I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
by Joanne Greenberg
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joanne GreenbergEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1989
ISBN: 0451160312
Number of pages: 252
Publisher: Signet
Book Reviews of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Book Review: A Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Not many fictional novels are considered "classics" in the scientific literature. Greenberg's I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is an exception to this notion. This book has allowed insight into the world of someone diagnosed with schizophrenia, yet it upholds the integrity of imagination and creativity as of any great novel.
The story begins with the introduction of a 16-year-old girl, Deborah Blau, and her parents, Jacob and Esther Blau. They were all traveling in a car and reflecting about the past events leading up to the present. Greenberg did not overtly explain their destination, but I could sense that it was a dismal situation. There was little dialog in the beginning of the book. This is due to the fact that Deborah's parents were not comfortable discussing the issue of her illness.
Mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, were not accepted in society during that time period (i.e., 1940's), and therefore, were not discussed. This was accurately portrayed by Greenberg. Deborah's parents often would cope with her actions by making excuses (i.e., rationalization), or they would attempt to fix the situation. In this process, they were perceived by Deborah as deceitful. This, according to the book, contributed to her mental illness.
Deborah and her parents arrive at a mental institution, or in that time period, insane asylum, in which will be her home for approximately three years. For the first time, Deborah was able to identify with something, the institution. The institution served as recognizable and defined thing, a banner under which to stand. There, she was appointed to a psychiatrist, Dr. Fried, who is based from a real-life psychotherapist, Dr. Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, ex-wife of Erich Fromm. She will begin to indulge in her struggle with Yr, which is her fictional world, and reality.
Deborah's Yr is basically the foundation for her illness. Schizophrenia is usually characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, and hallucinations. Yr is, to her, another dimension from which she believes that she belongs. Yr dulls her senses; she perceives the world as "grey." Yri is comprised of gods, (e.g., The Great Collect, Censor, Anterrabae, Lactamaeon, and Idat), different rules of physical reality, and a different language, Yri. In times of stress, Deborah escapes into Yr. I do not know if Deborah's Yr was based off of an actual schizophrenic case study. If not, it was brilliantly originated; however, I am unsure about the degree of accurateness of which her illness is portrayed.
During Deborah's sessions with Dr. Fried, they attempt to penetrate Yr and to hopefully discover early childhood events that are to be held responsible. I attempted to classify Dr. Fried's therapy style. It appeared to me as somewhat of an eclectic style. In the beginning of therapy, she appeared to be using an indirect approach and after time, progressed into a more direct approach. Dr. Fried appeared empathic and understanding, which would be indicative of either person-centered therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy. On the other hand, her approach seemed to be an insight-based therapy, which would be indicative of psychoanalysis. Either way, it had very little, if any, behavioral aspects, and Dr. Fried never seemed to consider a biological basis for Deborah's schizophrenia. Her medications consisted only of nighttime sedatives. Of course, given the time period, this is understandable due to the fact that little was known about brain physiology of mental illness.
As therapy begins, Deborah becomes worse before any overt improvement starts to prevail. Sometimes the transitions from worse-to-better and better-to-worse were, for me, unexpected. Just as I would begin to believe that she is making progress, a stressful event would provoke Deborah to black out, which would result in a demotion to a higher-security ward, or floor. This made the story more interesting, and it probably mimics reality much closer than if she were to progressively improve in absence of downfalls until recovery.
Despite Deborah's intermittent problems and failures, which were inevitable, she begins to gradually make progress. She begins to realize that she had created Yr as a defense mechanism against the deceitful world, which all began in her childhood with the discovery and removal of a malignant tumor. This was one of the first times that she had been treated as if she were different from other people. She also begins to realize that she has many false, distorted memories and that she is an earth being who does not "infect" those around her with her poisonous presence. Deborah's world then turns from grey, dull, and numb to a wonder of miraculous sensations. She eventually moves from the asylum to outpatient housing, and she attains a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). Even then, Deborah is not completely recovered, and she may never be. As Dr. Fried had told her once in a session, "I never promised you a rose garden," which meant that she had never promised Deborah that it would be an easy journey. At the end of the novel, she faces her fears and accepts the fact that she must choose between Yr and the real world.
Summary of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is the story of a sixteen-year-old who retreats from reality into the bondage of a lushly imagined but threatening kingdom, and her slow and painful journey back to sanity.Literary Books
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