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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Excellently written and read by the author. I appreciated how Hylton wove in stories of her family’s experiences to contextualize the archival research from Crownsville. Sometimes it was hard to read about so much suffering but the insights made it worthwhile and moving.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Hylton mixes her familial history with mental health resources and the history of Crownsville State Hospital, the first Black inpatient psychiatric hospital in Maryland. It's clear she did extensive research in sharing such detailed accounts of what went on at this hospital. It was hard to read at times, but obviously nothing compared to what the patients actually experienced. I also find the lack of integrity with record keeping to illustrate just one of the many smaller ways that systems failed Black people. This hospital basically became a place for free labor and unmonitored abuse and neglect.
I wasn't entirely surprised or shocked reading this, but my heart did ache. I really appreciate the way Hylton weaved in her own family history and stories, as I'm sure this was a challenging book to write. Overall, this was an important book and sheds light on just one hospital and their accompanying stories, but I'm sure there are thousands more like this, which deserve to be acknowledged, named, and rectified.
Hylton mixes her familial history with mental health resources and the history of Crownsville State Hospital, the first Black inpatient psychiatric hospital in Maryland. It's clear she did extensive research in sharing such detailed accounts of what went on at this hospital. It was hard to read at times, but obviously nothing compared to what the patients actually experienced. I also find the lack of integrity with record keeping to illustrate just one of the many smaller ways that systems failed Black people. This hospital basically became a place for free labor and unmonitored abuse and neglect.
I wasn't entirely surprised or shocked reading this, but my heart did ache. I really appreciate the way Hylton weaved in her own family history and stories, as I'm sure this was a challenging book to write. Overall, this was an important book and sheds light on just one hospital and their accompanying stories, but I'm sure there are thousands more like this, which deserve to be acknowledged, named, and rectified.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
An eye-opening read, this addresses several aspects of the human condition that most of the older generations just want to sweep under the rug. I appreciate the research the author put into writing such a thorough history of mental health in the Black Community as well as the Crownsville institution and its local community. This is a challenging read, but worth it!