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andrea_aguirre's review against another edition
5.0
Easy read of the treatment of patients in an insane asylum. It really helps you appreciate how far we’ve come in the mental health profession. It makes you really feel for those who were wrongfully imprisoned and scared at how easy it was to have someone committed.
aschwartau's review
5.0
Very very interesting look into how women and "insane" people were treated back at the turn of the century.
samantha_reads_more's review against another edition
5.0
Modern medicine is such a scam. While I understand that this is a true story of a reporters findings the idea that people (women especially) were forced to live like this, it's simply horrifying.
The continued disbelief that doctors-male ones specifically- have of their patients problems, concerns etc is wild to me. It's still a problem today.
The poor care that those who are place in facilities is appalling. I remember vividly being told by a patron from a library I used to work at that they (the workers of the nursing home he was in) came and threw away his papers. I'd had others tell me that they turned the internet off on them as punishment. The abuse of people in the system is disgusting. And this book highlights that it's always been a problem.
The continued disbelief that doctors-male ones specifically- have of their patients problems, concerns etc is wild to me. It's still a problem today.
The poor care that those who are place in facilities is appalling. I remember vividly being told by a patron from a library I used to work at that they (the workers of the nursing home he was in) came and threw away his papers. I'd had others tell me that they turned the internet off on them as punishment. The abuse of people in the system is disgusting. And this book highlights that it's always been a problem.
rosinadelaluz's review against another edition
4.0
Nellie Bly was a journalist who went undercover in an insane asylum in 1887. She pretended to be mentally ill to get in, and wrote an expose that prompted an investigation into the asylum. This was incredibly brave given the times, as women were often thrown in asylums with the slightest excuse and the treatment there could cause actual physical harm. This book details her experience during her 10 days there and some of the women’s stories. The treatment of the patients was so appalling it was hard to read at times. Her report triggered major reforms regarding patient care.
swarthouta's review against another edition
5.0
An interesting historical text from an early feminist writer.
readhikerepeat's review against another edition
4.0
One of the famous (or infamous) muckrakers writes about how she tricked doctors into committing a sane woman to an insane asylum in order to write about how “patients” were treated. Written in 1887, the book is highly relevant and, sadly, many of the same problems of abuse and indifference remain. It’s a short book – less than 100 pages – and worth every minute.
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For more reviews, visit The Book Wheel.
amandashestokes's review against another edition
4.0
Terrible to have just read this at my age, but so glad I did. Does she come off self important and a bit tone deaf - yes and no. Let’s keep in mind the times, friends. I found all
3 long form articles to be fascinating, but obviously watching as she starts to question her own sanity due to treatment and conditions was the most interesting. Also, terrifying.
3 long form articles to be fascinating, but obviously watching as she starts to question her own sanity due to treatment and conditions was the most interesting. Also, terrifying.