Gracefully Insane

I was hoping for a more narrative style. I had a hard time staying interested due to the writing style.

Very interesting tale of the start, reputation, and changing culture of Mclean. There are some brief but descriptive passages about suicide, for those who want to avoid those, but the vast majority of the book is with a larger field of view, and longer timeline. Recommended if you're interested in Boston institutions or the modern history of psychiatric care.

Interesting look at the artistic and societal elite who have stayed in America's most famous mental hospital (James Taylor, Ray Charles, Susana Kaysen, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton), as well as the history of the institution itself. (Anne Sexton is actually the one who used the term “Gracefully Insane” for McLean residents).