Becoming Anna

by Anna J. Michener

Becoming Anna is the poignant memoir of the first sixteen years in the life of Anna Michener, a young woman who fought a painful battle against her abusive family. Labeled "crazy girl" for much of her childhood, Anna suffered physical and emotional damage at the hands of the adults who were supposed to love and protect her. Committed to various mental institutions by her family, at sixteen Anna was finally able to escape her chaotic home life and enter a foster home. As an effort toward recovery and self-affirmation as well as a powerful plea on behalf of other abused children, Anna wrote this memoir while the experience was fresh and the emotions were still raw and unhealed. Her story is a powerful tale of survival.

"A teen's raw, in-your-face chronicle of events almost as they were happening. As such, it's unforgettable. . . . Michener's story gives voice to the thousands of children and adolescents trapped in 'the system,' biding their time until their 18th birthdays. A candid and unstinting tell-all."— Kirkus Reviews

"Extraordinary. . . . Michener's expressive writing does justice to a topic that is clearly very disturbing to her personally and communicates a profoundly important message on behalf of all abused and neglected children."— Booklist

"An important book, painful to read, but essential if other children in similar situations are to be saved."— Library Journal

"An innocent child's account of 16 years in hell and of the terrible wrongs inflicted on children who are without rights or caring advocates."— Choice

"[Michener] emerges as a compelling and courageous advocate for children and their welfare—she's a young writer with an extraordinary voice." Feminist Bookstore News

"Quite simply one of the best, most compelling, well-written autobiographies published in years. . . . Remember the name. We have not heard the last of Anna Michener."—Myree Whitfield, Melbourne Herald-Sun , cover story

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Psychology, Biography, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Abuse

264 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 1998

Reviews

[David Merrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always end up reading the negative reviews of books I like, just to see what made someone dislike it. With this one, it seems people had unrealistic expectations of it while reading it. I saw some dissatisfaction that it was written from a teenagers point of view, the subtitle, clearly written on the cover is, "The Autobiography of a Sixteen-Year-Old." Anyone who reads this book and expects the perspective to come from an adult picked up the wrong book. I see this sort of thing a lot in negative reviews. Others expected to have a more unbiased view of the institution, but this is Anna's diary written just after she was released. To expect anything besides her first person perspective, biased though it may be, is ludicrous. That's what you should be expecting and wanting from this book, a first person perspective of an abusive family and the mental health system through the eyes of a child who has experienced it.

My own view of this book is it is brilliant. Anna's afterword states she wrote this between her sixteenth and seventeenth birthday. The writing is incredibly smooth and detailed even for someone much older. This book just on a writing level is remarkable, in my opinion. The story itself brings it to another level. How often do we get such detail of a mental institution from an inside view? I have no doubt, as some reviewers mention in their diagnoses of Anna, that she had some mental problems. Who wouldn't, having been toured and imprisoned by their parents from the time they were born? But clearly, the people who belonged in a mental institution in this book were her parents and Grandmother. I have no idea what awful treatment they too must have endured as children to come to the conclusion what they were doing was parenting. By the end of the book, her mother does go to one. I chose not to try and diagnose Anna as I read the book, but from my perspective, given the circumstances she had to live in with her family and then in the institution, with no way of protecting herself or getting help, her responses all seem pretty normal to me. I think under the same circumstances, I might have responded in a more extreme way than she did.

I definitely recommend this book, but be aware of what you are buying, if you want a clinical view of these subjects, buy another book. If you want to have an understanding of how a patient experiences these things, this is for you.

[Janna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely ADORED this book when I first read it--I think it was in 2000, my senior year of college. I was frightened by the treatment Anna was given, the apathy towards her life and her symptoms. It really fired me up and made me certain that Psychology was the right major for me. I read and re-read and underlined passages and wanted to write the author a letter because I was so moved. (I never followed through with it.)

I re-read the book this summer and my impression has changed a bit. I still adore the story and applaud Anna for writing the book, but my opinion of her has changed a bit. In the book, she can do no wrong, her ideas and opinions are always correct, whereas everyone else is in the wrong. I see it as a typical teenager response. That being said, I still think she and the other patients at the 'hospitals' she describes were grossly and terribly mistreated but it was more obvious to me that the book was written by a teenager.

[Riya · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I felt very conflicted about this book and this review will definitely reflect that.

For the first 70 pages or so I was overwhelmed with empathy for Anna (or Tiffany - as she was called at that time). Anna grows up in a very emotionally and psychologically abusive family. Her father is an alcoholic who, when he is not ignoring Anna, beats her sporadically for various arbitrary transgressions. Her mother is a diabetic who also neglects Anna (when she is not screaming at her and trying to hit her) and leaves her in the care of her overbearing, tyrannical grandmother much of the time. The grandmother is - ironically - a child psychologist who sadistically enjoys "disciplining" Anna in the forms of verbal abuse and hitting Anna with metal knitting needles. The grandmother is a strict adherent to behavioral psychology and acts accordingly. While Anna is unjustly punished almost every day, her younger brother is treated good and allowed to do what he wants. Anna wants to be accepted, hugged, and loved by her family and she acts out by having fake fainting spells and having other behavioral problems. This, of course, results in the forced visit to a psychologist who suggests that Anna be forced to stay in a private clinic. This begins the pattern of Anna spending most of her time in mental institutions (private and public) and being labeled as a troubled child. No one believes what she has to say because her parents and grandmother lie about her and the psychologists and counselors that talk to her have the same opinion.

My heart broke for Anna while reading this part of the book. The way she describes her abuse and her feelings of being trapped in her family resonated with me on a personal level and affected me very much on an emotional level. The following quotes from the book really resonated with me:

Constantly watched, judged, picked at, accused, and punished, I cannot remember a time in my life when I felt good about myself. The one lesson drilled mercilessly into my head from every angle for the first fifteen years of my life was that I was not "good enough" and never would be.

It was a living hell, worse than the way prisoners are treated, and instead of wardens, it was my own flesh and blood treating me this way.

So, while reading the first part of this book, I was definitely thinking, "This will be at least a four star book."

Then as my reading progressed, I started feeling less empathy for Anna and more concern that the way she was viewing the world wasn't exactly accurate. Anna exhibited a lot of black and white thinking with no room for gray areas at all (for example, she fervently believes that all adults are bad and condescending, while all kids good, honest, and only act out because adults treat them horribly). Now while I do believe that Anna went trough a lot of abuse in her family home (which contributed to her emotional instability - no doubt about that) her impulsive/destructive behavior IS cause for concern, and it is not surprising to me that she is taken to a psychologist eventually.

The author doesn't concretely share her diagnosis (and mocks the psychological tests that she was made to take) but if I had to guess, I would say that it is very probable that she was diagnosed with having Borderline Personality Disorder. She exhibits many of the signs:
* she is impulsive (bashing her head against a wall, hitting herself on the jaw until a bruise is formed)
* suicidal behavior (swallowing pills, slashing her arms and bleeding)
* feeling misunderstood, hated, hopeless, alone (she is constantly feeling like a victim and that everyone is against her even when she has people trying to help her. She lies and says she is seeing things she is really not and she fakes seizures. She refuses to eat for days and feels paranoid constantly, especially of the staff and doctors of the mental health facilities she resides in).

I could go on and on because there are countless examples of Anna behaving destructively and while people ARE trying to help her, she doesn't believe them and acts antagonistically towards them. I believe that much of her behavior is justified and is exacerbated by the fact that she comes from such an abusive background but at some point I start to wonder whether her stay in mental institutions would have been shorter and less traumatic is she would've attempted to follow some of the rules of those places (who have them for a reason - not because they are mean but because they are trying to protect the patients from hurting themselves and others). I think that although Anna IS victim of child abuse, it is also possible that she also has a personality disorder, which would explain her constant erratic and impulsive behavior.

While reading the second part of this memoir, I wanted to give this book 2 stars since the narrator is, in my opinion, unreliable. Also, this book was written when she was 16 years old and it reads like an angsty self-centered teenage melodrama. Then, I read the epilogue (which was written several years later when Anna is a bit older) and I found myself agreeing with several things:

It is a sad fact of life that not everyone physically capable of bearing a child is capable of caring for it, or even wants to. What recourse do these unlucky children have? They are pretty much screwed for the next eighteen years, and by then they have been damaged in ways that screw up the rest of their lives, too. Humans learn by example. How can a person be expected to function normally and healthily if they have never seen how it is done?

As long as children have no rights or power of their own, then intentionally or not, there will always be those who will exploit them.

Because I had such a love/hate relationship with this book, I will rate it as 2.5 stars out of 5, which I consider to be a neutral, average rating. I liked it for the most part and most readers will like this memoir as well, but it does have a lot of flaws and does have an unreliable narrator and was written when the author was only 16, thus having that point of view that centers primarily on itself without regard for a wider perspective.

[Love · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad story but I had to force my self to finish the book. It is written in teenagers point of veiw not an adult looking back on the tragedy.

[TJL · Rating 2 out of 5]

I... Have issues with this book.

First, something of note: This book was written- by the author's admission in the epilogue- between the ages of sixteen and seventeen. She was removed from the second hospital at age 15, which means that less than a year passed after leaving the hospital and writing this book.

There is a fine line to be walked with autobiographies. Obviously, expecting someone to be 100% objective about their own personal lives and feelings is unrealistic- we are all at least a little biased about ourselves and our lives. It is normal and understandable, especially given the book's content, that the author would be less objective than she might be if she were, say, writing someone else's biography.

The problem with this autobiography, however, is that I think the author is HIGHLY biased in her reporting about her life/the events and people in it. I think this is in part because of the trauma she endured, and also in part because there had only been a few years distance between that trauma and the writing of this book (again: She was 16-17 when she wrote this).

My suspicion comes from the fact that there is a long list of villains in this book, and the way they're depicted is not nuanced: If a person is labeled as bad, then that's essentially how they stay depicted throughout the book. If a person is labeled as a victim, they are given much more benefit of the doubt. I also find it curious that the author hints at, but rarely delves into, the specifics of these explosive incidents with her parents prior to being hospitalized. It's only in limited circumstances that we're given details (like the incident where the author put a knife to her wrist and drew a little blood during an argument with her mother, and then took several pills).

(ETA: What I mean to say is that there could be more to these encounters than strictly what the author is saying; she seems reluctant to share details that might make her look bad, or like someone who maybe DID need psychiatric intervention.)

I am wary of any story in which the central figure (especially in an autobiography) repeatedly justifies and minimizes their actions, whilst repeatedly labeling anyone they come into conflict with as abusive. Obviously, these things do happen; some people are just remarkably unlucky. But I find that more often the explanation is that their recollection is either A) tainted by their own biases, or B) exaggerated or fabricated to elicit sympathy.

And since the author, by her own admission, has done B many times before, I would be remiss not to take it into consideration. Especially when part of her story involves telling the stories of her fellow hospital patients; they are (understandably) anonymous, and can therefore not comment on how they felt about their experience at the hospital, nor can they verify any of the things that happened in this book.

Do I think the author got abused, by her family and by the facility she was put in? Sure. These things can and do happen, so I'm definitely not discounting it. Being repeatedly victimized would definitely explain the biases I saw in this book.

But do I necessarily think it all went down exactly the way she says it did? No, no I don't. It's easy to make yourself the victim or hero of a story when you're the only one telling it, and at some point when the author just keeps bumping up against mean, cruel, abusive adults outside of her family unit, I have to start asking if it's because they WERE mean, cruel, and abusive, or if she perceived that they were mean, cruel, and abusive.

I mean, seriously: Read the book and keep track of just how many times the author writes off someone, ESPECIALLY a doctor/therapist/nurse/whatever as patronizing, a bully, mean, neglectful, condescending, callously disregarding her feelings and well-being, etc...

...It's a lot of people. A lot. Enough to strain my suspension of disbelief.

There were also things that came across as just as, like... They just really highlighted that her perspective is possibly skewed. Like, on page 72 (of my copy) she mentions that she had to fill out a questionnaire or something, and one of the questions was about her having a "normal sex life"- this means that the questionnaires are clearly meant for adults, not "fourteen year-old virgins".

But that's not necessarily the case, though. She assumes that the questionnaires are built for adults, but she's at a family therapy center- there's a possibility that the questionnaire WAS written with teenagers in mind, because there are teenagers who are sexually active. It could have been put in there so that a therapist could be notified if sexual activity is something their teenage client is engaging in.

My point is that she assumes that the questionnaire is written for adults because it includes questions about sexual activity, and she's not sexually active- not considering that there are 14 year-olds that are sexually active that the questions would apply to; which then rolls right into "therapists are here for adults, not children, once again I'm being subjected to an uncaring and abusive authority figure, once again I am a victim."

There's another example too, shortly after: The author explains how she tricked Dr. Kern and her mother into thinking that she was getting better on the drugs, only to reveal that she'd been spitting them out. Eventually she reveals them to her mother and says "that psychoactive drugs, especially this particular kind, were bad for me and that not taking them anymore was what had "improved" me."

"Psychoactive drugs are bad for me" is not an opinion; it's a statement. Saying "these pills made me sick, ergo I should not be taking them" is a valid critique of your medication; saying- at fourteen years-old, remember!- that ALL "psychoactive drugs" are bad for her is the author veering out of her lane.

A fourteen year-old/sixteen year-old who is not trained in psychopharmacology has no place making statements about how all "psychoactive drugs" are bad for her- she does not and cannot know that. She can know that these specific ones are bad for her because they made her very sick, but making a broad statement about ALL of them suggests that this is her bias about psychotherapy and medication coloring her view of things, not an objective understanding about these drugs and how they work.

She might come by all of these feelings honestly, but it doesn't necessarily mean that she's right in everything she's saying. She is biased, whether she realizes it or not.

And again, I cannot over-stress the relevance of the author admitting, in her own words, that she HAS exaggerated and lied for sympathy and attention before. She remarks that "unlike her mother" she gave up telling stories as she got older... But seems to have forgotten that only a month or two prior to this scene, she had deliberately "pretended to be crazy" to get taken out of her home. So again: Not a reliable historian.

Overall, I think it would have served the author to write this book, not publish it, and then revisit the draft a few years out to see if her feelings/perspectives had changed at all. Writing about something when your feelings are still raw is going to come out very differently than if you've had some time to reflect on them.

She has some valid critiques of the mental health/hospital system, as well as parents who drug their kids because said kids are inconveniencing them, but it's all unfortunately drowned out by the heavy bias with which she approaches the topic.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book is all about a girl name Tiffany who was emotionally and at times even physically abused. She was always considered that sick/crazy child in the family and was the reason for everything that went wrong in the home.
She was eventually placed into a mental hospital for treatment of her mental issues. Poor girl who had really done nothing wrong. In her book she does mention a time when she wanted attention from her mother and slit her wrists just to get it. For a girl who did nothing wrong that would make me want to put her in an institution as well.
I currently work in a treatment group home where I here kids tell me everyday that they have done nothing to be here and yet the will turn around and hit someone or cuss me out for telling them they can't have pudding for breakfast of take a 45 minute shower when 13 other girls are waiting. Knowing this information it made it really hard to believe anything that this girl was saying about not doing anything to be in the facility or to be treated like she was while she was there. I did feel such a pain in my heart when they mistreated Sam who was MR and very much abused as a little one. I cannot believe that people would do that! Suck horrors!
I did learn that I need to be watching the kids more. The experience that she had with a boy named Zach I know that I need to make sure that nothing like that takes place. That no girl is ever made to feel that she can't speak up when a male touched her that way.
Over all I wouldn't read this book again, but it did give me a insight on how the kids that I'm with everyday might be feeling.

[Molly Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this elegant, eloquent affirmation of spirit. Neither a simple coming-of-age story nor a bestselling piece of misery lit, this autobiographical tale of unjust incarceration brought tears to my eyes and a desire for compassionate justice to my heart. Anna manages to remain true to herself even as the years in mental hospitals erode her health and her desire to please. That she has come through and can share her story is a small miracle. Reading this book changed my assumptions, attitudes and actions toward those labeled mentally ill. By writing a story which recognizes and honors the common humanity in us all, Anna may bring about huge changes in our world.

[Chelsea Lynn]

I love this book. It really touches the soul in a way that i have never experienced before.

[Chrissy Shea Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true story that definitely does not provide a positive perspective of child psychology or the mental health system in general (or child protective services). Sadly this wasn’t that long ago (1991). Anna has done an amazing job of writing out how she was abused by her parents, not believed by those that are meant to help her, and abused some more by private and state mental hospitals.

My heart broke for Anna and I want to believe that the system has improved. This was published in 1999. But to the psychologist that seemed to do her job well one-on-one, but knew this was wrong and wouldn’t risk losing her job for this or any other child, just remember that being complicit can be the the same as compliant. I hope you’ve thought of the harm to this child that you let slide by for your own behalf even as she believed you were the only one who cared. You’ve done a great disservice to your patients and to the profession of psychology.

Many of the negative book reviews mention how black and white Anna’s thinking is. How she wants attention and simply sees all adults as bad. But this is understandable since her whole life has been exactly that - the only attention she gets is harmful and adults have always let her down. How could she see the world any other way?

Overall, this is so interesting, especially the last third of the book, when Tiffany (Anna) realizes that charts don’t tell you everything about a patient. And the whole book is a demonstration of the Me Too movement, but for children and before they knew the movement was coming. Believe kids, and at the very least investigate the situation. I definitely recommend this book but understand what you’re reading. This was written from an abused teenager’s point of view when she was 16 years old (read the Epilogue). Survival mode kicked in pretty young.

Finally, note that “insanity” is only a legal term. Although relevant here because it was used as a reason to institutionalize someone, it is not a psychological diagnosis (DSM-V-TR), regardless of how it’s presented in one’s “chart” at this, or any other, mental health institution. This “crazy” girl (also not a real psychological term) was mentally beaten by the system.

[Alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

blech. I don't know what I'm more annoyed about; the fact that this book was horrible or the fact that I read the whole thing. I kept hoping it would get better but it didn't.

Yes "tiffany" aka Anna had a horrible family and upbringing and she most certainly suffered quite a bit of injustice but she was most definitely a little crazy.

She would write paragraphs and paragraphs of sanity and the poof, destroy it all with some craziness.

I felt like I was reading a really poorly written version of girl interrupted.

Waste of time.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, well this boook was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. But the one thing that REALLY annoyed me was that Anna added in so many different characters. Whenever it starts talking about this one kid, I'm like " wait, how is that?!". So I then go back in the book to see who that person is. Other than that, it was a good book, and it really had an impact on my life.

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read some of the horrible things this young woman's mother and grandmother said and did to her, I felt both bad and good at the same time. I felt bad for her, of course, but I felt so relieved that my family members are who they are. A sad book, but at least it has a happy ending.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I read when I began my "journey" into the world of direct care. In retrospect, I'd have to say it was pretty accurate.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna J Michener’s Becoming Anna is an immensely moving non-fiction memoir about 16 year old Tiffany’s personal story of her experience with parental abuse. Tiffany not only deals with physical and emotional abuse, but she also is told constantly by her parents that she has a mental problem and continue to bring her to mental institutions. Throughout the book, Tiffany’s parents show a clear misunderstanding of their daughter and are not realizing that they play an enormous role in Tiffany’s obscure behavior. During her time in and out of mental institutions, Tiffany discovers the horrible and draining atmosphere in which they contain. Although most of the people she encounters have very little care for her, she does meet people who are open-minded and are able to find the silver lining in the smallest of things. This book is fairly easy to follow, as it is very descriptive and does not move at a pace in which it is easy to become lost.
One of the main ideas in the book that I agree with is the fact that children obviously do not have a say in who they are under the guardianship of, so how their life is primarily lived from age 0 to 18 is basically luck. Just because someone is physically able to have a child, it does not necessarily mean they have the ability to care for it. Not everyone who has the ability to bear a child will even want it. Having parents that not only don’t want you, but also don’t even have the ability to take care of you and love you can cause a child to become damaged for years to come. If they are not given a proper example to live by, then why and how are they expected to act in a so called normal manner? This book leaves you with so many ideas to think about and has the ability to shift your perspective on even the small things in life.
One of the major themes this book displays is trust. Tiffany has to decide who to trust and who not to trust in order to live as normal as a life as physically possible. She loses trust in many people who have damaged her over her experience, yet she manages to get through it and eventually find people who bring out the good in her. Having trust gives her hope and overall makes her life a little more enjoyable. Although she had faced many hardships before the age of 18, she trusted her gut and continued to fight for what she believed in. Along with trust, is friendship. She made many friends that left huge impacts on her life: even after they left forever, the memories remained. She meets many people who do not understand nor listen to her, and label her as ‘crazy’ just because she is a mental patient who is under the age of 18. Her friendships help her through her suicidal thoughts and help her to have hope for the future. The themes introduced through the book are effective because they are what makes the book so intense and raw. There is no sugar-coating things and the author is straightforward. This book appealed to me in an emotional way because Anna goes into detail about her story, making it feel like you are experiencing it with her. The way she describes the other characters makes you have a connection towards each one and makes you feel strong opinions towards their actions. Overall, I really liked this book because it gives you a perspective that you almost never get to see.

[Lauren England · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Becoming Anna by Anna Michener is a non-fiction memoir about an emotionally and physically abused girl and her struggles through her early years of life. Tiffany the main character was put in mental institutions when she was not actually insane, just because her family claimed she was mentally ill. Her home life was very messed up. She had a father that beat her and a sickly mother that had diabetic neuropathy and abused her. She also had an abusive grandmother and a younger brother who never stood up for her. She never had the love and support that a child needed growing up. She suffered from living in different mental institutions and being severely mistreated by the staff and other patients.

Becoming Anna was a tragic book that made me feel so bad for this girl, Tiffany. What she had to go through really made me realize how lucky of a person I am. I just want to reach out to her and thank her for being so brave and strong through all her experiences. I enjoyed how this book spoke the truth of how people in mental institutions were treated, especially by the staff who were supposed to be caring. I didn't like to hear it, but it told the truth. The book shows many themes including perseverance and being thankful for what you have. Many times in the book Tiffany would just be overjoyed just to go outside. People today are so lucky for all that they have. We all think school or a job is so unbearing when someone like Tiffany would have so much happiness to do those things. Today most have privileged lives where things like having to do a report or being stuck in traffic seem so awful and unfair. This book makes you really understand how good you may have it.

Tiffany was robbed of a normal life. She was fed unhealthy food, she was severely overmedicated, and just treated inhumanly. But she keep going through all the hardships, mistreatment, and abuse. It expresses that you can get through anything if Tiffany can persevere through all the abuse she experienced then you can get through it too. This book really spoke to me on an emotional level because of how awful people can treat each other. We are all people, we all make mistakes, there is no need to handle our issues with violence and abuse. Even through all Tiffany goes through she is still a kind hearted, friendly, generous and caring person. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a amazing read that is deep, truthful, and unforgettable. It's one of those books that will leave you thinking about it for many days. The only thing that some may not appeal to is that it is somewhat repetitive, but that goes to show how everyday was a struggle for her and for that reason I would give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

[Savannah Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of a memoir unit in school. This book was very powerful and moving and left me with a different viewpoint on how people used to view those with mental health setbacks. The book touched on many topics such as abuse, neglect, mental health, anger, and confusion.

Throughout the book, Anna was referred to as "Tiffany" which was what her parents named her, however, she changed it to "Anna" when she was adopted at age 16. This memoir takes you on a journey through Anna's life, living with a physically abusive father, and an emotionally abusive, ill, and controlling mother. Most of the time Anna and her brother were taken care of by their grandmother (Mother's side) who blamed Anna constantly for her mother's sickness. Whenever Anna would try to get help from others and leave her abusive family, her parents would tell others she was "mentally ill" and eventually they put her in a mental institution.

Anna was placed in multiple institutions and writes about the things she experienced while she was there. She faced a lot of scrutinies and was treated as though she wasn't able to understand anything or handle responsibilities. While in the hospitals, she met many people with a variety of afflictions and builds strong relationships with them despite their "complications".

This book was definitely eye opening. I had known that mental health wasn't very well known or respected in the late '90's but I had no idea it was this disregarded and ignored. The book shows how the people working at the hospitals and institutions didn't truly care about the people they were "looking after".

I recommend this book for anyone who knows someone with a disorder or anyone who knows someone being abused, emotionally or physically. I caution readers, as this book can be slow at times and doesn't follow a chronological sequence of events. At times it can be difficult to follow but taking your time definitely helps. Make sure to be open minded when reading this book as it does cast a bad light on many people and does not sugar coat the bad times. Lastly, if you're going to read this book try to read it within a short period of time, for it can be difficult to pick up if it's been a while since you last read it.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and I think others should consider picking it up.

[Siri Mandava · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book “Becoming Anna” is tragic and cautionary tale of teenager who has been abused and misunderstood. The story revolves around a 16 year old girl named Tiffany. When she was first born her mother had some complications that later on cause her to be sick and diabetic. Ever since she understand things her grandmother started abusing verbally and used to hit her with her knitting needles. Her grandma used to say that when she was born she ripped her mom apart and force herself out. Tiffany had a small brother, who always treated better than her, even though her mother still had complication even after his birth. Her mom had been abused when she was little which led to her doing the same to Tiffany. Her dad always ignored her and when he didn’t he would hit her. She was always hated by her family. School seemed more like burden than an activity. Then she started faking seizures so she could get out of school and stay away from her family. When the truth gets revealed she is sent to mental institution and then another. She spends about 4 years in isolation and solitude. In the book she talks about how her own flesh turned against her. She was sent to various mental institutions even though she was perfectly stable and healthy. While at the institutions she talks about the patients are severely being ill treated. Being hit and the worst things one could imagine. Then she finds a foster family that only wants what is best for her and moves in with them. Although she changes her name to Anna she still unable to forget her past struggles to move forward in life. Her past life still haunts her and the fact that she was being labeled by other people and judged is sad. Her entire life she did nothing but hoped, hoped that things would change. I would recommend this book, it shows people that they should just urge people based on the way look or by what other people tell them. The should give people a second chance. The fact that hot only Anna, but millions other have lived lives like this and still do is disturbing. This people deserve help and something better. The book shows another very evident truth the fact that people lead by example. If one cannot teach their children what is right and what is not then they simply do not deserve their children. Every time I read a abuse story I feel grateful that at least I am not living a life as horrible as theirs.

[M_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an incredibly sad story of a physically and psychologically abused child who tells her true story of how she survived being institutionalized by her family based on unfounded claims. As Anna tells her story of her stay in the state mental facility for children, we get to know those whom she met along the way. Thinking of myself or my own child enduring such conditions and knowing that those who are supposed to love you unconditionally do not, breaks my heart. While she eventually gets out, there really is no proverbial happy ending because this is real life, and once a child is repeatedly abandoned, abused, neglected, and institutionalized, the chances of them growing into a an emotional sound, healthy adult are slim. Heartbreaking.

Excerpts: The ball had been rolling too long to stop it now. Account after account of my "insanity" would continue to pile up, because long ago someone had claimed that I was insane, and everyone after that looked at me through the lens of that word.

As long as children have no rights or power of their own, then, intentionally or not, there will always be those who will exploit them.

[Cordelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Becoming Anna” by Anna J. Michener has been the only book she was written, it was an autobiography, she hasn’t won any rewards for it. “Becoming Anna” was about a young girl overcoming being abused by her mother, father, and grandmother throughout her childhood and her parents sent her to mental institutions. Anna would constantly tell counselors and psychologist that she was abused but her parents would cover it up and make up stories to keep her in the institutions, they would call her crazy and a danger to their family. The main theme is that you shouldn’t doubt anyone or mistreat anyone even if people have said things that made them look doubtful or suspicious, and personally I agree with this. The book appealed to me in an emotional way because it was just hard reading about what Anna went through and how mistreated she was. I give the is a 4 out of 5 star rating.

[Karen]

I really don't know how to rate this book. Anna was a teen when she wrote this book about her life in both a private and public Mental Health Institutions (there really were no differences between them).

What is completely awful is that her Grandmother was a Child Psychologist, who looked for abnormalities in Anna (and found them, whether they were there or not). Her parents were no better than her Grandmother. At the age of 4 her family already determined that she was looney. They continually mentally and physically abused her. The family committed her to the mental institutions because they didn't want to "deal" with her.

I keep wondering if she wrote this autobiography today, what would it be like?

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brings to light a lot of things the average person would probably never give a second thought about. Most people would ASSUME that a child in need (whether abused, neglected, etc...) that has been taken for psychiatric care would actually be given opportunity to receive the help they so desperately need. After reading this book, I cannot even imagine what these poor souls have gone through.

I have seen many reviews that disliked the fact that it is written from the view of a teen. However, I think it gives it more impact. If it were an adult just reflecting on what happens, things would be left out, the emotion would not be as real and in the moment.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really showed how broken the mental health system was. I believe (hope) it is a bit better now, although, getting connected with the services you need is still very difficult. It's a first person narrative from a patient who was failed in essentially every regard until she turned 17. She expresses very accurately how she feels and why she does some of the things she does. Feeling that no one is listening, trying to get attention to your feeling like drowning with all these people around. Physically hurting yourself to feel pain in your body instead of the pain in your head/mind. I wish her the best.

[Izzie Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate this book a 4/5 because I think this book did a very good job of capturing the struggles that Anna had went through during her time of growing up. The way she was treated as a child, being called crazy, abused, and feeling stranded was shown through the emotions she expressed. During her time in the mental hospital she was forced into, instead of being “cured”, she was worse and the book shows her journey of how she has to cope with her everyday pain. The story pulled you along with it and you wanted to read more.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Becoming Anna is a memoir about Tiffany's childhood which involves physical and emotional abuse. This leads her being falsely put into mental institutions. It tells her life struggles and is a first hand account of what happened to her during the first sixteen years of her life. Her father is an abusive pedofile. Her mother is bipolar and is also abusive to Tiffany. The thing about her mom is one second she love her and the next she criticizes her for everything she does. So in a way she’s worse because she constantly toying with her emotions. Her brother doesn’t trust her after being told by his mother for years that she dangerous. She get sent to Magna Carta, where the doctors get told by her mom that she lies about getting abused to get attention. In a sense this transition is better cause she not getting abused, but not really because she’s drugged and isn’t really aloud to interact with others. After Maga Carta she moves to the state mental institution (asylum/ prison) where she receives even more drugs. Here she goes from boyfriend to boyfriend to insure her safety from other residents. There are multiple incidents where other people or even herself could have died. From blood loss to drug overdoses the possibilities are endless. By the end of her experiences she is dead inside (and appears to be outside too.).
Would I recommend this book? Well I’m currently having mixed emotions about this book... On one side, I like that it sheds light on the mental health system. But it was so stretched out and made it sound like certain points were being repeated multiple times. I loved the first part where she talks about her childhood and important moments in her live that shape her as a person. But then when she's in the institution she tends to bring up multiple names and backgrounds that aren't necessary for the story. By the end of the book a quarter of the people are forgotten and half get mixed up with others. Its very hard to keep everyone straight, which is not good cause she tends to bring up people from the past. Although I disliked the exorbitant number of names, this was partially needed to create connection between Tiffany and other people. The relationships she makes with members and staff at the institutions is the best thing that happens after the first eighty pages. It proves that she's not the only one that this has or is happening to. And makes you trust Tiffany more. At her time at the second institution Tiffany acts out, swearing and making a mess to get attention. I love how this book allows her to tell both her and others story’s but I don’t think I would recommend it because I can’t really relate to her and I think peers would have a hard time relating also. See I really want to be on her side, but part of me sympathizes with the staff. I just can’t really connect to her. She was just making her (and the staff’s) life harder. The staff are just was told to watch the teens and make sure that nothing bad happens. If she would have just bit her tongue and followed the rules, her stay would be much more tolerable and maybe even shorter. I know because of having a rough childhood her morals of a teen we’re not ideal. But still, she had the chance to leave (the horrific prison) and spend time with a holsome family. I just don’t get how she could pass that opportunity up.

[Anne Vandenbrink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a 16 year old. All she wanted was to be loved and accepted by her family. Instead she become the scapegoat of all their problems. They decided she was insane when she would act out scenes in order to get attention. Tiffany (before she changed her name) spent over 3 years in mental institutions. A large part of the book describes her experiences there. I'm surprised and disheartened to think that even in the mid 1990s, these institutions were still cruel, barbaric, and so unfeeling and out of touch with what the adolescent children put there really need.

[Stephanie Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book long before the Internet came along. It was heartbreaking, infuriating and inspiring. Anna had gone through so much as a child and teenager. I'm so glad she was able to get to the other side of it. Even though I was very young, I wanted to pull her out of the book and bring her home with me and my family. This is a true eye-opener about child abuse. I strongly recommend this book. It might change you.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! All the emotions and descriptions of the state hospital system is so accurate. I have worked for a adolescent facility and have visited family in many other facilities and her descriptions are spot on. We don't believe the freedom we have until it is taken away. I'm glad she is in a more safe place where she can be happy.

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! It was very emotional and showed you how things really were back then. It was like a rollercoaster so many ups and downs. It made me terribly sad to see how these innocent children were being treated. I definitely recommend it.

[Lana Del Slay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artless. Perhaps a little too artless? Even an autobiography needs more structure than "and then this happened".

[Lori Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO GOOD, people need to read this!