Elegant Mental Hospital: Life and Death in America's Top Psychiatric Hospitals

Author: (USA) Bain
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: Through extensive research and in-depth interviews, the author has acquired a detailed history of McLean——this American "aristocratic" mental institution established in the early 19th century——as described in the subtitle, this book depicts the "death" and "life" of the hospital and the people who once lived there. It was home to many prominent young men from New England's elite families, including Freud's disciple and friend, the renowned poet Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath, and the musician Ray Charles, among others. These brilliant names intertwine with shocking terms such as prefrontal lobotomy, electroconvulsive therapy, and immersion therapy, forming an addictive "Boston mental customs painting."