10 Riveting Books Which Explore The Theme Of Insanity

3. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden - Joanne Greenberg A semi autobiographical novel about a teenage girl's battle with schizophrenia that lasted for three years, during which she was committed to a mental hospital. Deborah Blau is extremely bright and artistic, but she has, in her mind, established The Kingdom of Yr. Yr was created after a painful and embarrassing operation on her urethra when she was a small child and after anti-semitic bullying at the hands of other kids. At first Yr is a solace for Deborah, but now it is run by savage dictators who torment Deborah and control her every thought and movement. Deborah has a hard time. She suffers the rigmarole of being an inpatient mental patient and she has to cope with her distraught and deeply traumatised parents who nonetheless love her and encourage her in her recovery. Deborah confides in her shrink Dr Fried who has gradually gained her trust and manages to persuade Deborah that the real world is better than make believe. Deborah finally faces a brighter future than languishing in a mental hospital. I Never Promised You A Rose Garden was published all the way back in 1964, when knowledge and treatment of schizophrenia were frankly a bit clueless. Nowadays we understand the illness a lot better and modern psychopharmacology has given many people with schizophrenia a new lease of life and eased their torment. This wasn't the case for Deborah. However, she is an inspiration as she battles through psychoanalysis with Dr Fried (which in modern terms is not recommended for schizophrenics due to the lack of their ego boundaries) and slowly dismantles her demons. After all the hard work she does, she deserves happiness and peace of mind. A very interesting look at psychosis and overcoming schizophrenia.