Lunatic: The Rise and Fall of an American Asylum

by Edward S. Gleason

The Rise and Fall of an American Asylum tells of one hundred and thirty years of history, detailing the trials and tribulations of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Unlike any other book about a Kirkbride Building, a portion of all proceeds are used to preserve a 157 year old National Historic Landmark, the oldest and most intact Kirkbride in existence. The author Edward Gleason has worked as the Historian for Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum since its purchase at auction in 2007. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, constructed between 1858 and 1881, is the largest hand-cut blue sandstone building in the Western Hemisphere and 2nd largest in the World.. This Gothic structure was the end of the line for West Virginia's insane for 130 years....

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Psychology

113 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's difficult to imagine that anyone so lucky as to have the opportunity to visit the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia wouldn't be fascinated enough by its imposing structure and storied history to try and learn more about the institution. Unfortunately, commercial works on the asylum are rarer than a rational scientific approach to mental health in the 19th century.

Lunatic, a slim volume of exactly the type hawked in gift shops, attempts to fill the void. To its credit, the book opens with a few lines that are the definition of truth in advertising, proclaiming that "The following is an informal, anecdotal narrative detailing the rise and fall of a 19th century insane asylum and the tumultuous events in and around the Asylum and in the United States in general that affected the causes and treatment of insanity." In other words, it's a brief gloss over the history of mental health care in America, West Virginia during the Civil War, and the construction of the asylum, sprinkled with anecdotes about famous people who visited the site (Dorothea Dix!) or interesting patients. If it's not at least 80% verbatim what shows up on the historical tour at TALA, I'd be very surprised. (Full disclosure: I've read whole books about ice pick lobotomies, so I took the ghost tour instead.)

Despite the sketchy sentence construction, poorly reproduced photos, and questionable sourcing (as far as I can tell, the only work cited in the bibliography that deals directly with TALA is an oral history done as part of a thesis in 2008, with the rest mostly being general works on the history of mental health care), the subject is captivating enough to keep you reading. Descriptions of locals turning out to stare at inmates' weekly dances offer a lurid reminder that insanity was once a spectator sport, and brief references to the lives of individuals involved with the construction and operation of the asylum are tantalizing albeit frustrating.

One day someone will write a definitive history of the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, but until then we'll have to content ourselves with amateur efforts such as Lunatic which, while somewhat lacking in scholarship, at least offer the compensation of earnest local charm.

[Taisynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book through Kindle Unlimited. I barely got through the first chapter. The lack of punctuation, run-on sentences, and random details are really distracting. The information may be interesting, but it reads like a rushed undergraduate paper. Hopefully the author will come back with some proper editing and grammar checking.

[Lance Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this short book at the gift shop of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum after the 10:30p to 12:30a paranormal tour right before Halloween. Creepy! Imagine traversing the dark hallways of the violent female ward and hearing stories about the patients. Didn't hear any voices when we were all told to be quiet but my stomach did rumble and scare the girl next to me.

The book follows the story of the asylum from building it before the Civil War until its closure in 1987. It does have a few stories of patients and a good chapter on treatments used for mental illness in the 20th century. And it has a whole chapter on Dr. Walter Freeman, the infamous lobotomist, who was actually invited to West Virginia by the director of the state mental system. As a result, West Virginia's per capita rate of lobotomy in the 1950s was the highest in the nation. Dr. Freeman even crisscrossed the state in his "Lobotomobile". Scary stuff indeed.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short primer on the history of the asylum — suitable as an overview for anyone unfamiliar with the building and with the treatment of and attitudes toward mental illness during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hopefully a more in-depth and scholarly work will follow.

[Emily Yost · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is chock full of fascinating information, but Mr. Gleason is in desperate need of an editor. The grammar and punctuation are distracting.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the timeline of the infamous facility located in Weston, West Virginia. The original structure was begun during the Civil War, and the background facts are fascinating. Having toured the asylum, I was curious to know more about its history, and this book was a good resource. The asylum itself is both majestic and tragic, and this book will help you to understand why.

[Nicki Hinkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is written a bit like an emotional textbook. The chapters are easy to follow and the included photos really help transport you to that time.
The book truly covers the rise and fall of an American asylum. I didn't realize how mistreated the mentally ill were until reading this book. The introduction of a treatment facility was radical, but paled in comparison to the lives some of the insane were living chained in their family basements or attics.
However, the radical treatments and learning curve of doctors for how to treat the clinically insane was troubling to say the least. I am saddened to know that the same place I took a tour last year is the same place that horrific experiments and lobotomies were performed with very little care for the outcome, so long as the patients were more docile and easier to control.
I am thrilled to see the advancements in the field and they are evident in this book.
There are also a lot of war information. I didn't realize how much action the hospital grounds saw during the civil war! The stories and anecdotes were a rich addition to the book!
I can't wait to pass this along to all of my reader friends!!! =)

[Anna Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing a lot of people not really enjoying the book I needed to add my experience. I live in Weston and have since 2015. I pass the TALA twice a day and every day it’s there standing eerily. Reading this book and another gives you the idea of how things were. Obviously things have been lost and stolen from history that we may never get back. This book has been suggested to me by several people. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical aspect, rise and fall of the asylum. Dorothea Dix, Kirkbridge and Rush tried their best with what they had to keep their patients happy. Seeing the development of medicine is mind blowing. How things then have changed so much as of now. If going by the list for committed over half the population of the US would be institutionalized. So glad I read this book. It gives me more respect for the builders of the asylum and the workers and patients who endured the hellish means of running the asylum on mere pennies.

[Carolyn Kanon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a quick, informative read on the history of the TransAllegheny Lunatic Asylum, which was considered at the time to be a departure from the traditional ways in which the mentally ill had been dealt with. While the treatments were still horrid, the facility also held dances and picnics on the front lawn.

I received this book as a gift - along with gift certificates to do the 2-hour paranormal tour - so that I would have some background knowledge before doing the tour. The one thing that detracted from my enjoyment of the book were the horrible grammatical errors - among the worst I’ve seen in a book. I get that this was likely self-published, but daaaag, reach out and find out! I’m an editor, and heck I would have edited it for the price of doing the overnight ghost tour. Anyway, that’s the reason I did not rate the book higher. Writing matters.

[Haley Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not the book I thought I was buying when I visited the asylum lol! I thought I was buying the book written by one of the former patients who underwent a lobotomy but I highly doubt this is that book. Anywayyyy it was still very entertaining to learn about the history of the asylum. I wish it went into more details but honestly I got all the details when I visited it last summer. It was a quick read, I mean really quick like read it in one sitting and it took less than an hour. It feels weird to review this book because it’s not really a story but I loved the pictures incorporated throughout and I think everyone should visit this place to get a proper understanding of it!

[Philip Omdahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trans-Allegheny Asylum

Asylums everywhere share many common things, each unique in their shared histories, such as common medical and psychiatric treatments and problems, the eerie way people were committed (and forgotten) just to name a few. A storied history, yet one that is ignominious.

[Cyndi McIntire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragic

Trans Allegheny was a fantastic idea for its time but lack of training and over crowding is not a good mix. Other reviewers mention about grammar and punctuation. Yes there is that but this was self published as a means to raise money to restore the facility. So get past that. It is a great step into history.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purchased this book at the Trans-Allegany Lunatic Asylum museum in Weston, WV. What a terrible time in history for anyone with mental disorders even mild depression. Horrible too in that husbands had total control over admitting their wives for virtually any reason!! It's truly unbelievable that this is a part of America history.

[Chrissy Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject was interesting, but the writing was awful. Run on sentences, bad grammar, and a lack of punctuation where it should be (and commas where they didn't belong). I found myself reading the same sentence multiple times just to make sense of it because the lack of correct punctuation made it so hard to understand.

[Staci Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Very interesting and intriguing. I am planning on touring this asylum this summer. It is nice to know a little history before I go

[Makala Bertoty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read!

Great look into the history of Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Definitely a good read if you are interested in the history of insane asylums.

[Gina Buroker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book. A few typos, but lots of information in a small book. I purchased the book at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum after touring it in Weston, WV. Very interesting!

[Cari Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

interesting read

Interesting to read how this one asylum came about and the eras in which it stood. Recommend to anyone to read.

[Glmomich · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's scary to think of what people did to other people in the name of medical advancement and science.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on the history!

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does not have the best grammar, however, it's a quick read for a brief history of the Trans - Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

[Breigh Tompkins]

This is a very basic history and perfect for anyone who knows nothing about the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

[Karlz]

This book covers a lot of the history of the town of Weston where the asylum was built and did a good job of providing a general overview of why the asylum was built and how American views of mental illness changed overtime, but I would've liked something more in-depth that included more first-hand accounts of life at the asylum. The building is still available for tours today and I would highly recommend visiting if you ever get the chance!

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lunatic is a thorough and engaging exploration of a significant chapter in American medical history. Gleason's narrative is both informative and evocative, offering readers insight into the challenges of mental health care reform and the enduring impact of historical institutions. For those interested in the intersections of architecture, history, and psychiatry, this book provides a valuable perspective on the rise and fall of one of America's most infamous asylums.

[Stacey King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

Great read. Very well written and full of Information. Thankfully our treatment of the mentally ill has changed drastically. There are some very sad stories on this book.

[Brent Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting, albeit short, book about the Asylum in West Virginia.