Elizabeth Packard was an ordinary Victorian housewife and mother of six. That was, until the first Woman’s Rights Convention was held in 1848, inspiring Elizabeth and many other women to dream of greater freedoms. She began voicing her opinions on politics and religion — opinions that her husband did not share. Incensed and deeply threatened by her growing independence, he had her declared 'slightly insane' and committed to an asylum.
Inside the Illinois State Hospital, Elizabeth found many other perfectly lucid women who, like her, had been betrayed by their husbands and incarcerated for daring to have a voice. But just because you are sane, doesn’t mean that you can escape a madhouse …
Fighting the stigma of her gender and her supposed madness, Elizabeth embarked on a ceaseless quest for justice. It not only challenged the medical science of the day and saved untold others from suffering her fate, it ultimately led to a giant leap forward in human rights the world over.
This is truly the stuff of nightmares. A tale so unbelievable that it must be true, and makes me thankful that I live in the era that I do. This was “an era where the superiority of men was almost unquestioned,” so even with all the issues that we as women continue to face in our present time, we have still made great strides in the grand scheme of things.
I know that injustice spans throughout our entire existence as a species, but reading such abhorrent treatment, and seeing unfathomable dominance just because of a persons sex, or because they weren’t obedient to man’s rules for them, made me physically ill.
I found myself thinking unladylike thoughts just reading about these heinous acts, so I commend Elizabeth for leaning on her firm foundation of faith, and having the strength and steadfastness to not act out, but to keep a calm demeanor, and attack when she believed it would have the most impact. I honestly think my emotions wouldn’t have allowed me to do the same, and fear I would’ve been one of the physically tortured souls for my tongue alone. I shudder at this thought, and cannot let my mind drift there, otherwise there will be real nightmares plaguing my dreams tonight.
Elizabeth Packard was deemed insane all because she refused to yield to her husband’s iron fist. The sacrifices she had to make to stand up for what she believed in is insurmountable, especially having to miss her children growing up. That thought alone would’ve given me pause, but Elizabeth’s moral compass was strong, rarely wavering from due north, and she fought like no other woman before her, refusing to yield until true change occurred.
This is not a quick read by any stretch of the imagination, and actually took me months to read, as I slowly savored every tidbit, feeding on every morsel of inhumane injustice that was endured by Mrs. Packard and all the other “mentally ill” patients of the Jacksonville Insane Asylum. I hate that Elizabeth Packard is seemingly forgotten, but I am hoping that this novel will help bring wisdom to just how much her fight did for the laws not only for women’s rights but for mental health as well.
Thank you Elizabeth Packard, as well as all the other pioneers that fought the good fight before us, and for the author for bringing this unbelievable story to light.
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