The Sensitivity Reader for Conjure Hill

Since Conjure Hill is being released this month, I want to go on record and be clear:

I am my own sensitivity reader.

I wrote a novel about a bi transman who is hard-of-hearing, has Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), is a survivor of childhood abuse, and has suffered spiritual abuse.

So just like with Facing the Curse, let me be very upfront about this concerning Conjure Hill:

1. I’m bi/pansexual, not het.

2. I’m trans like Jorgi, although I also identify as more third-gender.

3. I’m hard-of-hearing, and I’m learning ASL like Jorgi.

4. I have been clinically diagnosed with DID.

5. I am a survivor of childhood abuse.

6. I have suffered spiritual abuse.

As I said when Facing the Curse was released in December 2023, I would never want readers to feel that some heterosexual, cis-gendered man who is neurotypical is trying to spout off about things he knows nothing about, and I definitely don’t want people to think that DID is nothing to me but an exotic plot device. Far, far from it. It’s quite personal. Not only do I have DID, but my life partner has DID also.

I said this before, too, but I'll say it again: As for Wicca and folk magick, I can say that as someone who has DID, I don’t have one single religion. I have many. The different people inside of me (called “parts” or “self-states” in clinical language) practice nine different religions total, and one of them is Wicca. We espouse freedom of religion inside of our own System (i.e., our internal family, given “System” is the clinical term for all of us together). This means everyone gets time to practice whatever spiritual path meets their spiritual needs. That’s why I portrayed this division of religion for someone with DID in Conjure Hill. Some of us practice Wicca and/or folk magick (like George), and some of us are ex-fundamentalist Protestants who are liberal Catholics now (like Axel).

One of my goals as a writer is to bust myths about people with DID and confront the offensive stereotypes about us being portrayed in the media. So you can expect me to write more blog posts about this in the future and more novels, too.