I got this good-condition softcover from an online seller, after seeing the title on a number of wishlists. The topic is fascinating - and poignant: a look at the personal effects left behind by patients at a defunct psychiatric center in New York...

I'm often drawn to this kind of modern archaeology/sociology, and the exploration of the - often pitifully scant - belongings of each person leads to some very intriguing stories, some of them heart-wrenching and others rather sweet.

The book includes a summary of the types of treatment and care available for the mentally ill in that time and place, with a range of conditions that rather surprised me - the common image I have now of any old-time mental hospitals involves horrifying and brutal treatment (whether it was well-meant or not), but while that certainly did happen, there were also examples of gentler treatment, where at least some patients might be able to rest and regroup, away from the stresses of their regular lives. But budget concerns and shifting social and political views resulted in increased overcrowding of hospitals and sanatoriums, and many of the patients had problems that were not well-understood or that weren't effectively treated at all, leading to a lifetime inside.

There's also a look at the kinds of problems that caused people to choose - or be forced - to go to Willard, from dementia to to schizophrenia (the latter was a very common diagnosis, and for more ailments than actual schizophrenia - manic-depression among them).

The cases themselves were fascinating. Rodrigo Lagon, a promising young Filipino man whose life derailed rather suddenly and who spent 64 years in confinement as a result, suffered from hearing voices - something that is not, in itself, considered a mental illness today, and has many coping techinques available that don't require hospitalization. Theresa Lehner, born in Bavaria, wound up in the US as a Dominican nun from a convent that had been disbanded; in her case it sounds as if her hospitalization did her more harm than good. The woman who went into the hospital for a "rest cure" and stayed there the rest of her life, apparently due to "a sadly facile ability to adapt herself to institutional life". Since she left behind an abusive relationship and had lost several children, perhaps the hospital setting really was the happiest she'd known.

And then there's the nurse who was admitted because she "annoys people" and apparently had a persecution complex - which may have been justified, given her hospitalization! According to her, she only agreed to come to the hospital until a place could be found for her to live, but that never happened...

[There was an online version of the "Willard Suitcase Exhibit", but it may have been archived. For a different look at historical attitudes towards mental illness, see Wisconsin Death Trip; many of the news items it cites involved people going mad - or being committed as mad, whether they really were or not.]

I'm sending this to BCer glade1 in North Carolina as part of the US/Canada wishlist tag game. Enjoy!

Received in the mail Friday. Thanks, GoryDetails, for the Wish List Tag!

2-10-16 ETA: Promised to tabby-cat-owner in the Wish List Tag game.

Fascinating look at mental health care in the early to mid 20th Century. I found the narratives a bit jumbled; they seemed to jump in time and skip around. But that was a minor irritation, and overall I found this book riveting.

I believe most of the people profiled in this book might not even be given any mental health treatment today, and was struck by the number of individuals (probably 3 or 4 of the 10) who had sustained a head injury at some time prior to their mental health "breakdown."

I like to think we do a better job with mental health care now, but the authors' afterword paints a fairly grim picture of the current state of things. Many of the people who would have been institutionalized in mental health facilities in the past now end up in the prison system, apparently.

I was left feeling grief for the people in the book and their lost lives/lost potential. People pushed to the periphery of society because they didn't fit into established norms or because they fell on hard times, or had a particularly emotional period. It's there but for the grace of God that I go, and probably many others as well.

This book is promised to tabby-cat-owner. I will obtain an address and send this along after my next payday. Thanks again, GoryDetails, for sharing this one with me!

FINALLY mailed to tabby-cat-owner today. My apologies for the long delay! Hope you enjoy this one.

I received this in the mail from glade1 who tagged me with this book in the wishlist tag game.

Thank you for tagging me with this book, glade1. It looks like it might be a disturbing and sad book to read.

WhenI received this book three years ago, I found it intriguing and immediately read about 90 per cent of the book. I kept the book with the intention of finishing the entire book. I have always been interested in reading nonfiction accounts of life in the past and I have always been intrigued with the topic of mental illness since I first read "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath as a young girl (probably too young to be reading it). It was with a heavy heart that I read the book, because there is a lot of tragedy in people's lives.

This book is being donated to the nonfiction VBB.

I read this book again. I had forgotten almost everything from my first reading of the book. I found practically every story tragic. The institutional care was evil in the way professionals did not listen to people's stories and had no interest in the past lives of people that were confined to mental institutions for the greater part of their lives.

This book has been mailed to bkind2books who requested it from the nonfiction vbb.

Arrived while I was in California for my grandson’s birth and I just got a chance to open today.

Thanks for sending this my way! It sounds very interesting.