Asylums and prisons share a lot more common ground than most people realize. In this book, the author examines how politics, social upheavals, and fear politics combined over the years to alter prison and mental health policies. It seems we have always criminalized "abnormal" social behaviors, whether by committing people to asylums or locking them in prisons. These two systems fed off each other in a sort of see-saw pattern. And now, with asylums mostly gone, we have instead created mini asylums within prisons. Not much has really changed in 70 years, particularly for those living with severe mental illness.

The information is laid out well, taken decade by decade, and the content is easy to follow. The writing style is matter-of-fact, more textbook than narrative. The style is probably too dry for the casual reader, being more suited for research and those of us wanting to understand the complexities of this topic.

I was disappointed with the brevity. I pre-ordered this book months before the release, and I didn't pay attention to page count. Given the expanse of content, I was surprised to see how short this book is. Amazon lists the book as 240 pages. My hardcover is 211 pages. The epilogue ends on page 155, with the remaining pages being the appendix, acknowledgements, and notes. The first 19 pages are the introduction, which is essentially a summary of what you'll find in the book. So, really, the material is covered in only 136 pages.

What the description doesn't say is that the author focuses mostly on the state of Pennsylvania and the city and statewide changes there. Parsons does at times mention other asylums and prisons in other states, but for the most part she holds up Pennsylvania as an example of what was happening nationwide.

Despite my desire for broader and perhaps more detailed coverage, I still believe this is a book well worth reading. In our decades of flux from asylums to prisons, we have yet to stop criminalizing mental illness. Books like this force us to examine the truth of our system and our society.

*As an aside, I want to mention that the font size used in the hardcover edition is smaller than average. The book took me quite a while to read because the small font strained my eyes, particularly at night when my eyes were already tired. If you have healthy, young eyes, this probably won't bother you. Otherwise, you might want to opt for the Kindle version.* ( )