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bookishmillennial 's review for:
Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum
by Antonia Hylton
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