The
Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases From a State Hospital Attic by
Darby Penney & Peter Stasny 208 pages
In
the Acknowledgements of Ellen Marie Wiseman’s “What She Left Behind,” Wiseman
gives credit to this book and its authors for bringing that novel to fruition.
And because I was also reading “What She Left Behind,” I had to read it.
This
book tells the heartbreaking stories of ten of the people who were
institutionalized in New York’s Willard State Hospital, the setting for Wiseman’s
“What She Left Behind.”
From
Amazon:
“When Willard State
Hospital closed its doors in 1995, after operating as one of New York State’s
largest mental institutions for over 120 years, a forgotten attic filled with
suitcases belonging to former patients was discovered. Using the possessions found
in these suitcases along with institutional records and doctors’ notes from
patient sessions, Darby Penney, a leading advocate of patients’ rights, and
Peter Stastny, a psychiatrist and documentary filmmaker, were able to
reconstruct the lives of ten patients who resided at Willard during the first
half of the twentieth century.
The Lives They Left Behind tells their story. In addition to these human
portraits, the book contains over 100 photographs as well as valuable
historical background on how this state-funded institution operated. As it
restores the humanity of the individuals it so poignantly evokes, The Lives They Left Behind reveals the vast
historical inadequacies of a psychiatric system that has yet to heal itself.”
As
I was reading the book, I felt as if I was spying on people’s personal lives.
It was disconcerting, and sometimes I could not finish the chapter; I could not
finish snooping into everyone’s life.
Published
in 2009, this book is an important one. One that not only gives us a glimpse
into others’ troubles but could shine a light on our own life. The Lives
They Left Behind: Suitcases From a State Hospital Attic receives 5 out of 5
stars in Julie’s world.
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