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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Centering on the history of the Crownsville psychiatric asylum based in Maryland, "Madness" is a momentous labor of research and love into the ways in which Black patients were ritually misunderstood and abused under Jim Crow era conditions.
Antonia Hylton meticulously leaves no stone unturned in her quest to uncover the truth, detailing the ways in which she sought out first and second hand oral witness statements within people in her community, at times including her own family members. The research is thorough and nuanced, with Hylton continuously going the extra mile to provide readers with the full nuanced picture of the situation inside Crownsville.
While the majority of Black patient experiences within the institution were diabolically criminal, the book takes the time to highlight how Crownsville was at times helpful to those who were struggling with their mental illness. This was a facet of Crownsville I appreciated explored, but the highlight of this book's storytelling is within the division of eras of Crownsville. Within each time period that Hylton focuses on, she shines light on the individual patients (inmates) of Crownsville and the ways in which the institutionalization of Black bodies into a mental facility paved the way for the prison industrial complex.
This book is such an insightful dive into the history of Crownsville, the history of mental illness in Black people, the history of Jim Crow era politics, and a personal history of the author's own family. My one and only critique is in Hylton's discussion of the Vietnam War as a "war for Democracy", which feels like a vastly propagandized statement in the wake of the rest of the content of the book.
But otherwise,
But otherwise,
"Madness" is a tour de force and I would still highly recommend to any and all readers (withe the caveat that this book does not shy away from the darker and grittier topics one may expect when discussing the systematic abuse of Black bodies).
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Antonia Hylton’s Madness is a powerful and deeply researched exploration of Crownsville State Hospital, a segregated asylum in Maryland that became a site of immense suffering and racial injustice. Blending investigative journalism with personal narratives, Hylton unearths the horrifying conditions that Black patients endured under the guise of psychiatric care, exposing a history of medical neglect, forced labor, and systemic racism.
What makes Madness especially compelling is Hylton’s ability to humanize history—she gives voice to the patients and their families, uncovering the lasting impact of racialized psychiatry in America. The book is both harrowing and necessary, shedding light on a largely forgotten chapter of history while raising crucial questions about mental health, race, and institutional power.
What makes Madness especially compelling is Hylton’s ability to humanize history—she gives voice to the patients and their families, uncovering the lasting impact of racialized psychiatry in America. The book is both harrowing and necessary, shedding light on a largely forgotten chapter of history while raising crucial questions about mental health, race, and institutional power.