Letters From The Looney Bin

I gave this book two stars, rather than one, because I thought the concept was intriguing--patient letters found in a long-abandoned psychiatric hospital, particularly from the 70's era when treatment for the mentally ill was quite horrendous. However, the writing style, to me, was bland and did not catch my attention the way I thought it would. With a topic like this, as a reader, I want to be hammered into the floor. I want to feel that uncomfortable knot in the pit of my gut. I want to be frightened FOR the characters and frightened BY them. I don't mean invent fantastical unrealistic scenarios just for shock value, but take me into the brain of an individual suffering from psychosis, to where all their unsettling and disturbing motivations lie. To do that as a writer, I think you have to go way abstract, and the method by which this story was told just misses that mark. As a reader, I don't want to be looking through the asylum windows (so to speak) at what's happening--I want a front row seat in the 'reptilian brain' of the patients themselves. Technically, there was some awkward sentence construction that irked me as well and which could have been easily remedied with a little line editing. I was also disappointed with the title. I thought perhaps the author hadn't done enough research into the subject, but seeing as Ms. Nalley has firsthand experience working with the mentally ill, it baffles me even more. "Looney bin"? I dunno. Maybe it's just me trying to be overly PC, but it struck me as slightly offensive to those with mental illness, but maybe there's something I'm missing with that. I just felt like this subject matter could've been so much more poignantly addressed, as there are so many facets and layers and aspects to so many different kinds of mental illness; the depths to which an author can go with that subject are endless, and the reader can truly be shaken, educated, and entertained...if done right. It was intended to be disturbing, but it just wasn't. It had its moments, but again, if those scenes had been written from a more impressionistic angle, then maybe the emotion could have really hit home. For me, this book just fell short of what I believe the author was intending to create. Man, what a great story idea, though! Too bad it didn't get the creative attention it really needed.

In the late 1970s the Emerson Rose Asylum became completely abandoned - all the patients, doctors, staff vanished and were never seen again. The events circling this mass exodus have been one of the most baffling disappearances in history...until now. For hidden deep inside a tattered asylum mattress a stack of bundled letters were found. These letters, all addressed to the pseudonym Dr. Quill, and all written by the patients as they document the final days of the Emerson Rose Asylum.

A chilling assortment of shattered lives. I find the book very interesting. Letters from the Looney Bin does an excellent job with telling stories that are gripping and compelling. I can still call up, in vivid fashion, horrors described by these people of the asylum. Riveting first person descriptions allow you to peer into the dark corners of their past.

The stories are generally depressing in nature due to their content but are very interesting. The bottom line is if you're interested in this subject then the book is worth reading. There are a lot of characters involved and all of the stories are very detailed. Thatcher C Nalley has written an amazing book here, and for anyone who hasn't read her work before - give Letters from the Looney Bin a chance, you will end up a huge fan!!

The writer did a good job keeping the suspense until the end. I'm a fan of thrillers, mysteries and paranormal stories but I have to say this one is a winner on all fronts. I really enjoyed this book. There were so many twists and turns and was never slow reading. I liked the way in which it tied together. If you want to be scare this is a must read for you. Not for the weak at heart.

Some of it was a bit creepy and bothersome but it did keep me reading and engaged for the most part. A truly wonderful and interesting plotline. It was dark and suspenseful and hard to stop reading. Thank-you for sharing your story with me.

It ended fairly abruptly, a little unfinished so to speak. It seems the author is planning a sequel. Hopefully we can then get some kind of insight as to what ended up happening.
I love how every chapter is a patient's letter/story. They all read differently and that's a cool twist because if you don't like the way one is written, don't worry because the syntax and life story changes w each patient's account of how they ended up at Emerson Rose. As you read on you can see more of each patient through the eyes of others which helps to clarify things when your brain can't quite make the leap on its own (ie. The southern belle who believes she is beautiful is thought to look hideous to others).
It's a good book; I'd recommend it with the warning that you don't get answers in the end- it's more a collection of patients life stories.

The story is pretty well written. I guess that I didn't realize that this is a series until the epilogue. I was getting disappointed that there didn't seem to be a resolution; however, now that I know there is more to read I am very intrigued to see how the rest of the story develops. It is very important that we as a society understand that mentally I'll people were indeed treated barbarically by those who were supposed to be helping them so that it doesn't happen again. It is a crime against humanity that these people were tortured while enduring the torments of their mind. Today, there has been much progress in therapeutic treatment but there is still so far to go and there are still psychiatric professionals that have no business being in the profession or to be allowed so called help someone with mental illness. So a revolt against those who use people with mental illness is a most interesting story as who better to fight those who mistreat than those who have been or are being mistreated. Looking forward to the next book.

I had run across this book by accident while trying to find a book on Pennhurst. I can say that even though I was looking for a nonfiction book,I was not let down with this chilling tale of fiction. It gives point of view from the patients who went through so much hell. Every patient has a "voice" even those without an actual voice. The only thing I had not realized,was there would be a cliffhanger. Where as that doesn't take away from the story, I do wonder what happened with the uprising.

The letters are very interesting, but the plot of the story is not quite clear to me. I realize that the Asylum was torn down and everyone vanished. Years later these letters to Dr. Quill are found, written by the patients. The good doc died of mysterious heart attack and the doc that took over is vicious and performing illegal experiments. It is mentioned that many are buried outside. I would.i,e more background before diving into the patients letters. Also.. The patients all seem sane to me..considering their circumstances??

I liked that each chapter was dedicated to a patient. I first started this book because I was curious about the story behind it. Is this a real story? That the patients became missing? But, to cut it short, this book wasn't a real page turner. Yet if you have some time to read where your not doing anything....this is the book for you. Kind of like when people pass by an a accident and they drive slowly to see if they can figure out what happened.

It wasn't exactly what I had expected. I think there would have been more interesting if there was a story behind each inmate writing, or possibly a story about the doctor and staff themselves interacting with each inmate. The letters on their own pique interest, but leave you unfulfilled.

I loved this book. Emerson Rose was an asylum that was founded by wealthy families to care for their mentally ill. The patients all loved the place and thought of it as a safehaven until a new doctor arrived and turned into a house of horrors. The patients all wrote letters detailing how they came to be at Emily Rose and their plan for getting rid of the new doctor once and for all.The asylum vanished and all that was left were these letters. I assume because of the ending that there will be a sequel but this book held my interest and I thought it was worth the read. I can't wait for the sequel.

At first I didn't realize the book was written from multiple points of view. Of course I didn't read too far into the description, I've always been interested in psychology books, fiction or non. I enjoyed reading it however. Ready to read the next one!

I loved this book simply because it puts me in the mindset of a mentally sick person. They want nothing but to be accepted just like everyone else. There is nothing wrong with you until society tells you that you are different. When in reality we are all a bit mad. Anyone that would like to read about a people living in a terrible place and how our actions affect other people would love this book.

I can typically look past grammatical errors in books; however, this was too much. There was an error on almost every page, and I couldn't make it past the first 30 pages. I was already a little perturbed once I found out this wasn't a real collection of letters, but the grammar was the icing on the cake. And no, it wasn't done on purpose to add a hint of realism to the book. You can tell, because of all the attempts to make it correct. Don't waste your money.

The letters are terrific, but there's no ending. The ending is perhaps in the next book, which not yet available. Lost a star for that reason only. Really intriguing premise, can't wait for the next one . . . if I remember to look for it.

I can't really complain since it was free, but this book was an utter festival of typos, bad grammar, and laughable writing. Talent-wise, I'd give the author maybe a B- in a freshman creative writing class. Apparently, the author was so bored with her "novel" that she decided not to even finish it. But, hey, ya get what you paid for! ?

This book was exhilarating! From the first page I could not put it down. Although, some what short, I read this entire book in one sitting. Once finished I quickly searched for the second book in hopes to get engrossed again. You will not be disappointed with this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed pouring over this book of letters. The people introduced in these lines are incredibly thoughtful and interesting. These people explain their feelings so eloquently, you can help but hope for them and their cause.

Thatcher C Nelly weaves a creepy tale in the form of letters found from an abandoned insane asylum... a girl who smashes the head of a white coated orderly... a doctor who experiments on the inmates in unspeakable ways... patients dragged away in the middle of the night to have parts of their brains removed.

The author does a great job at weaving the different characters together from various perspectives. The imagery is macabre and grotesque, and the chills are sublime. As a reader, you are given a unique insight into the minds and perspectives of the condemned mental patients, and what brought them to the edge.

Interesting book which reads very easily and enjoyably. Recommended.

I enjoyed it as it provides great stories inspired by many real life patients. I felt as if I could connect with them in one way or another. The pages had me turning and anxious to find the next character and see what happens. However as it is amateur writing I cannot give it a five. I completely recommend it though!

I have been attracted to the world of psychology. How the minds work. This is a book that also gave an insight of what we may think is crazy, selfish actions, but instead we see of story behinds these actions that without being told to us we judge crazy and unthinkable.

I gave this book two stars instead of one because the idea of the book was quite clever. In addition, the mentality that the author created for her character, Dr. Huxley, was moving and thoughtful.

That's about the only good I can say about this book, though. First off, I had no idea that this book was fiction. The description is extremely misleading. Secondly, I found that for the most part the character's background stories were stereotypically shallow. Does familial abuse occur in a mentally ill patient's life? Yes. Is that always the case? No. Third, the book failed to capture the essence of a mentally ill person to the point that I was shocked to find out that the author knew even a little bit about the mentally ill. At times I even felt insulted for those that I love and have worked with who live with a mental disorder.

Further more, did anyone even edit this book? Spelling, grammar, and sentence structure mistakes decorated the pages of this book like a five year old coloring a wall with permanent marker.

All in all, this book was shallow and disappointing.

My Dad was a minister at a mental hospital. This book was interesting to me because I always felt each patient had their own unique story to tell
Our YOU want to know what it is like in a mental hospital you should also read my Dads book Churchmouse by Robert F Cullum
B

There's something very wrong about this number one best seller designation. Really? I didn't get past the first page. The first sentence had incorrect word usage. The second sentence had improper grammar. I don't waste time on sloppily written, unedited books.

I really found this book to be fairly interesting. The patients letters were each very unique with their distinct personalities. I'm assuming this book is going to be a Book One of a series. The ending is why I have it only 2 stars. It told me nothing. You don't know if the patients even really tried anything at all. You don't know ANYTHING. I have to question if this wasn't all in the mind of one patient and nothing else. I don't mind being left to my own devices on figuring out a few things, but this book just had a BAD ending. It fell short. If I KNEW a Book Two was coming, it would be a little more forgivable, but every novel should stand on it's own, even in a series. It felt like the author just lost the passion for the book and scrawled a fifteen minute ending that left the rest of the book without a leg to stand on. I would never recommend this book unless I knew a second was being published.

I'm so happy I stumbled on this gem. It is like a thousand little stories that tell one great story. See the world through the minds of the insane. Let it smile upon your face and feed the insanity that lives in all of us.

I instantly loved reading this book. It was simple but yet each letter was it's own short story. 'Loony Bins' have always been intriguing to me. On the other hand, I rated 3 stars because I feel the editor might have fallen asleep a few times. There were several misspellings and grammatical errors, which made the style seem lazy and overlooked.

The first page disturbed and intrigued me. As I read, I could actually hear the characters' voices in my head. Brilliant narration, the author has created a world where we uncomfortably go into and think of our own escape with the patients, each sentences dragging you deeper into the world of the asylum. A wonderful read, I really look forward to see what else this author comes up with as I really enjoy her writing style. Different, original, raw and entrancing.

I expected more. However the story itself is great, I just thought it would be a different style of writing I suppose. I didn't care for the fact that every letter sounded like it was written by the same person.

Interesting premess but the story line never evolved. Rather than answer the question regarding what happened to the patients and staff at the assylem the author chose to describe each patient's case history. Then, the story ended. There was no resolution. All the reader gets is a vague reference to a future battle between the sadistic staff and the poor abused patient victims.

I had run across this book by accident while trying to find a book on Pennhurst. I can say that even though I was looking for a nonfiction book,I was not let down with this chilling tale of fiction. It gives point of view from the patients who went through so much hell. Every patient has a "voice" even those without an actual voice. The only thing I had not realized,was there would be a cliffhanger. Where as that doesn't take away from the story, I do wonder what happened with the uprising.