44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Neither well written nor informative- Skip It!, July 10, 2006
This review is from: Danvers State: Memoirs Of A Nurse In The Asylum (Paperback)
Having read as extensively as possible about Danvers State and also having the luxury of hearing first-hand accounts from locals who worked there, I expected an informative book full of interesting tales, accurate descriptions of patients' daily lives, perhaps even photos from Szot's time spent there. This book reads like what it is: some random memories of an aging woman who wants to recount her past. This book is VERY poorly written, mind-numbingly repetitive and contains but a few very short anecdotes of various patient behaviors. Szot describes many of her duties as aide and nurse, (often several times throughout as though the book never met the eyes of another reader let alone an editor before its publication!)but it also annoyingly rambles on about Szot's family life, from her childhood to her pregnancies and beyond. I continuoualy found myself saying, "Get on with it!" or "Yes, you've mentioned that three times already!" From beginning to end I waited and waited to get to the "good part." Sadly, there wasn't one. I truly understand the desire of the elderly to share the stories of their lives, but if you're looking for an interesting recount of the life and times of Danvers State and its patients, look elsewhere!
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
DISAPPOINTING WASTE OF TIME, January 26, 2007
This review is from: Danvers State: Memoirs Of A Nurse In The Asylum (Paperback)
To say this book was boring or poorly written would be understatements! The statement on the back of the book promises "an insider's view of what really went on at the state run insane asylum." What you actually get is a rambling and repetitive story of Mrs. Szot's childhood, marriage, family life and problems dealing with her own mother's death. There is very little about the actual "view of what really went on." Mrs. Szot explains that she even took her children to work with her, not a thing one would think to be appropriate if she believed there was "harsh treatment of mental illness" as the cover of the book reported she would "bring to light." A lot of her stories contradict each other, for example she makes a point of repeating early in the book that RNs did not mingle with aides, only to tell the story, more than once, of how when a nurse came in drunk they covered for her. I have been a psychiatric nurse for 17 years and was looking forward to learning more about the history of mental health and treatment of patients, well this was not the place for that. It is a shame no one edited or gave input to these ramblings. Don't waste your money or time.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A short glimpse inside the walls of the "Castle On The Hill", July 18, 2006
This review is from: Danvers State: Memoirs Of A Nurse In The Asylum (Paperback)
When it comes to finding any tid-bit of information on Danvers State Hospital, I am willing to read just about anything. I saw Session 9 a couple of years ago and that started my now two year obsession with DSH. Since then I have collected numerous photos, and even travelled out there to see the place for myself.
When I found this book, I didn't know what to expect. The cover was a little misleading. It's dark, foreboding, and hints at dark and strange tales from one of the most famous State Hospitals in the U.S. However, Angelina only hints at a few of her scarier experiences there and spoke a lot of the love and care that went on. She truly did care for her charges and it shows.
I had to use my imagination somewhat to try to figure out what the hospital looked like during her time there. She is no professional author and the use of descriptive terms is not her thing. I don't fault her for that, but maybe the person who helped her write it could have fleshed it out (accurately of course)for those who weren't there.
She also did focus perhaps too much on her family life. It was nice to know a bit about where she comes from but, for my money, I think I learned more than I cared to. I also realize that she didn't tell everything she could have. Im sure that there are A LOT of stories of goings on at DSH that will never leave her (whether for personal or legal reasons).
Overall, it was a good but short read. I read this book in one sitting. Perhaps Mrs. Szot did not write this book to fuel the imagination of the morbid population; maybe she wrote this to bring Danvers State Hospital into a new light...one that shows that although there was a much darker side of the hospital, there WAS caring and hope that also went on there as well.
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