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Girl, Interrupted
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Series: Virago Modern Classics
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Check link for latest rating. ( 272,053 ratings, 12,957 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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See moreIn 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was sent to McLean Hospital to be treated for depression. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital. A memoir and portrait of her fellow patients and their keepers.
* Published with film tie-in cover to coincide with film's release * Joint promotion with UK film distributor to include competitions through the national press and women's magazines * Limited film posters available for window displays * Reviews and feature coverage in national newspapers, magazines and film press
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
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Description
In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital to be treated for depression. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital renowned for its famous clientele - Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor and Ray Charles.
An unflinching work that asks questions about our definitions of sane and insane, Kaysen's memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers.
Girl, Interrupted offers a compelling glimpse into the complex world of mental illness and the fine line between sanity and insanity, as experienced by the author herself.
Series: Virago Modern Classics
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen is often compared to Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, yet it stands out with its more documentary-style narrative. The book is lauded for its gritty realism, as it captures the chaos and helplessness in a psychiatric hospital, complemented by original medical reports interspersed throughout. While lacking the poetic beauty of Plath’s prose, Kaysen's work is praised for its poignant insights, sharp wit, and its exploration of societal norms regarding mental illness. It paints a stark yet credible picture of women in the 1960s who were often misunderstood and marginalised.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781860497926
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 17 February 2000
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 13.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 207.0mm
Weight: 158g
Pages: 192
About the Author
Susanna Kaysen was born in 1948 and brought up in Cambridge, Massachusetts where she lives still. She has written two novels, Asa, As I Knew Him and Far Afield. While working on the latter, memories of her two year stay at McLean's psychiatric hospital began to emerge. With the help of a lawyer she obtained her 350 page file from the hospital. Girl Interrupted followed.
Also by Susanna Kaysen
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Girl, Interrupted
Crazy isn't being broken or swallowing a dark secret. It's you or me amplified. If you ever told a lie and enjoyed it. If you ever wished you could be a child forever. In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital to be...PaperbackSold Out -
Girl, Interrupted
30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR Girl, Interrupted is a beautiful, complex story that truly led the way on opening up a new, brave, nuanced approach to talking about women's mental health. It is an intense and personal story that taps into a universal truth about how the world responds to complicated young women' – SCARLETT...PaperbackSold Out
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