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337th out of 403 books
—
909 voters
Women of the Asylum: Voices from Behind the Walls, 1840-1945
by
Jeffrey L. Geller,
Maxine Harris, Phyllis Chesler (Goodreads Author)
The 26 women who tell their stories here were incarcerated against their will, often by male family members, for holding views or behaving in ways that deviated from the norms of their day. The authors' accompanying history of both societal and psychiatric standards for women reveals the degree to which the prevailing societal conventions could reinforce the perception tha...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
August 1st 1995
by Anchor
(first published June 1st 1994)
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I love first hand accounts of true events, especially if those events were somewhat tragic, and I especially love stories of women who have been considered insane, or been institutionalized in one form another, and this book was no exception. The book features 26 first hand accounts of different women considered mad or insane, spanning two centuries, from 1840-1945. (If there is a more modern account, covering the last half of the 20th century into the 21st, I need to find it.)
What the stories t...more
What the stories t...more
This book, with its real life narratives, was very difficult to read. It’s frightening what women went through simply because of their gender.
The book gives really good detail at what was going on in the time period of the narrative. It details the political climate, what was going on in terms of medical treatment, and how women were treated and what was expected of them.
The mere fact that the medical society thought that simply having a uterus was enough to cause mental illness is astounding an...more
The book gives really good detail at what was going on in the time period of the narrative. It details the political climate, what was going on in terms of medical treatment, and how women were treated and what was expected of them.
The mere fact that the medical society thought that simply having a uterus was enough to cause mental illness is astounding an...more
This one had been sitting on my wishlist for a long time, and I finally got around to hunting down a secondhand copy.
This book features excerpts from publications written by women who had been institutionalised in insane asylums over a hundred year period, with each time period preceded by a short introduction giving an overview of the general state of mental healthcare at the time.
All of the stories are brutal.
It's horribly fascinating watching the shape of the asylum changing. In the beginning...more
This book features excerpts from publications written by women who had been institutionalised in insane asylums over a hundred year period, with each time period preceded by a short introduction giving an overview of the general state of mental healthcare at the time.
All of the stories are brutal.
It's horribly fascinating watching the shape of the asylum changing. In the beginning...more
I feel good reading this for an interesting reason - these women often seem to have little hope in anything other than that someone, someday, would read their words and know what they endured. The other comments on here are correct - the editors are definitely focused on affluent (and very literate) white women. I'd love to read an accompanying book of collected experiences of black, Native American, or other minority women. But the editors seem to have simply been looking to collect certain kin...more
This is fascinating & educating reading! I can't believe why women used to be put in asylums. I don't want to say any more for fear I'll give too much away. I think men and women alike should read this book. I will hang on to my copy and pass it down to my children and grandchildren so they will know how far we've come in our society.
(Hardcover) Read this while researching for a paper in History of Medicine class. It is true that the stories are about white women (women of color just weren't "put away" the way white women were during this time period). The narratives are believable, especially after further researching this topic and reading first-hand accounts (dusty diaries). Are things much different now? Well, sure - if you consider how hard it is to get anyone inpatient psych care anymore. Now we mostly medicate our wom...more
Very interesting- mainly a collection of primary documents, written by women after spending time in an asylum. A bit of commentary and context. These women wanted their accounts to be read; they were published within their lifetimes. They vary; accounts of madness, recovery, sanity, persecution, misogyny, neglect, and abuse. All are at the very least a bit critical of the treatment they received. Some are serious in tone, many are oriented at obtaining justice for asylum dwellers, and a few are...more
Didn't finish. Authors portions read like textbooks, hard to read and I skimmed. Some of the old time language hard to understand too. Just didn't hold my interest.
This is ok. Gripping descriptions of what it meant for a woman to be mad in the US before the end of asylums. But by "woman" Geller and Harris mean "white woman," and they also arrange the narratives between neat, historical synopses which seem dishonest. If narrative can be honest, I know. But the historical sections kind of limit the possible meanings of the stories. Something REALLY GOOD that we read along these lines was "In Our Own Voices" by Vanessa Jackson, but they don't have that here b...more
wow..fascinating read. It was definitely a little difficult to get; I finally had to buy it through BN used booksellers, but I think it was worth it. In my undergrad work in Psychology we only had one class that discussed the treatment of women by the mental health profession. For most of us, the class was definitely an eye opener, and years, later the book is a great companion to the course material. I definitely recommend it for history fans, as well as pyschology students.
because if what i have gone through in my life, i have always been fascinated by the tales of women institutionalized by others in their families -- the ways in which hysteria and craziness were defined -- and how these women learned to survive in such oppressive circumstances. the stories told in this novel are raw, disjointed, painful, guarded and sad...all at the same time.
First-person accounts from women labeled as "insane" in order to get rid of them, and the torture they were subjected to in the name of treatment. I want to read this scary stuff because they define courage.
Apr 19, 2011
Conpanna
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
those studying/interested in: women's studies, mental health field
Simply put: this book provides examples of how/why women were labeled as mentally ill (institutions and unnecessary medical interventions).
Reading essays from women about time spent in asylums is not nearly as interesting as spending time in asylums yourself.
Nov 11, 2008
Jaclyn Goss
marked it as to-read
From all of the reviews I have read on this book, I'm very interested to read this.
Jun 29, 2010
Pancha
marked it as not-in-the-mood
This was just too depressing for me to read right now.
1840 - 1945 1st person accounts
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