Product Description

Danvers State gives an insider's view of what really went on at the state run insane asylum. The book provides details about the facility's dark past and the melancholy lives of her inhabitants. It brings to light the harsh treatment of mental illness in decades past.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #189030 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 156 pages

About the Author
Angelina Szot is a retired nurse living with her youngest daughter in Hampstead, NH. She had always dreamed of publishing her collection of stories from her time at Danvers State Hospital. She finally made it happen in time for her 78th birthday. Barbara is a Principal Systems Engineer with BAE Systems in Merrimack, NH. She grew up hearing stories about Danvers State Hospital and even spent time at the facility when her parents were working there. She has two children and three step children who all live in the area. The two youngest, Tommy and Angie, love to hear Grandma's stories about working at an asylum. To them, these stories seem like bigger fantasies than anything at the cinema. Barbara believes her time spent at Danvers State Hospital has helped her immensely in her current job. Eileen is a neighbor friend of over ten years who is an educatorin the Haverhill Public Schools in Massachusetts. Barbara's and Eileen's children, Jonathan and Christina, also share a friendship. Of course, thesefriendships grew over the years from shared family events where Barbara's mother, Angelina, was always at the center of Danvers State Hospital storytelling. Eileen recalls public school field trips to Danvers

Customer Reviews

Neither well written nor informative- Skip It!
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!

DISAPPOINTING WASTE OF TIME
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.

A short glimpse inside the walls of the "Castle On The Hill"
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.