Dimensions
129 x 198 x 19mm
In July 1988, Barbara Taylor, then an acclaimed young historian, was admitted to what had once been England's largest psychiatric institution: Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum, later known as Friern Hospital.
This searingly honest, thought-provoking and beautifully written memoir is the story of the author's madness years, set inside the wider story of the death of the asylum system in the twentieth century. It is a meditation on her own experience of breakdown and healing, but also that of the millions of other people who have suffered, are suffering, will suffer mental illness.
'Personal story, psychoanalytic process, the experience of madness, the feel of being an inpatient in the last days of Friern, the history of the asylum . . . A beautiful memoir, engrossing.' Independent
'Moving, brave and intelligent.' Susan Hill, The Times
'Tells, quite brilliantly, several stories: the account of a successful young academic who spiralled from unhappiness to anxiety to total breakdown . . . her progress through treatments as well as her time in the asylum . . . the history of mental health care in Britain. Truly haunting.' Metro
'Vivid and harrowing.' Times Educational Supplement
'Dazzling, moving from memoir to poetry, diary entries, conversations with her analyst, and a history of asylums. A tale that compels you to keep turning the pages, even as your stomach lurches. A great achievement, full of life and hope.' Sunday Telegraph
'Bold, riveting.' Prospect
'It is her first-hand insights into the warp and weft of asylum life that make this such an interesting book.' Sunday Times
'Essential reading for anyone interested in the intricacies of psychoanalysis or keen to get a picture of what life in the lost age of the asylum was like.' Literary Review
