Girl, Interrupted

In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she had never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. Her stay, which was meant to last a few weeks, stretched to nearly two years in the ward for teenage girls. In this psychiatric hospital, renowned for its famous clientele like Sylvia Plath and Ray Charles, Kaysen confronts the fine line between sanity and the world of those who live on the other side. The narrative provides vivid portraits of her fellow patients and the staff who care for them, questioning the very nature of a "sane" world.

This memoir explores the murky definitions of mental health and illness through the lens of Kaysen's own diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder. Accessing her patient files years later, she juxtaposes her memories with the clinical observations of her caretakers. The result is a piercing and unflinching account of her time in a parallel universe, a world of troubled young women who are struggling to find their place. It is a profound reflection on the subjective nature of personality, the societal pressures faced by young women, and the experience of having one's life interrupted.