''I Never Promised You a Rose Garden'' (1964) is a semi-autobiographical novel by

Joanne Greenberg Joanne Greenberg (born September 24, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American author who published some of her work under the pen name of Hannah Green. She was a professor of anthropology at the Colorado School of Mines and a volunteer Emerge ...

, written under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Hannah Green. It served as the basis for a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

in 1977 and a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

in 2004.

Inspiration

The character of Dr. Fried is based closely on Greenberg's real doctor

Frieda Fromm-Reichmann Frieda Fromm-Reichmann ( Reichmann; October 23, 1889 in Karlsruhe, Germany – April 28, 1957 in Rockville, Maryland) was a German psychiatrist and contemporary of Sigmund Freud who immigrated to America during World War II. She was a pioneer for ...

, and the hospital on

Chestnut Lodge Chestnut Lodge (formerly known as Woodlawn Hotel) was a historic building in Rockville, Maryland, United States, well known as a psychiatric institution. It was a contributing property to the West Montgomery Avenue Historic District. History ...

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...

. While at Chestnut Lodge, Greenberg described a fantasy world called Iria to her doctors, quoting poetry in the Irian language. However, some of Greenberg's doctors felt that this was not a true delusion but rather something Greenberg had made up on the spot to impress her psychiatrist. One doctor went so far as to state that Irian was not an actual language, but was a form of bastardized

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

. However, according to Gerald Schoenewolf, Irian was a

conlang A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction. ...

invented by Greenberg at an early age to prevent her father from reading her poetry, and had its own writing system resembling Chinese characters. Fromm-Reichmann wrote glowing reports focusing on Greenberg's genius and creativity, which she saw as signs of Greenberg's innate health, indicating that she had every chance of recovering from her mental illness. Similar to what occurred in the novel, Greenberg was diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

. At that time though, undifferentiated schizophrenia was often a vague diagnosis given to a patient or to medical records department for essentially non-medical reasons, which could have covered any number of

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

es from

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

to depression. Two psychiatrists who examined the book's description of protagonist Deborah Blau say that she was not schizophrenic, but rather suffered from extreme depression and

somatization disorder Somatization disorder is a mental disorder, mental and Abnormal behavior, behavioral disease#Disorder, disorder characterized by recurring, multiple, and current, clinically significant complaints about somatic nervous system, somatic symptoms. It ...

References

External links

* Biography of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, with much information on Greenberg and her stay at Chestnut Lodge.
A 1995 lecture by Joanne Greenberg, exemplifying her personal style.Appearances in a Rosegarden
2006 interview with Greenberg (free registration required) {{Authority control 1964 American novels Roman à clef novels American autobiographical novels American novels adapted into films English-language books Fictional portrayals of schizophrenia Books about mental health Mental health in fiction American novels adapted into plays Works published under a pseudonym Holt, Rinehart and Winston books

Inspiration

See also

References

External links