom and reputation, Steve discards his ethical compass in order to conceal his alters' criminal activities-even after becoming an attorney at one of the world's premier litigation firms.

This deeply personal memoir lays bare Steve's childhood sexual assaults and the poor judgment he exercises to hide his mental disorder caused by the trauma.

How will he navigate the road to redemption?

★★★★★

If you happen to be on the lookout for an unputdownable memoir which never holds back, which feels 'honest' from the outset, this book is for you.-A 'Wishing Shelf' Book Review

Memoir of a Mangled Mind is a gripping and unflinchingly raw account of survival and inner conflict.-NewInBooks

★★★★★

Author Steven Simmons Shelton crafts a narrative that reads with all the intensity of a psychological thriller while never losing sight of the deeply personal nature of his story.-K.C. Finn, Readers' Favorite Book Reviews

★★★★★

The writing of the author is passionate and realistic. His narrations are detailed, and the truth behind his narration makes the whole story believable. I highly recommend this memoir to readers who like to read a powerful personal story about trauma and identity. It will make a lasting impression.-Gladys Nakote, eBookFairs

MEMOIR OF A MANGLED MIND is Steve's debut. He's a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and has had dissociative identity disorder (DID) since childhood. Born in Arkansas, Steve has a BA degree from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD (1983); an MA degree from Wayne State University in Detroit (completed 1990); and a JD from Wayne State University Law School (summa cum laude, 1993).As a PR executive before attending law school, he authored articles for health care magazines and newsletters. His law school honors include the Richard B. Gushee Writing Award for the best Wayne Law Review article. Steve hosts The Mangled Mind Podcast where he discussed issues related to DID.

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