Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly

17 reviews

zamyatins_fears's review against another edition

dark informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

There are certainly are more extensive works on the subject, but this is a good read for anyone interested in it for the historic importance. The woman known as Nellie Bly (pen name) was one of the earliest investigative reporters. It's terrifying how easily she was able to get herself committed to an insane asylum. Just as it's heartbreaking to read about just the abuses she witnessed or heard many accounts of. Modern works may be a bit more in-depth on these kinds of abuses, but Bly was instrumental in getting more funds diverted to the care of those suffering on Roosevelt Island and was instrumental in the call for reform. A bit of a slow start, but a quick read once she is declared a "hopeless case" and shipped off to the asylum. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Written in WW1 originally for the papers, so the abuses mentioned are stated factually, but without graphic descriptions.

exlibrissum's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

pouringthemilk's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

howlinglibraries's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

 I've never read the original version of Ten Days in a Mad-House, but after reading this adaptation, I'd be open to doing so — only once I recover from the massive amounts of rage and hurt that welled up within me while reading this book. As a woman who faces my own mental health obstacles (and quite a few of them if we're being frank here), there are few things that truly rattle me quite like looking into the past and coming to terms with how I and so many of my loved ones might have been treated, had we only been born a hundred years earlier.

Ten Days in a Mad-House follows Nellie's secret integration into a mental health hospital (though I'm not sure if "hospital" is the right term here, given that it implies some sort of actual care) in order to expose the terrible living conditions of the women therein. She tells not only of abusive staff and horrible treatment practices, but she also dwells a lot on how many women who were trapped there seemed to not need any sort of medical intervention in the first place. (On one hand, I think the added attention to how "sane" some of these women were discounted the fact that nobody, regardless of their mental state, deserved these treatments; on the other hand, Nellie's extra details here may very well have helped everyone across the board, as I can unfortunately very easily imagine a jury being more stricken with empathy for some patients than others.)

All in all, there's probably a bit to be said about Nellie's motives and the ethics behind how she carried out her research, but it's important to note that she made a big impact on the treatment of patients and blew the cover off of a massively disgusting practice (which would continue to be terrible for many decades to come, regardless, but I have to think it was somehow improved by Nellie's works). I appreciate the fact that the creators responsible for adapting this work even mentioned in the afterword how important it is to consider both the intent and impact here.

And finally, speaking of the book as an adaptation itself, while I haven't read the source material, I found the graphic novel to stand on its own incredibly well. The art was well-done, the dialogue and story were easy to follow, and I found it overall very informative and enjoyable (albeit emotionally difficult). I highly recommend it, whether you're new to Ten Days in a Mad-House or looking to experience it again in a new, fresh way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death

clairestream's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Physical abuse

llincathryn's review against another edition

challenging dark informative fast-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Physical abuse, and Torture

kissmyash0600's review against another edition

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

The realities of the US healthcare system are grim; it was grim in the 1880s, and we still have a lot of work to do. Nellie Bly's expose highlights the many issues and stigma associated with mental illness and how we (still, let's be honest) treat those who have mental illness. Medical abuse, medical trauma, and failure to believe or understand patients is a huge weakness that still majorly exists today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma