Scan barcode
jlesley's review
5.0
Really, really well written and narrated account of the systemic racism that has infected mental health care from its beginnings until now. The personal stories of the individuals who worked at Crownsville and that of the author were very riveting.
bobbyzim's review
4.0
A Harrowing Account of the Overlap of Two Forgotten Groups in American History
Journalist [a:Antonia Hylton|34722477|Antonia Hylton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1699980184p2/34722477.jpg] weaves together first-hand accounts and oral history (including her family's and her own) and what documentary evidence is available to tell the story of Crownsville Hospital - originally Maryland's Hospital for the Negro Insane - in Anne Arundel County from its opening in 1911 through its integration in the decades after World War II until its eventual closure for lack of funding in 2004, and what has happened since with the grounds and some of the final patients. I have a special personal interest in the history of American mental institutions due to my grandmother, who was institutionalized in the early 1950s in deplorable conditions. My grandmother was a White woman living in Indiana. Until I read Hilton's book, I could only imagine how much worse it could have been if she were Black and living south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Hilton's case study of American mental health treatment touches on the insanity of daily life first under slavery and then Jim Crow, and the impacts of institutional racism and lack of adequate mental health care on America's modern economic disparities, gun violence and incarceration rates. As a laser-focused stand-alone, it is compelling, but it leaves the reader wishing it could be the companion piece to a documentary film, or better yet, the launching point for a more comprehensive history.
Journalist [a:Antonia Hylton|34722477|Antonia Hylton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1699980184p2/34722477.jpg] weaves together first-hand accounts and oral history (including her family's and her own) and what documentary evidence is available to tell the story of Crownsville Hospital - originally Maryland's Hospital for the Negro Insane - in Anne Arundel County from its opening in 1911 through its integration in the decades after World War II until its eventual closure for lack of funding in 2004, and what has happened since with the grounds and some of the final patients. I have a special personal interest in the history of American mental institutions due to my grandmother, who was institutionalized in the early 1950s in deplorable conditions. My grandmother was a White woman living in Indiana. Until I read Hilton's book, I could only imagine how much worse it could have been if she were Black and living south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Hilton's case study of American mental health treatment touches on the insanity of daily life first under slavery and then Jim Crow, and the impacts of institutional racism and lack of adequate mental health care on America's modern economic disparities, gun violence and incarceration rates. As a laser-focused stand-alone, it is compelling, but it leaves the reader wishing it could be the companion piece to a documentary film, or better yet, the launching point for a more comprehensive history.
oscarwildein's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
I don't rate nonfiction books because it feels strange to point to people's lives and to give them a number based on how much their story entertained me.
This book was incredibly hard to get through, but it was so important. I never learned any of this in school despite it being local history. It shocked me that so many truly vile things happened to so many people and that it was covered up and gatekept by the state so easily. The writing was so well done and told these peoples stories so beautifully and carefully that it seemed like the author truly knew and cared for each individual she wrote about. This book is something that should be required reading for everyone, and especially for people in Maryland.
This book was incredibly hard to get through, but it was so important. I never learned any of this in school despite it being local history. It shocked me that so many truly vile things happened to so many people and that it was covered up and gatekept by the state so easily. The writing was so well done and told these peoples stories so beautifully and carefully that it seemed like the author truly knew and cared for each individual she wrote about. This book is something that should be required reading for everyone, and especially for people in Maryland.
allisonbuzard's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
This was a spectacular work of nonfiction. The author weaved together oral history, historical research, and personal narrative into a compelling story I couldn’t put down. The writing was effective, vulnerable, and engaging and the history was, too. I have no doubt this book will compete for a best nonfiction slot for the year. Cannot recommend this book more highly.
elizabethmcspencer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.0
lizzie_winn's review
dark
fast-paced
5.0
This was ambitious in scope and it did not disappoint! Using oral histories and her own experiences as well as archival sources, Hylton shows how Black Americans with mental health challenges or struggles with poverty or encounters with the police or who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time where institutionalized and pushed to the margins of society.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Sexism, Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Police brutality, Slavery, and Violence
emrodav's review
4.0
Somewhere between 4 and 4.5 stars!
An amazing, devastating look at the intersection of racism and the world of mental health. Very compelling and very readable. Hylton's strength is connecting the modern reader with the not-so-distant past of Jim Crow via the stories of those who lived it and those who feel the scars left behind.
The only reason why this book isn't a full 5 stars for me is that I found that the book sometimes tried to tackle a few too many ideas at once, making some connections feel a little shallow. A minor complaint, but it did impact the book as a whole.
An amazing, devastating look at the intersection of racism and the world of mental health. Very compelling and very readable. Hylton's strength is connecting the modern reader with the not-so-distant past of Jim Crow via the stories of those who lived it and those who feel the scars left behind.
The only reason why this book isn't a full 5 stars for me is that I found that the book sometimes tried to tackle a few too many ideas at once, making some connections feel a little shallow. A minor complaint, but it did impact the book as a whole.