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lurker_stalker's review
5.0
Short but engaging and interesting. And sad. Glad I finally got around to reading it.
ageekybibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
A great eye opening book about the histories and care of mental institutions. This book both entertained me and terrified me as I knew reading this it was true life and had happened to these people. These poor people who may never again have saw the light of day for simple things that now a day's most people do and take for granted. I would highly recommend this book.
fakestginger's review
4.0
An absolutely disturbing tale about life in an asylum for the insane in the late 1800s.
I think this is an excellent read and is overall well-written, especially considering she was a journalist, not a novelist. It was very revelatory of the horrors suffered by the mentally unwell as well as the terrifying reality of the lack of freedom that women in general at the time experienced. It reveals not only the evils they suffer on the island but that of those who send these women to this island.
Four stars because I sometimes found the writing repetitive and strangely organized at points.
I think this is an excellent read and is overall well-written, especially considering she was a journalist, not a novelist. It was very revelatory of the horrors suffered by the mentally unwell as well as the terrifying reality of the lack of freedom that women in general at the time experienced. It reveals not only the evils they suffer on the island but that of those who send these women to this island.
Four stars because I sometimes found the writing repetitive and strangely organized at points.
lyssidee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
edshara's review
4.0
This was a quick and interesting read. So much detail is given in such a short book and it is all very intriguing.
I must say, I don't think I would have been eager to go in without knowing for sure, how and when they were going to get me out. So hats off to Nellie Bly for diving head first into her assignment, this took guts. Also, I understand doctors didn't have the knowledge and research studies back then, like they do now, but boy was it way too easy to get classified as insane back then. They were so quick to throw these women away without any real cause and that injustice just baffles me.
I liked how Nellie told her story. It was the simple truth, straightforward and to the point. You could also get a sense of her personality through her writing. It was evident they picked the right person for the job. As I was reading, I did wonder, if at any point, would they have given this kind of assignment to a man? This was a fascinating read and I would say give it a read if it interests you, just stay away from the audiobook.
I must say, I don't think I would have been eager to go in without knowing for sure, how and when they were going to get me out. So hats off to Nellie Bly for diving head first into her assignment, this took guts. Also, I understand doctors didn't have the knowledge and research studies back then, like they do now, but boy was it way too easy to get classified as insane back then. They were so quick to throw these women away without any real cause and that injustice just baffles me.
I liked how Nellie told her story. It was the simple truth, straightforward and to the point. You could also get a sense of her personality through her writing. It was evident they picked the right person for the job. As I was reading, I did wonder, if at any point, would they have given this kind of assignment to a man? This was a fascinating read and I would say give it a read if it interests you, just stay away from the audiobook.
spookyllamas's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
3.5
knod78's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fascinating story and an easy read about how a woman committed herself to an insane asylum in New York to learn what happens. I was surprised to not only learn about this woman for the first time, but that a woman in this time period would be an investigative journalist. It was very cool.
Even though she was in there for only 10 days, it was sad to read the abuses she saw and conditions she experienced. It was saddening to see how easy she was committed by just staring and asking for her lost trunks. It was no wonder there were a lot of immigrants in there. And it was also no surprise that they got wind of the grand jury inspection to have everything cleaned and the girls mentioned in the story moved. I was actually surprised the grand jury full of men believed her in the end.
This is good example of why I vote as a woman no matter what, because the poorer suffragists who fought for our right to vote were placed in asylums like this around the country and deemed crazy or depressed. They were locked away sometimes never heard from again.
I don't know if it was because I read this on Kindle, but there were things missing or wrong. It was hard to follow if she was talking about her experience or someone else's, because quotations would be dropped. So, I didn't know if she ever got beat or if was another woman telling her story. There was also a section called Sketches, but never saw them. And I was not sure why the last two chapters at the end were even necessary. There was no transition or explanation, because they were short stories about her other investigative journalism stories. It was a bit confusing.
But this was a story I think people should read and know. It's not very long, which makes it great for a quick read on a slow day.
Even though she was in there for only 10 days, it was sad to read the abuses she saw and conditions she experienced. It was saddening to see how easy she was committed by just staring and asking for her lost trunks. It was no wonder there were a lot of immigrants in there. And it was also no surprise that they got wind of the grand jury inspection to have everything cleaned and the girls mentioned in the story moved. I was actually surprised the grand jury full of men believed her in the end.
This is good example of why I vote as a woman no matter what, because the poorer suffragists who fought for our right to vote were placed in asylums like this around the country and deemed crazy or depressed. They were locked away sometimes never heard from again.
I don't know if it was because I read this on Kindle, but there were things missing or wrong. It was hard to follow if she was talking about her experience or someone else's, because quotations would be dropped. So, I didn't know if she ever got beat or if was another woman telling her story. There was also a section called Sketches, but never saw them. And I was not sure why the last two chapters at the end were even necessary. There was no transition or explanation, because they were short stories about her other investigative journalism stories. It was a bit confusing.
But this was a story I think people should read and know. It's not very long, which makes it great for a quick read on a slow day.