Customer Reviews

Voice for the Mad: The Life of Dorothea Dix

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I bought this book after reading the following award citation it received from the Organization of American Historians: "VOICE FOR THE MAD provides more than a fine analysis of how and why a key northern antebellum reformer came to her reform, more than a well-written, sophisticated account of how a well-traveled reformer sought progress in Europe and the Americas, more than an illuminating account of how and why Americans created asylums for the insane. Gollaher's study also throws important light on how a woman outside the home could be an important lobbyist inside antebellum male legislatures; on how and why antebellum religion generated a white-hot reformist passion; on how and why reformist passion often stopped short, as in Dix's case, of anti-slavery; and perhaps most astonishingly, on how and why the Yankee woman as a reforming fanatic could succeed in Southern legislatures...[A] gem of a biography." Amazingly, the book is even better than this, because it reveals how a person was able to use her own demons -- her anger, her feelings of abandonment, her incredible nervous energy -- as sources of strength in the public arena of politics.

This is a great biography, if somewhat exhastive in its detailing of Dorothea Dix's incredibly energetic and productive life. What captivated me was Gollaher's ability to evoke Dix's essential sadness, something that went back to her early childhood and that made her self-aware yet remote from other people. Ironically it was her self-possession, her sense of being different from everyone else, that enabled her to related to the mentally ill and create a unique career.

We all learned about Dorothea Dix in school, that she was a great Victorian "humanitarian reformer." But this book, based on phenomenal research in her personal papers at Harvard, tells the inner story of her life, how she came to identify with the homeless mentally ill because she was often on thin psychological ice herself. The book, which won the 1996 Avery Craven Prize from the Organization of American Historians for the best book about the antebellum and Civil War period, also reveals a lot about the coming of the War, and about how Northerners like Dix viewed slavery, African Americans, and the South. One criticism: the copy editing was sloppy. Who at Simon and Schuster let so many typos and little mistakes go to press? Still, this is a terrific book, and a great read

Gollaher argues, quite persuasively, that Dix was the most influential woman in 19th century American politics. His story of how she, rather than spending a life of upper-middle-class Victorian comfort, decided to make a career of exploring America's worst hell-holes -- the jails and attics that housed the insane -- is fascinating. The book is also a penetrating psychological study of Dix, who carved out a career for herself when most women had none

I have read many biographies of Dorothea Dix, and this one is the best of the best! She was a fascinating woman of her age. Devotedly religious, she found a life similiar in many respects to Mother Teresa of our age - although Miss Dix was much more effective using legislation as a tool in her relief work. Her work with the mentally ill has been studied by many professionals in the field. David Gollaher brings all the available historical documents together in an easy-to-read format for the general public. I hope this book will be rereleased for a new generation of students, social workers, nurses and doctors. Highly recommended for any public or private library.

I casually picked up this book, read the introduction, and was hooked. The idea that Dorothea Dix could fashion a political career -- sitting with legislators to draft laws, guiding bills through the House and Senate with personal patronage -- generations before women could vote, well, this amazed me. But more amazing is the whole first section of the book, in which Gollaher details Dix's terrible and depressing early life in New England. The strength in this book is how he connects the dots of her painful early life with her painfully successful career in Washington and dozens of state capitals around the country. I can't think of anyone who paid a greater psychic price for success. Her story is largely a tragedy, exquisitely told here.

Gollaher paints a very dull picture of Dorothea Dix. There is not one colorful insight into this fascinating, world-changing woman. If there was even a hint of love or respect, or even curiosity about his subject, the author never reaveals it. There is an inexcusable failure on the author's part to make this famous lady 'touchable'. He discredits her faith with one stroke of his pen and rambles about the more cerebral parts of her life and work. Yes, she was interested in other things besides helping people but I don't care to know about how many bugs she collected and how many famous persons she socialized with. I want to know about Dorothea Dix! This was one of the most discursive, spiritless biographies I have read in many years. Read another biographer's account of this amazing woman, perhaps one that is written by a woman.