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Julie Dewey

The Back Building Kindle Edition

by Julie Dewey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

343 ratings

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Iona Mueller arrives alone at the Willard Asylum for the Insane in this epic tale that spans a century. Through the Mueller family we take a deep look at what it means to be mentally ill in the year 1915 and in the present day.

By the time she reached fifteen years old, Iona had failed to become a “proper young lady” which profoundly concerned her parents. Her one and only friend, Hetty, the family maid, warned her not to disobey them but Iona couldn’t help herself. Iona’s quirk of counting steps may have been overlooked but when her mother and father learned of her exploits in the woods near her home in Ithaca, New York, she was taken to the town doctor. The doctor took one look at her self-cut short, mangled hair, learned of her bizarre behavior, and declared her insane.

At Willard Asylum on Seneca Lake there were plenty of activities to occupy her, including the job she procured working in the barn. Besides, she knew she was not anything like the crazy patients that banged their heads against the cinder walls until they bled or ran naked through the hallways. She was disobedient, that was true, and she would change. If only her parents would accept her correspondence and allow her to return home.

Iona’s new roommate, Cat, made every night a fight for survival. When Iona was caught trying to run away she was sent to the second ward, where her fate was sealed. Subject to tranquilizers and hydrotherapy, ice baths and physical beatings, Iona had only one thing on her mind. She had to stay away from the back building. Once you were placed there you were never seen again.

Iona met James at the institution’s barn. His kindness made the deprivation more bearable. He recognized that the violet hollows beneath her eyes, the bruises on her arms, and her apparent unraveling were the effect of the second ward. A plan was put into place, one that would remove Iona from harm’s way permanently.

In present day, it is Jenna, a young relative of Iona’s, who is plagued with mental illness. Jenna’s odd behaviors, bizarre language, and confusion disrupt her once perfectly normal life. Jenna’s family members trace their roots back to Iona in hopes of understanding their predisposition to mental illness. The journey leads them to an amazing discovery of the suitcases left behind by hundreds of patients at the Willard Asylum.

Print length

246 pages
Language

English
Publication date

October 30, 2014
File size

2961 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

edit biographydelete Biography Julie Dewey is a novelist residing in Central New York with her family. Julie selects book topics that are little known nuggets of U.S. history and sheds light on them so that the reader not only gets an intriguing storyline but learns a little something too. Her works include, Forgetting Tabitha, One Thousand Porches, The Other Side of the Fence, and Cat (Living Large Series book1) To follow Julie visit www.juliedewey.com and sign up to get regular updates and reading guides. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging book and story. Excellent read. Well written, moves smoothly and keep the reader engaged. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00P1UVJ1I
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holland Press (October 30, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2961 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 246 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 150303884X
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #232,787 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #114,101 in Literature & Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #161,471 in Literature & Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
343 ratings

About the author

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Julie Dewey

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Julie Dewey is a novelist residing in Central New York with her family. Julie selects book topics that are little known nuggets of U.S. history and sheds light on them so that the reader not only gets an intriguing storyline but learns a little something too.

Julie's daughter is a Nashville crooner and her son is a student. Her husband's blue eyes had her at hello and her motto is, "Life is too short to be Little!"

In addition to reading, researching, and writing, Julie has many hobbies that include jewelry design, decorating, walking her favorite four legged friends, Wells and Hershey, and spending time with her triplet nephews.

Her works include Forgetting Tabitha: the Story of an Orphan Train Rider, The Back Building, One Thousand Porches, The Other Side of the Fence, and Cat (the Livin' Large Series). To follow Julie visit www.juliedewey.com and sign up to get regular updates and reading guides.

Customer reviews

5 star		44%
4 star		30%
3 star		16%
2 star		5%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Torypire

Brings Understanding of Mental Health stigma

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2021

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Julie wrote a book that helped understand mental illness from an outsider n and insider's view of mental illness. It was the tougher Schizophrenic illness that has baffled and freightened the general community as well as the medical profession. A clearer picture was presented with humane and caring handling. Present Medical practices have advanced for better care of Schizophrenia and other mental Health conditions. I loved Iona's family history portrayed in generations from her and how her condition evolved in the succeding grandchildren. Hope for the more humane treatment is related with encouragement of the reader to continue that process. I've voted for better legislation and support many programs for mental health after reading this book twice.

Helpful

Darlene @ Peeking Between the Pages

A Fascinating Story

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2015

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Originally posted at: http://www.peekingbetweenthepages.com/2014/12/the-back-building-by-julie-dewey.html

The Back Building is Julie Dewey’s newest book and yet another reason that I enjoy her books so much. They always bring to light some important time in history and also to the people that lived during this long ago time. In The Back Building Julie tackles mental illness and the unfortunate way it is looked upon both in the past and even now in the present and takes us through one family’s battle with mental illness both in the past and in the present.

Iona Mueller comes from a wealthy family and to the outside eye certainly seems to have it all. Yet her mother keeps a fairly tight leash on her wanting her to only be a proper young lady and that included restricting what she could eat, not talking to her, or punishing her for not doing chores properly. Iona dealt with this by ceaselessly counting the steps she took, cleaning, and talking to her friend Hetty who helped her through her days. Needless to say this behavior was not considered proper or normal and Iona’s parents decide to send her to the Willard Asylum to hopefully reform and get better.

Iona is only fifteen when she enters the Willard Asylum and it’s such a foreign environment for her. She doesn’t feel like she belongs there. She isn’t crazy like these people. Sure she counts but who does that hurt? When her new roommate Cat arrives things change drastically for Iona and she tries running away. This only makes matters worse and she’s transferred to a much more secure ward. There she is subjected to hydrotherapy, tranquilizers, and even worse, beatings. Yet there were even worse places she could be and one of those was the back building. She had to make sure never to be put there. With the help of James, a young man she meets, they put together a plan to ensure that this never happens to Iona.

Fast forward to the future and we meet Jenna, a young girl, who is a descendant of Iona’s. Jenna too is suffering from mental illness and finds her life spiraling more and more out of control. Jenna’s family decides to trace their roots back to Iona to try and understand if Jenna’s battle with mental illness is in any way connected to Iona’s so many years ago.

The Back Building is a fascinating story. There is such a stigma attached to mental illness and I don’t understand why. So many suffer with it whether in a functioning or destructive form. There is nothing wrong with those who suffer and they need only our understanding and care. This novel brings to light that while our methods of treating mental illness have improved the stigma attached to it hasn’t all that much. Highly recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction and a really good story!

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Excellent read. Interesting and thought provoking

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

I like history and what happened in the past. If you do too, I bet that you'll like this book. I have looked into my own family history and I wish that there is more stories of what their lives were like. Additionally, my family has a history of mental health issues and to consider what my own family could have gone through is just so sad. Mental health treatment has advanced so much but there's still so much more to learn. Its so interesting to see the comparison of attitudes of the medical personnel, the families, and the communities around the characters . Some attitudes have improved, some have stayed the same, and some have actually gotten worse. Makes me think about how I react, how I support others, and how to pass on the family stories.

Helpful

Anna

Hurried, but interesting

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2015

Verified Purchase

This novel belies an author with her heart in the right place and might have been in a bit of a hurry. I can overlook typos in new Kindle books, but there were enough in this novel to distract me. The overall work would have been greatly improved if she had polished more.

I have recently toured a historic insane asylum. The experience raised enough interest in me that when I saw this download for free, I was eager to read a piece of fiction set in a similar setting.

It delighted me to learn that Willard State Hospital, as well as several of the nearby towns, are real places. The suitcase project mentioned toward the end is also something factual. I was convinced that Dewey did some serious homework in order to write the novel, but according to reviewers who were familiar with the facility’s history… apparently not enough. If you’re not a stickler for historical accuracy, you’ll be fine.

Some reviewers have commented that they worked at Willard and felt Dewey painted it in a terrible light. That doesn’t seem to be her intent. I didn’t count, but it seemed there were probably about the same number of unkind people working there as kind people. Even if it didn’t happen at Willard, I’m certain that patients at mental health facilities were mistreated at some place and during some time period.

Some reviewers did not like Dewey’s choice to skip two generations of family, but I don’t see it as a problem. In fast-forwarding, she shows us some major advances in psychiatric treatment. I would much rather have seen Iona’s part end peacefully where it did than all the way at the end of her life. I thought the second narrator was clear. She stated her relationship to Iona relatively early on, but I guess some reviewers missed that.

The ending, however, felt jarring to me. It seemed like she was in a hurry to finish the novel.

I’d be interested to know what caused her to write so tenderly about the topic. Does she, like many of us, have a loved one with mental illness? I have a feeling I’d enjoy sitting down and talking to her out on the porch, much like Iona did with Hetty. I was inspired by the character of Iona. Despite some very unusual behaviors, she was able to live a full life surrounded by loving people.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

M D Oakenfold

A good story to raise our awareness

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2015

Verified Purchase

A well written story about the trauma of mental illness today and in the past, We all have someone in our family or know someone with a mental problem and it does seem that often its passed down through the family. The poor people who suffered and died in the past should never be forgotten but unfortunately there is still a stigma today.

One person found this helpful

Dawn Joy

The Back Building

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2016

Verified Purchase

A very engaging read from beginning to end which highlights some changes made while treating mental health illnesses whilst recognising the stigmas still attached to mental health. I would recommend this book to everyone not only because it's a fascinating read but to help eliminate the biases associated with unseen disabilities .

Smart Ladyb

View to mental health

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2015

Verified Purchase

I chose this rating because it helped me understand a bit more of why my daughter acts and thinks as she does after having a mental breakdown.A good read.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Intriguing,

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2015

Verified Purchase

Intriguing, disturbing and yet entertaining this is a revelation, to me at least, into the historical 'science' of mental illness and it's consequences for generations to come. A page turner

One person found this helpful

Bees knees

Loved it. Great book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

This was so very very good. Author explains everything so well. The fact it’s in two parts is great. Without giving anything away it ties in correctly. I highly recommend this.

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