Women of the Asylum: Voices from Behind the Walls 1840-1945 (written and edited by Jeffrey L. Geller and Maxine Harris)

Retrieved from: MPLG
0385474229,
Suggested by: the reading list
My Ratings: 9 Merit, 6 Interest, 6 Fun

What a depressing book! This covers the years a full century and uses primary sources to explore what "madwomen" experienced in terms of treatment. I only read up to the turn of the (20th) century, just after Charlotte Perkins Gilman's chapter. Frankly, the stories share a great deal of similarity, although I was surprised at Gilman's description of what sounds a lot like post-partum depression. For anyone interested in the history of women and/or the history of the treatment of mental illness, this book would be a good resource.