tiff reviewed Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
Review of 'Girl, Interrupted' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I liked this book. I could relate to the diagnosis of "Borderline Personality Disorder" because I HAVE Borderline Personality Disorder. I related to the diagnosis in this book, rather than with Susanna Kaysen. I felt that she had a valid reason to contrast and compare her situation with the diagnosis of her therapist. I don't condemn her for that. I know of my own struggle and I was COMPLETELY all those things. I was diagnosed when I was 17 (a point to be made about when the diagnosis is given, usually, in the late teens.) Susanna Kaysen really SHOULD have questioned the diagnosis, though more is known about it in the world of psychology today and even when the book was written. She had the right to question it because her struggle didn't seem as severe as mine and the fact that it isn't necessarily a chemical imbalance means that …
I liked this book. I could relate to the diagnosis of "Borderline Personality Disorder" because I HAVE Borderline Personality Disorder. I related to the diagnosis in this book, rather than with Susanna Kaysen. I felt that she had a valid reason to contrast and compare her situation with the diagnosis of her therapist. I don't condemn her for that. I know of my own struggle and I was COMPLETELY all those things. I was diagnosed when I was 17 (a point to be made about when the diagnosis is given, usually, in the late teens.) Susanna Kaysen really SHOULD have questioned the diagnosis, though more is known about it in the world of psychology today and even when the book was written. She had the right to question it because her struggle didn't seem as severe as mine and the fact that it isn't necessarily a chemical imbalance means that there are environmental factors that sort of trigger this kind of thing. I know what triggered mine and her life didn't seem as bad as mine did, or, for that matter, any of the Borderline's I knew.
The movie was filmed in the Harrisburg State Hospital- I got there two weeks after it stopped filming. I was sent because I was in the throes of the illness. Susanna never seemed that bad off to be sent to a state hospital for two years, about as long as I stayed.
Just as she said, crazy people line the walls of those places and her depiction is fantastic. But what I didn't like is how fast it moves; little background on her parents (a lot of times the disorder will be triggered by the emotional distance, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or vicious threats done by one or the other parent or both). I wanted to see more into her life before the hospital stay. I'm Borderline, have been for 13 years and I would have liked the book more if she gave me some history, as I know every Borderline has a history, whether they deny ever being one or not.
