The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic

by Peter Stastny, Darby Penney, Peter Stastny Darby Penney

Book Overview

The acclaimed portrait of institutionalized patients whose abandoned possessions recall their forgotten lives

"A deeply moving testament to the human side of mental illness." -Oliver Sacks

When Willard State Hospital closed its doors in 1995, after operating as one of New York State's largest mental institutions for over 120 years, a forgotten attic filled with suitcases belonging to former patients was discovered...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1934137146
• ISBN13: 9781934137147
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Bellevue Literary Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent read if you are interested in the history of mental illness!

This book chronicles the lives of former psychiatric patients. Learn how ordinary life stresses could spiral out of control quickly and result into sometimes life-long confinement in the early days of psychiatric treatment.