Susanna Kaysen

Author profile

born

in Cambridge, Massachusetts, The United States

November 11, 1948

gender

female

website

http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/authors/kaysen/

genre

Biographies & Memoirs, Literature & Fiction

About this author

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Susanna Kaysen is an American author.

Kaysen was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kaysen attended high school at the Commonwealth School in Boston and the Cambridge School before being sent to McLean Hospital in 1967 to undergo psychiatric treatment for depression. It was there she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. She was released after eighteen months. She later drew on this experience for her 1993 memoir Girl, Interrupted, which was made into a film in 1999, her role being played by Winona Ryder.

She is the daughter of the economist Carl Kaysen, a professor at MIT and former advisor to President John F. Kennedy. Her mother, deceased, was sister of architect Richard Neutra. Kaysen also has one sister and has be...more

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Susanna Kaysen's Books

Average rating: 3.81 · 69,497 ratings · 1,831 reviews · 6 distinct works · Similar authors

	Girl, Interrupted 3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 68,748 ratings — published 1993 — 26 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Camera My Mother Gave Me 3.21 of 5 stars 3.21 avg rating — 593 ratings — published 2001 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Far Afield 3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 160 ratings — published 1990 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Asa, as I Knew Him 3.46 of 5 stars 3.46 avg rating — 124 ratings — published 1987 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Girl, Interrupted (Faber and Faber Screenplays) Screenplay based on the book by Susanna Kaysen, James Mangold, Lisa Loomer 3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 100 ratings — published 2000	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression by Nell Casey (Editor), A. Alvarez (Contributor), Russell Banks (Contributor) 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 788 ratings — published 2001 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Girl, Interrupted (SparkNotes Literature Guide) by SparkNotes Editors, Susanna Kaysen 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2007 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Susanna Kaysen

“Crazy isn't being broken or swallowing a dark secret. It's you or me amplified. If you ever told a lie and enjoyed it. If you ever wished you could be a child forever.”
― Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted

436 people liked it

“Suicide is a form of murder - premeditated murder. It isn't something you do the first time you think of doing it. It takes getting used to. And you need the means, the opportunity, the motive. A successful suicide demands good organization and a cool head, both of which are usually incompatible with the suicidal state of mind.”
― Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted

tags: suicide

376 people liked it

“Scar tissue has no character. It's not like skin. It doesn't show age or illness or pallor or tan. It has no pores, no hair, no wrinkles. It's like a slip cover. It shields and disguises what's beneath. That's why we grow it; we have something to hide. ”
― Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted

297 people liked it

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Next Best Boo...: OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009	6462	8063	Jun 14, 2009 02:57pm

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