- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Virago Press Ltd (17 Oct 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1853813265
- ISBN-13: 978-1853813269
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 354,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"Not since Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has the literature of madness emitted such a powerful anti-institutional cry." -- Washington Post ADVANCE PRAISE "The forced incarceration, the mental anguish, and the sheer humiliation of 'going mad' are made real in Millett's detailed and passionate narrative of her own experiences. This is a brave book. Once again, the pioneer of women's liberation in our century makes us consider the nature of freedom--what it is and who has a right to it." -- Andrea Dworkin, author of Letters from a War Zone "[Millett] takes you inside her mind in a way that no psychiatrist has ever done, and what you see there is not a mad woman, but another person, just like you, only a little bit more talented, and very, very sane (but damned mad). It is a magic book." -- Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of The Assault on Truth "Kate Millett is magnificent: a historical figure in her own lifetime, a truly exciting writer, a chronicler of our times... [Her] critique of institutional psychiatry and our well-meaning collusion with it is devastating and true... Millett's spirit is indomitable, her bravery thrilling, her return long awaited." -- Phyllis Chesler, author of Women and Madness
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
The author of "Sexual Politics" explores the question of madness, mania and depression, from her own experience. She tells of her struggle with the stigma of mental illness, her forced hospitalization by family and friends, and her decision to prove her sanity by going off prescribed medication.
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First Sentence
At the farm in Poughkeepsie just before dinner the first evening light is soft and almost violet. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
At the farm in Poughkeepsie just before dinner the first evening light is soft and almost violet. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kate M's very disturbing account of forced section and meds,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Loony-Bin Trip (Paperback)
This book will have you feeling what Kate M felt. It will have you 'in' her life so to speak with all her lostness, way out of control desires,bleak never ending despair and enormous fragility which is so apparant through out the book. You will feel her out of control life as her family and lesbian lover takes REPEATED measures to section her in Psychiartric hospitals and the betrayal in one instance of NOT being able to fufill a proffessional academic commitment due toabove actions being taken against her. You will be with her in her empty flat in NY as she struggles to make a living but discovers that work is mighty therapeutic for her. A book that is difficult to read if for some reason you are in this position yourselves but a must for all seeking to know what forced incarceration and medication (which makes her thirsty) and deprivation of Civil Rights and priviliges does to a human being; and help them understand the plight of misdiagnosed persons everywhere.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting but vague,
This review is from: The Loony-Bin Trip (Paperback)
Having been diagnosed as Manic Depressive nearly 2 years ago, I was very keen to read as much literature as I could about the subject. I finished Kay Redfield Jamison's 'An Unquiet Mind' and it convinced me of the need to stay on medication. I'm so glad I read it first! This book, interesting though it is about Kate Millet's life, loves etc is basically self-indulgent and doesn't seem to discuss descent into madness at all. Except it is very clear that everyone else sees it but Kate - she talks about other people acting strange towards her while completely oblivious to her own behaviour. While this horrible fact is recognised, it is not explored or understood. The book was compelling reading, but I found huge gaps during the trip to Ireland. While Kate seems sometimes to realise she was psychotic, she then blames it on the medication and dismisses it. The fact that she declines medication now and is feels 'fine' is kind of commendable but very risky. Being someone who doesn't want to feel she needs medication either, I'm afraid to admit I continue to take Lithium for the sake of my family and friends - I recognise how sick someone with manic depression can get (and although I had a great time while hospitalised, I see now how sick I really was and how much it affected everyone I knew). I never want to go through it again. Not for me or any of my loved ones. Take this book with a pinch of salt. Although I respect Kate Millet a lot, I have thought a lot about my views on psychiatric medication - call me a sucker if you wish, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating but wordy and pretentious,
By Marino J. Martinez "John Martinez" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Loony-Bin Trip (Paperback)
I read this book primarily for some insights into the excesses of psychiatry, and found much of that. I was quite surprised how strongly I identified with some of her feelings. Though I have have never had problems of the sort Kate had (has?), I am one of the many who have experienced clinical depression and been treated for it. As I read her book, I noticed how even this minor problem carries a lifetime of suspicion from others. As I go through life, physicians and relatives are quite ready and willing to jump on ordinary feelings as "evidence" that it is happening again, and maybe there is more to it. How oddly must one behave to start the spiral down to the point of something like Kate's experience happening?Though I felt that Kate really should have known better than to do some of what she did, knowing that others were likely to use them excuses to have her committed, I still felt deeply her fear and helplessness. I was especially disgusted by the attitude of the shrink who failed to get her hauled away in the Bowry only through Kate's quick thinking. The minuses of this book for me were the many times the she goes into descriptions of artists and other creative types in such exalted terms. Kate left little doubt that, to her, anyone who does other things with their lives are empty shells who rely on the chosen ones (such as herself) to be able to see the world as it truly is. This sort of elitism (how many times does she tell us she is a professor and published writer) and condescension is sickening in someone who spends so much of her life trying to right great wrongs of society. 9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great book I disagreed with,
By Twilly - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Loony-Bin Trip (Paperback)
As a person with manic depression, I can identify with some of the things Kate Millett had to say. However, I found her attitude about mental illness rather annoying. In this book, it is clear that she finds a diagnosis of manic depression infuriating and shameful. She finds lithium, a drug that has saved countless lives, to be nothing short of political oppression. She ends by saying that the illness does not really exist.
I cut Millett some slack because the book was written in the 80s and our society had not yet crossed over from Freudian thinking into brain science (we are still making that journey). I'm wondering if she has changed her mind at all in the years since the publication of the book. I, myself, am not ashamed or infuriated by my diagnosis in the way Millett was. I insist on my right to proper treatment, where she felt wronged by the notion of treatment at all. While I did not agree with most of what Millett had to say, this book is captivating. She is clearly a brilliant woman and a fantastic writer. 4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe it's the place I'm in,
By cactus writer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Loony-Bin Trip (Paperback)
Millet carefully unpacks the historical events surrounding her "breakdowns." Her family and many friends think she is crazy to buy a farm and turn it into an artist's retreat. As readers, it's hard to know whether she did or didn't have a breakdown. However, regardless of whether it even can be determined in such a black-and-white manner, we feel an incredible empathy for her as she welcomes us to experience her hurt, her feelings of jealousy and loss, and her moments of profound joy. For anyone who has ever been diagnosed with a mental "disorder," this is a wonderfully affirming book.
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