false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176793201m/654819.jpg 654819 3 Alex Beam's <I>Gracefully Insane</I> is a knowledgeable historical portrait of New England's McLean Hospital, until recently the mental institution equivalent of the Plaza Hotel. Fenceless and unguarded, McLean's grounds were landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted. Amenities included tennis courts, a golf course, room service, and a riding stable. As one director said, "If you don't know where you are, then you're in the right place." Its patients have included James Taylor, Robert Lowell, and Ray Charles. It also looms large in <I>The Bell Jar</I> and <I>Girl, Interrupted</I>, written by former patients Sylvia Plath and Susanna Kaysen. Beam weaves patients' and employees' stories with an informal review of mental health treatments through the years, including lobotomies, insulin-induced comas, ice-water baths, and a ghastly device called the "coercion chair." <I>Gracefully Insane</I> is amiable, lively, and honest. Its many anecdotes (derived from patient records, journals, and interviews) are by turns poignant, humorous, and unsettling. <I>--H. O'Billovitch</I> 640921 2001 Gracefully Insane: Life and Death Inside America's Premier Mental Hospital total:154|5:38|4:62|3:36|2:17|1:1| 154 581 354 31 5 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Aug 26 15:03:21 -0700 2007 Sun Aug 26 15:08:50 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Feb 15 11:03:45 -0800 2009 Sat May 30 09:23:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Feb 16 10:49:01 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 16 10:50:31 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false true Wed May 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jan 27 18:55:52 -0800 2008 Wed May 27 20:00:41 -0700 2009
Thinking about the huge swaths of material he was most likely skipping over in order to cherry-pick from one or two patients' histories made me a l...more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Sep 05 22:20:42 -0700 2007 Fri Jan 11 22:33:02 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Wed Aug 22 16:17:56 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 23 10:50:10 -0700 2007 This bo...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Jun 07 18:23:39 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 07 18:29:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 12:16:43 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 12:18:21 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Dec 08 19:16:03 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 19:16:58 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Mon Jul 20 12:05:51 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 12:06:21 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Feb 16 07:17:25 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 07:18:03 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 11:34:05 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 11:34:20 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Sat Jun 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 08 07:03:33 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 28 05:52:26 -0700 2009
On the other, I'm rather annoyed to see how the author downplays some of the more cruel and b...more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Feb 21 21:09:59 -0800 2009 Thu Apr 30 17:46:27 -0700 2009
Alex Beam spent a phenomenal amount of time personally interviewing former and current emplo...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 16 07:04:56 -0700 2008 Sat May 03 09:04:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri May 30 10:58:03 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 07:50:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 26 03:51:01 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 11 20:28:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Wed Jun 06 13:39:48 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 08 09:40:39 -0700 2007 2 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Jul 29 13:53:57 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 29 13:55:58 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Wed Aug 12 19:27:06 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 20:53:03 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=654819