I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is the story of a sixteen-year-old who retreats from reality into the bondage of a lushly imagined but threatening kingdom, and her slow and painful journey back to sanity.

Chronicles the three-year battle of a mentally ill, but perceptive, teenage girl against a world of her own creation, emphasizing her relationship with the doctor who gave her the ammunition of self-understanding with which to help herself.

"am i not what you wanted? do you have to correct my brain too?"

deborah, born to jewish parents, experiences the all-too-common immigrant experience where one's parents do not believe in mental health problems and by extension, therapy. i think this lays the foundation for her relationship with psychologist clare fried. as the only person who really believed deborah and showed interest in yr, the fantasy world deborah created to handle the pains of reality, deborah was able to show real progress during her time in the institution.

i really enjoyed this novel because i think it depicted a pretty accurate image of 1) being on the side of the "affected" and 2) the relationships that they have with their doctors. really shows how important it is for recovery to have someone in your camp who believes you, no matter the situation.