Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Gre
Collection
Publication
Signet
Description
Chronicles the three-year battle of a mentally ill, but perceptive, teenage girl against a world of her own creation, emphasizing her relationship with the doctor who gave her the ammunition of self-understanding with which to destroy that world of fantasy.
Subjects
Original publication date
1964
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User reviews
LibraryThing member VictoriaLouiseHill
A moving, thought-provoking and inspiring account of a young girl's struggle with schizophrenia.
Following a suicide attempt, Debra, aged just 16, is committed to a mental hospital. Over the next three years she works with her psychiatrist to understand her illness and explores the possibility of
I first read this book as a healthy twenty year old with high hopes for my future, and found it compelling, but strange. Ten years later I found a copy in a second hand bookshop, and re-read it, this time from the viewpoint of a former psychiatric patient with four hospital stays in my not-too-distant past and an uncertainty over my future. Now, I read this book for comfort, hope and above all to remind myself that while psychiatry and the treatment of mental illness may have moved on, the road to recovery from mental illness still follows the same pattern of two steps forward, one step back. Like Debra, my defence mechanism is to retreat into the familiar symptoms of my depression. Reading this book has helped me to recognise this pattern, and gave me renewed hope that there is a world outside my illness - even if it is not a rose garden!
Following a suicide attempt, Debra, aged just 16, is committed to a mental hospital. Over the next three years she works with her psychiatrist to understand her illness and explores the possibility of
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mental health. Her precarious progress is punctuated by periods where she falls back into the terror of her illness. I first read this book as a healthy twenty year old with high hopes for my future, and found it compelling, but strange. Ten years later I found a copy in a second hand bookshop, and re-read it, this time from the viewpoint of a former psychiatric patient with four hospital stays in my not-too-distant past and an uncertainty over my future. Now, I read this book for comfort, hope and above all to remind myself that while psychiatry and the treatment of mental illness may have moved on, the road to recovery from mental illness still follows the same pattern of two steps forward, one step back. Like Debra, my defence mechanism is to retreat into the familiar symptoms of my depression. Reading this book has helped me to recognise this pattern, and gave me renewed hope that there is a world outside my illness - even if it is not a rose garden!
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LibraryThing member Lisa2013
recommended for: those interested in mental illness and adolescents, those who enjoy a good novel
I first read this in 1966 when I was 13 and in the 8th grade and it became my favorite book and remained my favorite book throughout high school. I reread it many times, although it's been years since
This is a story of a young woman ages 16-19 who is suffering from severe mental illness (in the book she is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia) in a mental hospital.
My understanding is that this book is based on a true story and the hospital was Chestnut Lodge and the psychiatrist was Frieda Fromm-Reichmann. Reading it now, it seems as though the main character, Deborah, was probably actually suffering from major depression with psychosis and not schizophrenia at all – but that hardly matters.
It’s a good story about making an effort, one's ability to change, hope, and friendship, and it’s written with a lot of empathy for all of the characters.
And I admit that I so identified with Deborah that I didn't even absorb that fact of her psychosis; I took the descriptions as metaphor.
I first read this in 1966 when I was 13 and in the 8th grade and it became my favorite book and remained my favorite book throughout high school. I reread it many times, although it's been years since
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my last reading. This is a story of a young woman ages 16-19 who is suffering from severe mental illness (in the book she is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia) in a mental hospital.
My understanding is that this book is based on a true story and the hospital was Chestnut Lodge and the psychiatrist was Frieda Fromm-Reichmann. Reading it now, it seems as though the main character, Deborah, was probably actually suffering from major depression with psychosis and not schizophrenia at all – but that hardly matters.
It’s a good story about making an effort, one's ability to change, hope, and friendship, and it’s written with a lot of empathy for all of the characters.
And I admit that I so identified with Deborah that I didn't even absorb that fact of her psychosis; I took the descriptions as metaphor.
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LibraryThing member Britt84
In this novel Greenberg describes a young girl's battle with mental illness.
Deborah is admitted to a mental hospital after a suicide attempt. Over the years, she has built up an elaborate alternative reality in which she can hide from the world, but as she grows older this 'safe' place becomes
I really loved this novel; it gives a very impressive first hand insight into the mind of someone suffering from a mental disorder, and how this can affect all aspects of your life. The novel focuses on Deborah's experiences in the hospital and her feelings of fear, anger and depression. With her psychiatrist she digs into her past and tries to fight back her imaginary world, so she can focus on being in the real world. Though the process is difficult and she suffers relapses several times, she doesn't give up the fight.
I found the novel very realistic and, having suffered from depression myself, some parts were very recognizable. The methods used in the mental hospital are outdated, so the novel also gives a nice view of psychiatric treatment in the 60's.
I think this novel would be a good read for anybody who wishes to understand more about psychiatric disorders and what it's like for a patient. As for myself, Deborah's strength to get up and try again gives me hope for the future - there might be relapses, but you can always get up and try again...
Deborah is admitted to a mental hospital after a suicide attempt. Over the years, she has built up an elaborate alternative reality in which she can hide from the world, but as she grows older this 'safe' place becomes
Show More
less pleasant and her suicide attempt is a desperate cry for help. In the mental hospital her situation initially gets worse, but slowly but surely, with the help of a devoted psychiatrist, she fights back the disease and makes her way back into the 'normal' world.I really loved this novel; it gives a very impressive first hand insight into the mind of someone suffering from a mental disorder, and how this can affect all aspects of your life. The novel focuses on Deborah's experiences in the hospital and her feelings of fear, anger and depression. With her psychiatrist she digs into her past and tries to fight back her imaginary world, so she can focus on being in the real world. Though the process is difficult and she suffers relapses several times, she doesn't give up the fight.
I found the novel very realistic and, having suffered from depression myself, some parts were very recognizable. The methods used in the mental hospital are outdated, so the novel also gives a nice view of psychiatric treatment in the 60's.
I think this novel would be a good read for anybody who wishes to understand more about psychiatric disorders and what it's like for a patient. As for myself, Deborah's strength to get up and try again gives me hope for the future - there might be relapses, but you can always get up and try again...
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LibraryThing member raizel
I read this over forty years ago, but it made a lasting impression. The imaginary world that Deborah creates is vivid and its allure is understandable. I learned that being sane doesn't mean that you can't be cruel. I remember a story in the book about a patient who gave the psychiatrist a knife
I remember a college friend telling me how much he identified with the main character. I also remember a short story by Zenna Henderson, I think, in which a woman is sent home cured from a mental institution only to realize that the world is an empty, scary place without the structure and sense of fullness that her compulsions give her and she re-embraces them.
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because she felt the doctor needed it more. The book made me a fan of Joanne Greenberg, although I recollect that she was called Hannah Green back then. This paperback version from 1989 puts Hannah in parentheses on the title page.I remember a college friend telling me how much he identified with the main character. I also remember a short story by Zenna Henderson, I think, in which a woman is sent home cured from a mental institution only to realize that the world is an empty, scary place without the structure and sense of fullness that her compulsions give her and she re-embraces them.
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LibraryThing member stacyinthecity
Deborah seems to suffer from what would be diagnosed as schizophrenia today. She frequently retreats, or is pulled into her imaginary land of Yr, complete with own language, philosphy, gods, and more. Her parents finally make the choice to send her to a mental institution and there she works with
While I enjoyed the descriptions of Yr, the book was slow to go through and hard to follow at times. Also, the way she is treated in the book would not be an appropriate way to treat that mental illness today.
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Dr. Fried, or Furii as Deborah calls her.While I enjoyed the descriptions of Yr, the book was slow to go through and hard to follow at times. Also, the way she is treated in the book would not be an appropriate way to treat that mental illness today.
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LibraryThing member dbsovereign
No she didn't, but I can. Rich in a language all its own. Wallow in it.
LibraryThing member MerryMary
I found this fascinating. The bright and beautiful world of Deborah's madness, the unforgettable characters in the hospital, the slow and not so steady progress of the therapy sessions, the hopeful ending that satisfies without being impossibly miraculous. A great read.
LibraryThing member e_fang
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is a very slow pace book. At first, I thought it was boring, but as I read on I enjoyed the slow pace. It is a sad book, and I would understand if someone didn't like it.
LibraryThing member meggyweg
This book is rather horribly dated. Mental hospitals and the treatment of schizophrenia in the 1960s have very little in common with those things today. Deborah spent years in the hospital, treated with such things as cold packs (wrapping her mummy-like in cold wet sheets) and psychotherapy, rather
This book might be good for people who want to know what the mental health system was like in the sixties, but I don't think it would do a schizophrenic person any good as far as getting insight into their illness and treatment.
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than the anti-psychotic drugs they used today. The author based the book on her own experiences, but I have read that her schizophrenia diagnosis was probably inaccurate and she most likely suffered from depression with psychotic features.This book might be good for people who want to know what the mental health system was like in the sixties, but I don't think it would do a schizophrenic person any good as far as getting insight into their illness and treatment.
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LibraryThing member mcdh0001
I read this book because as a prior Psychology Student, I thought I would enjoy this book. However after reading it, I felt it was rather odd, and I could not really get into it. It actually made me feel like I didn't understand the character at all, and that maybe I had even chosen the wrong major
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if I could not get into this book? The different world and language was confusing. I read before I go to bed, so maybe I wasn't in my best mind when reading. But I don't know, I just didn't like it at all. Show Less
LibraryThing member hnbrown
This book changed my life. I first read it as a teenager battling with what I later learned was anxiety disorder; at the time I thought I was simply mad. This book gave me hope and a sense of not being alone that I really do believe helped me through a very dark time. I have since re-read it and
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think Greenberg does an excellent job of conveying something of the interior life of mental illness. Show Less
LibraryThing member JonasLT
Interesting well written semi-autobiographical novel about journey from schizophrenia to sanity (or at least managing) with help from wise, determined psychiatrist
LibraryThing member jenn88
A semi-autobiographical book about a sixteen year old schizophrenic girl who lives in her dark imaginary world. Her parents take her to a mental hospital where she stays for three years.
LibraryThing member ColinJK
"I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" is a book about a late-teenage girl who is put in a mental hospital and diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Torn between a vivid and alluring, albeit dangerous, world of her mind's own making and reality, the protagonist struggles to regain her sanity
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throughout the novel. Greenberg writes her characters into existence with sensitivity and attention to detail, allowing readers to form close bonds with the characters. I read this book when I was about 15 and it has stuck with me for the same reasons I think it will resonate with future students: the protagonist is alienated from her peers and family by her illness, she questions herself, her sanity, and the world around her, and it allows one to better understand the horrors of being trapped in a world that is unpredictable and sometimes dangerous. This is not a book with a happy ending; this is not a feel-good read. This is a thought provoking chronicle of a young, innocent, girl just trying to figure out which way is up, and which is down. Though not everybody has a mental illness such as this, the protagonist's struggle to find herself and calm her mind is theme that everybody can relate to, even long after adolescence. Show Less
LibraryThing member JennysBookBag.com
I highly recommend this book.
LibraryThing member jacquesboekies
great book :-)
LibraryThing member ireneattolia
this novel managed (in 1964) to approach mental illness and those who suffer from it with more compassion and tenderness than many of its ilk do today
it's worth mentioning that Hannah Green/Joanne Greenberg was writing from the context of her own struggles with her mental health sooo that's
it's worth mentioning that Hannah Green/Joanne Greenberg was writing from the context of her own struggles with her mental health sooo that's
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probably why it's so good (#ownvoices!!) Show Less
LibraryThing member elle-kay
Compelling & dark. A great book, with lots of dramatic turns.
LibraryThing member lori6868
I read this book many many years ago when I was in jr. High school, the impact of it has stayed with me all these years, I am 56 yrs old now. A very powerful, insightful look into mental illness and the perception and understanding it takes to treat it successfully.
LibraryThing member Jeyra
An intriguing view of insanity from the inside. The story is told from the perspective of a highly intelligent young woman who lives partly in a world she has created in her own mind. Appropriate for anyone over 13.
LibraryThing member threadnsong
I've read and re-read this book since I was a teenager. Every time I gain something from reading it, whether it's the young woman's journey, or the details of the insane asylum where she lives, or the lives of the other women with whom she's housed. It's a frightening and sometimes difficult read,
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as the images stay with you, but it says a lot about why the mentally ill need good, clean, compassionate living conditions with help and therapy. Show Less
Pages
252