In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospita...
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Feb 05, 2008
Erin
rated it: 
have you ever spent any time in a psychiatric hospital? yeah, well, i don't recommend it. i was a patient for a total of 2 and a half days, and it was one of the best and worst experiences of my life. i liked this book because i was able to relate to some of her feelings. when i went in, it was because i was on the verge of something, and thank god i caught myself in time. my first morning there, i remember thinking, "i have to get out of here, because i may not be crazy now, but these
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7 comments
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(36 people liked it)
Jan 28, 2008
Samantha
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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3 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Nov 12, 2011
Katie
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“Are you crazy? It’s a common phrase, I know. But it means something particular to me: the tunnels, the security screens, the plastic forks, the shimmering, ever-shifting borderline that like all boundaries beckons and asks to be crossed. I do not want to cross it again” (159).
Girl, Interrupted is a memoir regarding Susanna Kaysen and her overall journey as a medical patient in her late teens. In 1967, Susanna was an ordinary eighteen year old until she attempted to commit suicide by swa More...
Girl, Interrupted is a memoir regarding Susanna Kaysen and her overall journey as a medical patient in her late teens. In 1967, Susanna was an ordinary eighteen year old until she attempted to commit suicide by swa More...
Sep 27, 2008
Wendy
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The first book that I read this summer was a fiction book called “Girl, Interrupted” by Susanna Kaysen. This book was an autobiography written about Susanna and her experiences at McLean Hospital. Susanna Kaysen spent two years from the age of 18 at the ward for teenage girls in the psychiatric hospital. Those who could afford it stayed at the hospital and those who could not were sent off into the real world.
A major theme that appeared multiple times throughout this book was happiness.
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A major theme that appeared multiple times throughout this book was happiness.
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Mar 27, 2008
Sa
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Kaysen's memoir paints a picture of a girl whose mental health is alternately proven through vivid awareness of the world around her, and disputed by accounts of self-harm and detachment.
It's interesting to note the similar war between those who have read this book. Half of them conclude that she was a confused and directionless young woman whose stint in McLean was the result of an intolerant society and a psychological field still in its kneejerk infancy. They wonder, could that h More...
It's interesting to note the similar war between those who have read this book. Half of them conclude that she was a confused and directionless young woman whose stint in McLean was the result of an intolerant society and a psychological field still in its kneejerk infancy. They wonder, could that h More...
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Feb 16, 2008
Ellabella
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We're told not to, but I sometimes do judge a book by its cover. At least once in my life, it has paid off. I first read this book because I saw it laying under the desk of a girl in my French class in 8th grade and was immediately attracted to it- the constrast of blue against white and the separation and duality of the girl between.
It was beautiful and strange and thought-provoking and somehow irrationally felt as close to me as some crazy friend who'd been trapped in my own brai More...
It was beautiful and strange and thought-provoking and somehow irrationally felt as close to me as some crazy friend who'd been trapped in my own brai More...
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Oct 13, 2007
Emily
rated it: 
While Susanna Keysen composes some very poetic essays offering alternative and sometimes beautiful perspectives in her autobiography, her general tone is very, very defensive. Granted discussing whether or not one suffered from a mental illness can never be easy, but the book seems to be her manifesto for proving that she wasn't really borderline, as her therapist diagnosed.
I don't know enough about Borderline Personality Disorder to judge - I agree that it seems women are disprop More...
I don't know enough about Borderline Personality Disorder to judge - I agree that it seems women are disprop More...
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(4 people liked it)
Nov 04, 2007
Theresa
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Many of what Keyson writes resonates with my own struggles with depression and a general sense of not belonging. The book really affected me in ways that I felt it should not have, as in it forced me to face some of my own demons. However by the end of the book I was a little disappointed in the way in which it was sort of thrown out and it ended on a sarcastic and defensive note. It almost negated the struggles she faced, in my mind at least. Although perhaps the fact that she blew it off a
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(3 people liked it)
Dec 29, 2008
Tara
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This is another one I've read so many times, that I can't remember when I first bought it. In short little snippets of chapters, Kaysen takes us through her journey in a "looney bin" in the 1960s. I loved her writing- it was so bold, crisp, concise and unforgiving. She carefully uses it to give faces, names and true understanding to those who were labeled "crazy." You'll be dazzled by her talent, crushed by her truth, and just plain giggly by her details. Love it.
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Feb 20, 2011
Tricia
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Originally from I Write, Therefore I am Alive
Susanna Kaysen’ memoir, Girl, Interrupted. This is written in account of the author’s experiences in a mental institution and being diagnosed of having Borderline Personality Disorder. The book don’t really follow a certain storyline with chronological events but somehow covers some of it but more focused on her reflections and realization on what happened and why she ended up being institutionalized. I liked how I get into th More...
Susanna Kaysen’ memoir, Girl, Interrupted. This is written in account of the author’s experiences in a mental institution and being diagnosed of having Borderline Personality Disorder. The book don’t really follow a certain storyline with chronological events but somehow covers some of it but more focused on her reflections and realization on what happened and why she ended up being institutionalized. I liked how I get into th More...
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(6 people liked it)
Sep 07, 2009
Young Lightning in Dark Sky
rated it:
Susanna is dealing with something we can only imagine..
A prestigious mental institute in 1967.
Susanna actually manages to make friends with some of the people and even becomes an acquantance with Lisa, the sociopathic psycho who has been at McLean eight years. You learn about the various disorders other patients have- schizophrenia, depression, anorexia, the list goes on as Susanna Kaysen, a bipolar schizophrenic who somehow has to adjust to this place, a place where bars guard More...
A prestigious mental institute in 1967.
Susanna actually manages to make friends with some of the people and even becomes an acquantance with Lisa, the sociopathic psycho who has been at McLean eight years. You learn about the various disorders other patients have- schizophrenia, depression, anorexia, the list goes on as Susanna Kaysen, a bipolar schizophrenic who somehow has to adjust to this place, a place where bars guard More...
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 14, 2009
Susan
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In the Spring of 1967, after taking 50 aspirin in an attempt to kill off a part of herself, Susanna Kaysen arrives for a voluntary "rest" at the McLean Psychiatric Hospital. At first, she is told that she will only be staying for a couple of weeks, but the two weeks extend into a perpetual stay, as she ends up spending the better part of the next two years on the South Belknap Two ward at McLean. Her fellow patients on this voyage to sanity are: Georgina, her roommate and the most sane
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(2 people liked it)
Mar 07, 2011
Tara
rated it: 
Saw the movie, loved Angelina in it. Now I'll tackle the book.
Update: Finished the novel. I'm now convinced that the publication and fantastic reception of this novel was probably a great case of timing. Kaysen's account of her stay in McLean Hospital is a captivating look into her mental state during her 2 year stay. However, I've got to say that if she had stayed elsewhere, or tried to publish her account now, it probably wouldn't have been received as favorably. For the most part, More...
Update: Finished the novel. I'm now convinced that the publication and fantastic reception of this novel was probably a great case of timing. Kaysen's account of her stay in McLean Hospital is a captivating look into her mental state during her 2 year stay. However, I've got to say that if she had stayed elsewhere, or tried to publish her account now, it probably wouldn't have been received as favorably. For the most part, More...
6 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 29, 2012
Cory
rated it:
Having just read The Bell Jar, I decided to continue my course in Psychotic Writers 101. Girl, Interrupted is fairly short; it took less than three hours to finish. It is a collection of vignettes starting from when Susanna checks herself into the asylum for a 'rest', and ending five years later when she is married. While I understand her reasoning for writing the book in this style, I find it somewhat distracting to go back and forth from her personal experiences to her dissertation on mental h
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 05, 2012
Gina
rated it:
DNF
I have been crazy busy for a couple of weeks and haven't had a lot of time to read and this book has been languishing on my nightstand, half completed, awaiting my return. However, I noticed today that I have been reading magazines, not feeling the slightest pull to finish this book. That means it's just not good enough, I guess.
This reminds me of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" for a lot of reasons. The main protagonist insists that they have been committed u More...
I have been crazy busy for a couple of weeks and haven't had a lot of time to read and this book has been languishing on my nightstand, half completed, awaiting my return. However, I noticed today that I have been reading magazines, not feeling the slightest pull to finish this book. That means it's just not good enough, I guess.
This reminds me of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" for a lot of reasons. The main protagonist insists that they have been committed u More...
Oct 28, 2008
Chloeeeee
rated it:
Chloe Doto
Mrs. Ebarvia
World Cultures
October 20th
Mrs. Ebarvia
World Cultures
October 20th
For my outside reading, I chose to read Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. Kaysen has also written Asa, As I Knew Him and Far Afield. She currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Girl, Interrupted is an ingenious memoir of Kaysen's stay in McLean Mental Hospital for attempted suicide and a condition called “Personality Disorder”. Kaysen describes her life before entering the hospital, the events that occur while
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Sep 19, 2008
Kellie
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-This is 2 books in a row I have read about mental illness. I don’t mean to be harsh here but I did not like this book at all. It was a lot like An Unquiet Mind. It seemed sporadic and cold. Maybe because it was written from the point of view from a person who has mental illness. Maybe the difficulty is with organizing thoughts and time. I am not sure but for me, it was a difficult read. I also found it odd that Susanna said very little about her family. This was a book about her but I fin
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(5 people liked it)
Mar 30, 2009
Andro
rated it:
I had orginally seen the movie that was based on this book, before reading it. But the way that the author writes, and the thoughts she gives on psychology, and her disorder in general, throughout the book is amazing. Check it out, especially if you like 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'.
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Mar 17, 2008
Vassilissa
rated it:
Surprisingly light and insubstantial - it was like a series of Times articles. Good, though - very good and smart, if a bit too 'literary'.
Anyone who thinks it's 'a compelling and heartbreaking story' is, as the author herself noted, distancing themselves from the scary. Understandable, sure, but unhelpful.
I think the movie was a good adaptation, though with the usual film touches like having them all go to see Daisy in her apartment. Imposing a narrative on what's mor More...
Anyone who thinks it's 'a compelling and heartbreaking story' is, as the author herself noted, distancing themselves from the scary. Understandable, sure, but unhelpful.
I think the movie was a good adaptation, though with the usual film touches like having them all go to see Daisy in her apartment. Imposing a narrative on what's mor More...
Jan 25, 2012
Teresa
rated it:
Teresa Mckillop
Period: 6
Girl Interrupted-Susanna Kaysen
This book takes place in 1967. It begins with a girl who is 18 years old and her name is Susanna Kaysen. She had gotten put into a taxi unclear of why and taken to the Mclean hospital. The story begins after she had finished a session with a psychiatrist which she had never seen before. After she arrives in the hospital the book begins talk about how she spends the next week in the hospital. She is admitted to More...
Jan 25, 2012
Bianca
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Girl Interrupted, by Susanna Kaysen is a novel that took place in the 1960's. Its about a girl names Susanna who put herself into a mental institution. In there she meets a friend names Lisa, and she builds a relationship with her, and Lisa had been in the mental institution a long time now. Susanna rooms with a psychological liar.
In there she becomes friends with many of the patients. She gets to know Lisa more, and Lisa kind of controls Susanna. She once made Susanna leave the mental in More...
In there she becomes friends with many of the patients. She gets to know Lisa more, and Lisa kind of controls Susanna. She once made Susanna leave the mental in More...
Nov 09, 2011
Vianna
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book for a summer read. At first I was just looking for movies on youtube, and then I saw this movie, "Girl, Interrupted" on there. And then, it lead to wikipedia-ing it. Which then lead to actually reading it.
And believe me when I say this... Hollywood really dramatizes and screws up the intent of the novel.
So, instead of anticipating Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie singing along to "Uptown" be excited to read the true real life story of som More...
And believe me when I say this... Hollywood really dramatizes and screws up the intent of the novel.
So, instead of anticipating Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie singing along to "Uptown" be excited to read the true real life story of som More...
Nov 08, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
When I first read the title and looked at the book cover of Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, I automatically knew that this would be a book about a young girl’s day to day problems. I went into reading this book thinking I could possibly relate to the story. After I read the book I realized I didn’t have much in common with the story after all. Susanna Kaysen decided to write about her experiences when she was eighteen in 1967.
Susanna agreed to go to McLean Hospital, a reside More...
Susanna agreed to go to McLean Hospital, a reside More...
Oct 25, 2011
Amber
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Girl, Interrupted is a memoir focused on Susanna Kaysen, who is an 18 year old girl living in the year of 1967. After Susanna attempts to kill herself taking 50 Advil, she visits a doctor who tells her that she is depressed and needs to stay in a mental Hospital. Without having time to think it over, Susanna is put in a cab and driven to McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility. When she first arrives she begans to tell the stories of her experiences in the Hospital. Many of which consist of how
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Jul 26, 2011
Nicole
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 30, 2011
Haleema
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I actually quite enjoyed this book. When I read the premise, I was really hesitant towards reading it. Plus, the cover scared the CRAP out of me.
I mean, wouldn't you be scared if you saw this?!
*shudders*
But I was glad I gave it a try. I have never been to a mental institution before. I shouldn't want to either. But I have a wild curiousty and a small part of me wants to go there. I'm just curious! It's really interesting.
Anyway, I r More...
I mean, wouldn't you be scared if you saw this?!
*shudders*
But I was glad I gave it a try. I have never been to a mental institution before. I shouldn't want to either. But I have a wild curiousty and a small part of me wants to go there. I'm just curious! It's really interesting.
Anyway, I r More...
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May 14, 2011
Christina
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This was a quick read, though not necessarily because I was in love with it and couldn’t get enough of it.
The intrigue of the story lies in the subject matter—it is the memoir of a woman who spent time in a mental hospital in the 60s, a time when psychiatry and methods of treatment were questionable to say the least. I enjoyed hearing it firsthand, although that did set me up to expect something more. I felt that the story was lacking in the ‘shock and awe’ category, which is sort o More...
The intrigue of the story lies in the subject matter—it is the memoir of a woman who spent time in a mental hospital in the 60s, a time when psychiatry and methods of treatment were questionable to say the least. I enjoyed hearing it firsthand, although that did set me up to expect something more. I felt that the story was lacking in the ‘shock and awe’ category, which is sort o More...
Apr 28, 2011
Molly
rated it:
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen is a wonderful memoir about the author's short residency in a mental hospital at the age of 18. In this twisted world where crazy is normal, Susanna and the other girls on the ward struggle to find themselves while battling mental illness and lack of support from family. Even if they do get out, they still struggle with the fact of being "freaks of nature" and end up coming back. Kaysen describes the mental hospital as a jail, but also a haven. The
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Mar 23, 2011
Angie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 28, 2011
Monica
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Girl Interrupted is the story of a woman, Susanna Kaysen's time spent in a mental institution for just over a year in 1967. Susanna voluntarily admits herself into McLean Hospital when she is 18 years old. She is sent there by her doctor because she is depressed and has also tried to commit suicide.
While she is in the hospital you meet some very interesting, Lisa, Daisy, Polly, Cynthia and more. Each one is at their own level of mental illness. I felt as I was reading the book that s More...
While she is in the hospital you meet some very interesting, Lisa, Daisy, Polly, Cynthia and more. Each one is at their own level of mental illness. I felt as I was reading the book that s More...
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