Women of the Asylum

This work provides a much needed collective human voice on the lack of dignity, physical violence and other horrors of women undergoing "treatment" in Insane Asylums from the 1840's to WWII. The reader learns that it is very easy for a husband to discard his wife - commit her to an asylum - and that it is correspondingly difficult for her to get out. If you didn't know how force feeding, cold packs, and early shock therapy were done, this set of clear voices will tell you. Much of the writing belies some literary talent among the inmates/patients, and I wonder what sort of writings these women would have produced without being shut in. The period covered here corresponds to a time in our society where women had made some strides towards improvement in their collective lot. This book shows the flip side of such progress, with married women still in the grip of their husband's will and his willingness to use it for ill. I read this book a month ago and I can still call up, in vivid fashion, horrors described by these Women of the Asylum. It is a good thing that so many are included in a book format such as this. The history of psychiatric medicine cannot be written without them.

In collecting and commenting upon the first-hand accounts of women held in U.S. asylums from 1840 - 1945, Geller and Harris shed light on the changing treatment of women by the medical profession and by society at large. Who decides who is mad? What constitutes madness? This book offers haunting accounts from the inmates and provocative commentary from the editors. I read it for research, and it helped inspire a play and a novel. For anyone interested in issues of mental health and misogyny.

An unsettling, chronological account of women, the psychiatric community and the institutions that held them captive. Riveting first person descriptions that allow you to peer into the dark corners of our past. History, told by real people, living real lives, unfolds in front of your eyes. A fabulously rewarding read for those interested in history, women's studies or psychology. Disquieting, fascinating, and thought-provoking

An unsettling, chronological account of women, the psychiatric community and the institutions that held them captive. Riveting first person descriptions allow you to peer into the dark corners of our past. History, told by real people living real lives, unfolds in front of your eyes. A fabulously rewarding read for those interested in history, women's studies or psychology.