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!