A Mind That Found Itself / An Autobiography / Third Edition Revised (INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR)

Beers, Clifford Whittingham

Verlag: Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1914

Beschreibung

A lovely copy with bright gilt titles, inscribed to Mr. & Mrs. Peter D. Martin and signed with the author's full name, beneath which he has stamped "Secretary of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, 50 Union Square, New York." (It appears the author circulated many signed copies.) The book introduced with two printed letters of endorsement from Wm. James, "late professor of Harvard University, one of the most eminent of American psychologists," to "cut off incredulity at its source." Beers (1876-1943), a Yale graduate, was a pioneer in advocating for improved treatment of mental illness. In 1900, while working for an interior designer, Beers broke down mentally and attempted suicide. He suffered from hallucinations and delusions, believing even visiting family members were impostors and police spies. From August, 1900, to September, 1903, he was hospitalized in three different institutions. The hospital conditions, along with Beers' torments, both mental and physical, are thoroughly documented in this 1908 autobiography. He records petty punishments, forced feedings, the use of straitjackets and hand-restraints, quaintly called muffs. Patients were regularly denied the ability to shower for upwards of three weeks at a time. Beers was often choked and physically beaten by attendants much larger than himself. Amazingly enough, he got better, and grew more and more determined to record all the transgressions visited upon him and his fellow patients. He realized that to be believed, to be credible, he needed to know more about what went on in other sections of the hospital -- especially "the violent ward." There, "stripped of my outer garments; and clad in nothing but underclothes, I was thrust into a cell" with no bed or other furniture, and little ventilation. "For over a month I was kept in a half starved condition. Worst of all, winter was approaching and these, my first quarters, were without heat." After his release, friends advised Beers to keep quiet about his illness. He refused. Through the publication of this book, Beers found support for what would become his life's work. He would speak for the patients who no one would listen to, the invisible ones. Beers declined to name the scene of his tortures -- insisting he wanted to reform the industry overall, not just one or two facilities -- but it was clearly the Connecticut State Hospital for the Insane, on a hill overlooking the scenic old river port of Middletown, an institution whose buildings today stand dark, cavernous and mostly empty. In 1908 Beers founded the "Connecticut Society for Mental Hygiene" -- now Mental Health Connecticut. In 1909 Beers he went on to found the "National Committee for Mental Hygiene" -- now "Mental Health America." 363 pp. including appendices. Reduced from $565. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 007028

Bibliografische Details

Titel: A Mind That Found Itself / An Autobiography ...

Verlag: Longmans, Green and Co., New York

Erscheinungsdatum: 1914

Einband: Hardcover

Zustand: Very Good

Zustand des Schutzumschlags: No Jacket

Signiert: Inscribed by Author(s)

Auflage: 3rd Edition