[By Gricelda Sanchez]
People ask, How did you get in there? What they really want to know is if they are likely to end up in there as well. I can't answer the real question. All I can tell them is, "It's easy." (Susanna Kaysen)
The book Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen tells a story that takes place in 1967 about the author's struggles with her mental health issues. She writes about her perspective on how her experience in McLean Hospital. Kaysen also gives the reader her real case notes from the therapist.
She introduces her roommate Georgina along with other people in the women's ward. In McLean Hospital, men and women were separated, but often Kaysen describes that they would find a way to see the men in the other ward. They had a recreational room where they all shared the TV, found an old underground passage, and used it to have fun.
My favorite part of Kaysen's book was how she viewed her friends in the ward.
Throughout her book, Kaysen makes the reader feel like they are reliving her stay at the hospital. The reader will see how poorly the hospital treats the patients during the late '60s. The reader will also see how the patients will trade pills for favors from the others in the hospital and how those outside the hospital view the patients.
As a reader, I got a better understanding of the thought process of a person who is struggling mentally. Kaysen does a great job of putting the reader in the moment or incident involving her roommates.
The movie with Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder completely differed from the original material. I enjoyed the film, but the book was better.