Adriana Stern Autorin

"Hannah and the Others": Overview of Chapters

Chapter 1: In Flight, pages 7 - 23, Perspective of Hannah / John / December
Hannah finds herself in a call box with the phone number of a Girls' Refuge. She wanders through the streets of the city, and in a women's bookshop she meets Janne, who offers to help her.
Diary: Miriam thinks about her parents and wonders why it is that she feels so bad. Other personalities comment on Miriam's entry.

Chapter 2: Visiting Janne, pages 28 - 41, Perspective of Janne
Janne tries to gain the trust of Hannah and the Others, taking the girl home with her. She notices changes of personality but can't categorize them. Hannah reacts by becoming deeply suspicious and nervous.
Diary: Miriam notices that she is bleeding from wounds but can't work out their origin; other personalities explain what has happened, but Miriam doesn't read their entries.

Chapter 3: A Fairytale for Sascha, pages 47 - 58, Perspective of Sascha / Hannah
Five-year-old Sascha talks to one of Janne's glove puppets, a little dragon. She comes to trust the dragon and the grown woman. Hannah, who has noticed nothing of the personality change, is - after some initial uncertainty - prepared to talk to Janne again about the Girls' Refuge.
Diary: Miriam is deeply disturbed about changes in her personality; she hears herself talking without understanding what she is saying. Jurek and Basti present the case for escaping. Miriam is frightened by this thought, which is alien to her. Why should she want to run away from home? After all, everything's OK, isn't it?

Chapter 4: Arrival at the Girls' Refuge, pages 65 - 74, Perspective of Janne
Janne notices the change between Sascha and Hannah. She manages to persuade Hannah to call the Girls' Refuge. After this phone call she meets John, who explains to her some things about the various personalities. They set off together for the Girls' Refuge. By the time they reach the Girls' Refuge, Hannah is back.
Diary: Miriam is panicking about her time lapses. She increasingly experiences her life as a silent hell, without knowing why. Little Lela describes incidents of abuse, which Miriam ignores. Rickie cries out for help. John tries to help Miriam. December comes into being after another trauma.

Chapter 5: An Evening Full of Questions, pages 81 - 101, Perspective of Hannah / December / Sammy / John
Hannah is uncertain and very desperate when she talks about her decision with a carer at the Girls' Refuge. She becomes a completely overwhelmed and intimidated; December takes charge and signs the agreement. Sammy appears and wants to go home, and then John takes over until things calm down and Hannah and the Others are able to enter the Girls' Refuge.
Diary: Miriam's life goes more and more off the rails, and she descends further into panic. Stealing a motorbike and misusing drugs? Describing traumas in a school assignment? She doesn't know anything about these things!!!

Chapter 6: Many Mysteries and a Long Night, pages 108 - 118, Perspective of Noa
Noa first meets December and then Hannah. She is the first person able to diagnose the personality changes as Multiple Personality Disorder. She knows this only arises as a response to extreme violence. She also knows that the different personalities may well know nothing of each other, and not all of them are aware of the extent of the violence. She is extremely cautious with Hannah and the Others. It is clear to her how dangerous Hannah's parents and the group of perpetrators are. While Noa shows Hannah the Girls' Refuge she meets Sascha.
Diary: Hannah, a new personality, finds the diary, and when she reads it she is amazed and confused. What is the meaning of all these curious entries in different handwriting? She tries to get in touch with her aunt, and although her parents forbid it, she manages to contact her secretly and discovers that her aunt is extremely worried about Hannah. John has made an appointment with the Youth Department.

Chapter 7: A New World for Hannah, pages 124 - 137, Perspective of Hannah / Silver
Hannah meets the other girls. She prepares for an assessment interview with Noa; she is frightened of the woman. Silver finds an easel and, to Hannah's horror, paints an impressive picture.
Diary: John reports on the visits to the Youth Department. December, Miriam and Hannah complete the report.

Chapter 8: Stepping into Chaos, pages 143 - 159, Perspective of Noa
The assessment interview begins with Hannah and then changes to John, who explains to Noa about the various personalities. Noa and John call the Youth Department together and then phone Hannah's parents. Noa cautiously explains to John what a multiple personality is and why it comes into being. John can't imagine the violence, but then Jurek speaks up and confirms the extent of the violence. He is prepared to go along with Noa's diary idea. Afterwards John returns and also wants to be involved in the diary, in order to help Hannah fill the time lapses.

Diary: Hannah describes the situation after the social worker from the Youth Department visited her at home. She is now confined to the house, and her family is watching her every move. For the first time she considers running away. Silver finishes the diary entry, absolutely determined to escape.

Chapter 9: Hannah and the Others, pages 166 - 179, Perspective of Hannah
Noa explains the diary idea to Hannah and tells her about the other personalities she has met. Hannah is afraid she is going out of her mind, but Noa manages to reassure her. She gently addresses the subject of the violence Hannah has suffered, which Hannah can't remember because other personalities are keeping this knowledge to themselves. Hannah tells another girl from the Girls' Refuge about her conversation with Noa. To Hannah's relief, Nuray is of the opinion that Hannah's survival strategy is not all worrying.
Diary: Hannah begins a new diary in the Girls' Refuge, with Basti, Jurek, John and Klara joining in. For the first time the personalities write things for each other, not just for themselves.

Chapter 10: Nighttime Cry for Help, pages 187 - 208, Perspective of Janne and Noa
Noa has gone to Israel for two weeks. On the day she is due to return several of Hannah's personalities call Janne from a highway gas station to say that they are going home. They don't want to put their new friend Nuray in danger any longer. Janne discovers that the rest of the carers have come to disregard Noa's diagnosis of MPD and now only talk to Hannah, not to the other personalities. These women think Hannah is a liar. Noa and Janne drive to the gas station to protect Hannah from her parents, who are coming to pick her up there.
Diary: Hannah has been feeling terrible since Noa left. The other personalities report that her parents accosted her outside the school and also threatened Nuray.

Chapter 11: Stories from the Diary, pages 218 - 238, Perspective of Hannah / Sascha / Basti / December
Hannah, Sascha and Basti describe Janne and Noa's rescue mission at the highway gas station from their perspective. Back in the Girls' Refuge Jurek, Basti, Franziska and Burkhard - the "documenters" in the system - write down precisely what happened at home. This team of four formed up a year earlier, after Basti and Jurek saw a film on television about extreme violence against children.
Diary: many of the personalities "converse" with the help of the diary and support each other in crisis situations. They now all sign their contributions with their names.

Chapter 12: And Before us Lies the Ocean, pages 249 - 268, Perspective of Noa
At the last second Noa manages to prevent Hannah's father from abducting her from the Girls' Refuge and taking her away with him. Noa has read descriptions of the abuse, copied them out and sent them to various addresses as a precautionary measure. She knows that the girl will have to move to another Girls' Refuge straight away.
After a few weeks in the new Girls' Refuge Hannah and the Others can get a place on a youth project in Italy, together with Nuray.
Diary: All the personalities write down what they wish for in the future.

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The final section is an afterword by the author containing a list of advice centers and aid organizations throughout Germany for those affected by this condition and the people around them.