Dana W. (SouthWestZippy) -
Helpful Score: 2
This is a quick read. The stories are interesting yet very sad. I would have liked more facts and less speculation. I love the idea of trying to figure out the feelings and life style of the patients by looking into the suitcases left behind and found in the attic but for me it fell short. It lacked depth and true characterisation. Still worth reading.
Tracy S. (Bernelli) reviewed The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic on + 266 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very interesting. I initially read this out of interest in the lives of patients of Willard Mental Hospital, but ended up being most impressed with the history of psychiatric care in institutions and the need for improvements. Written by supporters for ex-patients, this book calls to attention many improvements that have been made, and points out so many more improvements that need to be made.
Michelle E. (leveedog) reviewed The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A moving portrait of the faces behind mental illness that forces one to consider the life the patient once led before institutionalization.
This book tells the stories of ten patients whose belongings were found still packed in suitcases in the attic of Willard State Hospital in upstate New York. Forgotten for years, the suitcases were saved by a mental health advocate for their stories to be told. Without this book and the accompanying exhibit of the artifacts contained in the suitcases, the lives of the patients would have been forgotten. Beautifully illustrated with black and white photos of some of the belongings and photos of the patients themselves.
Especially poignant is the realization that events leading to the hospitalization of several of the book's subjects could have happened easily to any one of us. A few of the stories will definitely stay with you and you will wonder 'What if. . .'
This book tells the stories of ten patients whose belongings were found still packed in suitcases in the attic of Willard State Hospital in upstate New York. Forgotten for years, the suitcases were saved by a mental health advocate for their stories to be told. Without this book and the accompanying exhibit of the artifacts contained in the suitcases, the lives of the patients would have been forgotten. Beautifully illustrated with black and white photos of some of the belongings and photos of the patients themselves.
Especially poignant is the realization that events leading to the hospitalization of several of the book's subjects could have happened easily to any one of us. A few of the stories will definitely stay with you and you will wonder 'What if. . .'
Debra L. (dallovbug) -
Helpful Score: 1
This was a great book. It looks into a few select patients of the state hospitals based on the materials left behind in suitcases. Gives a historical perspective so you can understand why some of the treatment for these patients were handled in the manner they were. Sad, yet interesting. Only wish they would have had more patients stories reviewed from the many materials left behind during deinstatuitionalization of the homes for mentally impared.
Very unique subject & well written but wish there was more information!
Dianne (gardngal) reviewed The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic on + 271 more book reviews
This book is not for everyone. It is deeply sad on so many levels. It's a tale of unfortunate people incarcerated in a massive mental institution. They were treated shamefully due to the ignorance of the times, but also kept on at the convenience of the institution itself, which had need for their labor. Many were kept inside decades after they no longer manifested mental deficiencies. Out of thousands upon thousands of patients, more than 400 suitcases were discovered in the attic space. Of those, twenty-nine were examined and the owners researched in depth, and their detailed pasts revealed. It is a fascinating history if you can stomach the dark side of these peoples' lives, the how and why they ended up spending their entire adulthoods in this place, to be released only by their deaths. D.
