Before reading this, I had already watched “Girl, Interrupted” and since that movie currently in my top five favorite movies, I went in knowing the book probably wouldn’t top that experience for me. And I was right. That being said, I still genuinely enjoyed reading it. The writing contains so many beautiful and striking phrases. Certain descriptions of mental health, Susanna’s thought patterns, and the way she reflects on her younger self were especially intriguing. Some passages really stayed with me long after I put the book down. There’s something very intimate about being inside her mind in a way that even the film can’t fully capture. What I appreciated most was how strongly the book centers on Susanna herself. While the movie gives more space to the other patients and builds them up as equally memorable presences, the memoir feels much more introspective and personal. It’s quieter, more fragmented, and at times almost clinical — which fits the subject matter. Even though I personally prefer the movie, the book offered a different kind of depth that I’m glad I experienced. It was thoughtful, interesting, and at moments genuinely powerful — just in a more subtle way than I expected.

Ive read this book before and decided to reread it and annotate it. It is by far one of my favorite books and the movie was also sooo goooddd. I loved how well the book was written. It’s sarcastic, funny, and real. It fully describes how a young person is dealing with a mental illness while being confused about it and trying to fully understand it. I loved all the characters in the book. It was an easy read and I finished in two days. The book describes the stigma around mental health in the 60’s and how hard it was for her and others around her that there was something wrong with her. It’s a classic must read book will always give it a 5/5 rating. Also, the way she got the name for the book was just the cherry on top. Favorite quotes from the book: “I told her once I wasn’t good at anything. She told me survival is a talent” “Sometimes the only way to stay sane is to go a little crazy.” “Was insanity just a matter of dropping the act?” “Every window in Alcatraz has a view of San Francisco.” “Emptiness and boredom: what an understatement. What I felt was complete desolation. Desolation, despair, and depression. Isn't there some other way to look at this? After all, angst of these dimensions is a luxury item. You need to be well fed, clothes, and housed to have time for this much self-pity.” “In a strange way we were free. We'd reached the end of the line. We had nothing more to lose. Our privacy, our liberty, our dignity: all of this was gone and we were stripped down to the bare bones of our selves.”

I picked up this book because last year I read a book that deals with a similar topic and I really liked it ("I Never Promised You a Rose Garden") and I heard some good things about it as well. Now, I liked it, but I thought it was written from a too-neutral point of view. Maybe that's because it's non-fiction, I'm not sure. I really would have enjoyed it if I, the reader, would have gotten more insight in the protagonist (who's also the author) as a feeling person. She describes situations she's found herself in and the other patients who live in the hospital, too, receive a lot of attention and a lot of the times she was merely the narrator. I liked the bits in between, though, where she would talk about her illness and the diagnosis - I find that stuff fascinating (is that weird?). That was just the last 50 pages or so, though. Before that she only says she's crazy and the other patients are crazy as well, but she doesn't go into the 'why'. It's narrating. She tells, she doesn't show. I understand that it's not a fictional story but a biography. Still, I would have liked it to be a bit more lively, I guess.

Reading this Book really felt like diving into a parallele universe. Although centering around the topic of mental illnesses (or is it? …), the book made me smile several times and I felt SO comfortable while reading it: The characters are simply authentic and likable. It makes the reader feel more normal, more human (or this is how I’ve experienced it, at least). It’s a beautiful read that will stay with you for a long time. This book is not so much focusing on content, but rather on feelings, I’d say. I’ve enjoyed every page of it!

Mit 18 Jahren wird Susanna Kaysen von einem Arzt, der sie vorher nicht kannte und sie bloß eine halbe Stunde behandelt hat, in die psychische Abteilung des berühmten McLean Hospitals eingewiesen. Ganze zwei Jahre dauert ihr Kampf, um das Attribut 'Genesen' in Bezug auf ihre psychische Krankheit, die Borderline Persönlichkeit, in ihrer Akte lesen zu können und entlassen zu werden. Susanna schildert eindrucksvoll, sarkastisch und mit einer guten Portion schwarzem Humor, viele Episoden mit ihren Mitpatienten, angefangen mit der Einweisung, aufgehört mit der Entlassung und dem Wiedersehen mit manchen ihrer dort gewonnenen Freundinnen. Sehr begeistert war ich davon, wie mitfühlend und vor allem echt dieses Buch geschildert wurde. Man spürte das Stück Wahnsinn, das in dieser Klinik herrschte, aber auch den Lebenswillen, die Hoffnung und die Versuche ganz normal zu sein. Wenn man das Buch mit dem Film vergleichen möchte, ist es für meine Begriffe nicht möglich. Das Buch ist komplett anders aufgebaut und auch einige Tatsachen der Charaktere, wurden in dem Film verändert. Somit wäre die Soziopathin Lisa im Buch dunkelhaarig, im Film aber von der derzeitig gelbblonden Angelina Jolie gespielt. Ebenso weicht die bildliche Darstellung der Stationsschwester Valerie, die im Buch eine blonde Frau ist, total ab. Im Film wird diese gespielt von Whoopie Goldberg und ist somit nicht nur dunkelhaarig, sondern auch schwarz. Diese Tatsachen machen den Film aber gar keinen Falls schlechter. Der Film ist unglaublich gut umgesetzt, für mich persönlich ebenso, wenn nicht sogar noch viel ausdrucksvoller als das Buch selbst. Die Besetzung hätte nicht besser gewählt werden können. Whoopie Goldberg spielt eine fantastische Rolle einer Schwester, die liebevoll aber auch mit einer gewissen Strenge ihre Patienten behandelt und diese auch ernst nimmt. Angelina Jolie war die perfekte Darstellerin der Lisa. Ihre Augen drückten in diesem Film solch eine Leere aus, die einen irgendwie fesselte, aber auch ängstlich zurückließ. Sie war hart, sie war ignorant, sie war respektlos, sie legte sich gegen alles und jeden auf. Doch dahinter steckt auch ein kleiner hilfloser Kern, den sie während des Filmes selbst erkennt und der einem die Tränen in die Augen treibt. Im Buch werden diese wundervollen Momente leider ausgelassen, wobei die Frage immer bleibt: Ist das, was im Film passiert, nun auch noch biografisch oder ist es erfunden? Insgesamt ein tolles Werk, dass man gelesen haben sollte, wenn man den Film oder die Thematik mag.

Disappointed. Only the last (short) chapter was a discussion of the author about her mental illness/diagnosis. Not even the time or her life and feelings before she was admitted was described. Which would have been so important to understand her. The rest of the short book was a superficial description of other patients coming in and leaving the hospital, a few nurses and the day to day routines. Expected more depth of it. In this form the book doesn't offer anything. Maybe in this case the movie is better than the book. Will check that soon.