good-read review: 'girl, interrupted'

let me start this off by saying, i absolutely loved this book. obviously, because i'm a chronic non-finisher of books and i finished it in less than 3 days.


susanna kaysen tells the story of her 18-month stint in a mental institution in the 60s. her candidness about suicide, pain, insanity and the world in general is not only eye-opening, but in most cases, pretty funny. she provides a picture of the world she was living in when she tried to take her own life as well as the recovery period afterward, where she simply was trying to understand the world around her. the book is made up of small snapshots of moments and stories and people that she encountered in those 18 months. in many instances, she doesn't come right out and say how they affected her, but simply in her narration, you can make your own assumptions. 


the thing i loved the most about this book was how kaysen approached being crazy. she compares insanity to a parallel universe, which i thought was especially interesting. she says


"People ask, How did you get in there? What they really want to know is if they are likely to end up in there as well. I can't answer the real question. All I can tell them is, It's easy. And it's easy to slip into a parallel universe...In the parallel universe, the laws of physics are suspended...Time, too, is different...The very arrangement of molecules is fluid: Tables can be clocks; faces, flowers.


Another odd feature of the parallel universe is that although it is invisible from this side, only you are in it you can easily see the world you came from...Every window on Alcatraz has a view of San Francisco."


She also discusses, later in the book, about how mental disorders are often relative. she recalls how homosexuality used to be listed as a mental disorder, but overtime, it was removed. (now isn't that and interesting thought!) she also talks about how her own diagnosis of 'borderline personality disorder' isn't totally fair because it's just a generalization and how she feels the view people have of her completely changes once they find out she was institutionalized, even today. 


"If my diagnosis had been bipolar illness, for instance, the reaction to me and to this story would be slightly different. That's a chemical problem, you'd say to yourself, manic-depression, Lithium, all that. I would be blameless, somehow. And what about schizophrenia--that would send a chill up your spine. After all, that's real insanity. People don't 'recover' from schizophrenia. You'd have to wonder how much of what I'm telling you is true and how much imagined. 


I'm simplifying, I know. But these words taint everything. The fact that I was locked up taints everything."


one of my favorite moments is when she discusses some of the guidelines by which someone would be diagnosed with bpd, because i have my own personal issues with the double standard that women are subjected to.


"'The disorder is more commonly diagnosed in women.' Note the construction of that sentence.They did not write, 'The disorder is more common in women.' It would still be suspect, but they didn't even bother trying to cover their tracks. 


Many disorders, judging by the hospital population, were more commonly diagnosed in women. Take, for example, 'compulsive promiscuity.'


How many girls do you think a seventeen-year-old boy would have to screw to earn the label 'compulsively promiscuous'? Three? No, not enough. Six? Doubtful. Ten? That sounds more likely. Probably in the fifteen-to-twenty range, would be my guess--if they ever put the label on boys, which I don't recall their doing. And for seventeen-year-old girls, how many boys?"


obviously, i could go on and on about how profound i think this book is. i think it teaches us all, in some way or another, about insanity--what we (the sane and insane) perceive it to be, and how it affects the people it "claims." i mean, after all, isn't everyone a little bit crazy?? and what does that even mean? who's to say what crazy really is? am i crazy? are you?


i highly recommend everyone read this book. it's dramatic, funny, intense, enlightening, heart-breaking, weird, uplifting and riveting. it's also wonderfully written and allows a peek into the head of someone that is a "recovering" crazy person. it's really just so fascinating. go buy it. you won't be sorry.


i'll leave you with a quote from the movie, "girl, interrupted" (an adaptation of the book). 


"Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you have the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60's. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted."

i'm a traitor...

(photo courtesy of http://gizmodo.com/5844623/amazon-kindle-fire-tablet-will-cost-a-shocking-199)

i am officially a hypocrite/traitor. for so long, i've talked about how i "don't want an e-reader" because... (use any of the following excuses)

-"i like the feeling of holding a book."

-"i like the way books smell."

-"i don't want to contribute to the demise of bookstores."

-"why would i use one of those? real books don't lose battery life."

-etc., etc., etc.

well, when michael came home and offered to buy me a kindle fire with part of his winnings from the casino, i began to whistle a different tune. no one likes to admit when they're wrong, but my pride can stand it in this case. i totally stand corrected. i'm already addicted to my kindle fire! as soon as i got it out of the box and into its super cute little leather case, all my little previous excuses immediately melted into oblivion. 

i know...i'm a sell-out. whoopsie!

as soon as we got home from best buy, i immediately finished 'girl, interrupted' (amazing read, by the way), downloaded the second book in the 'fifty shades' trilogy, and got to reading. 

 my, oh, my, how i love my kindle! somehow, i know that my b.t.c. reads are just going to be so much better now that i have this little guy!

and seriously?? how great is mikey? he really is the most selfless, kind, caring, giving, [insert any and all other synonyms for wonderful here] individual i know. i wish i was more like him. 

i've got to go! ana and christian are discussing some sub from his past that's gone off the deep end...can't wait to see how this turns out!

b.t.c.

you guys...i feel the need...the need for speed to read!


that ridiculous play on a top gun quote is just my way of saying that i'm excited to announce i'm officially part of a book club! "between the covers" or b.t.c. is the name of the book club that i, along with several of my friends i've met through work, have created. 


one day at work, i overheard my friends, monica and erica, discussing how they wanted to read more. i quickly chimed in: "oh my gosh, me too!" obviously, the most logical answer to satisfy our "need to read" was to start a book club of our own. here's the rules...


1. we'll read one book per month, starting june 1.
2. each month has a theme:
       june- books made into movies
       july- biography/memoir
       august- hot and raunchy
       september- durgs/alcohol/addiction
       october- mystery
       november- a classic
       december- a choice from the best sellers from 2012
       january- comedy
       february- love
       march- oprah's book club choice
       april- fashion-esque
       may- still undecided, so tbd
3. we have a group on Facebook where all of the members can submit their choice for the       month and we all get to vote.
4. majority rules!


anyway, for those of you who don't know, i'm a chronic non-book-finisher, so i'm really hoping b.t.c. motivates me to continue reading and finish the books i start! so, what is june's read, you ask??

i'm so excited to read "girl, interrupted" by susanna kaysen. i've seen the movie several times, and absolutely love it! barnes & noble is calling my name...time to go make my purchase and dig in to my new read!