Girl, Interrupted is a collection of vignettes that tell, sometimes with poignant detail, one teenager’s experience in a mental asylum. Susanna Kaysen details the time she spent in a mental asylum after a doctor had her committed after about twenty minutes of consultation. She explores the nature of insanity and lunacy, questioning the shaky division between sanity and its opposite. She talks about her fellow inmates, some of whom come to tragic ends while others end up surprising her with their continued existences. There is a frankness about Kaysen’s writing that makes it easy to read and a truth about mental illnesses that made me question my own sanity. It was an illuminating read. I recommend it.
