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Joanne Greenberg
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I Never Promised You a Rose Garden: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – December 30, 2008

by Joanne Greenberg (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 845 ratings
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Enveloped in the dark inner kingdom of her schizophrenia, sixteen-year-old Deborah is haunted by private tormentors that isolate her from the outside world. With the reluctant and fearful consent of her parents, she enters a mental hospital where she will spend the next three years battling to regain her sanity with the help of a gifted psychiatrist. As Deborah struggles toward the possibility of the "normal" life she and her family hope for, the reader is inexorably drawn into her private suffering and deep determination to confront her demons. A modern classic, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden remains every bit as poignant, gripping, and relevant today as when it was first published.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    St. Martin's Paperbacks
  4. Publication date
    December 30, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    4.23 x 0.81 x 6.87 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0312943598
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0312943592
  8. See all details
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Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Convincing and emotionally gripping.” ―The New York Times

“A rare and wonderful insight into the dark kingdom of the mind.” ―Chicago Tribune

From the Back Cover

Joanne Greenberg's semi-autobiographical novel stands as a timeless and unforgettable portrayal of mental illness.

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Enveloped in the dark inner kingdom of her schizophrenia, sixteen-year-old Deborah is haunted by private tormentors that isolate her from the outside world. With the reluctant and fearful consent of her parents, she enters a mental hospital where she will spend the next three years battling to regain her sanity with the help of a gifted psychiatrist. As Deborah struggles toward the possibility of the "normal" life she and her family hope for, the reader is inexorably drawn into her private suffering and deep determination to confront her demons. A modern classic, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden remains every bit as poignant, gripping, and relevant today as when it was first published.

"A rare and wonderful insight into the dark kingdom of the mind."―Chicago Tribune

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Paperbacks; Reprint edition (December 30, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312943598
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312943592
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.23 x 0.81 x 6.87 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 845 ratings

About the author

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Joanne Greenberg

Joanne Greenberg

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
845 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Herman
5.0 out of 5 stars Inside a beautiful mind
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2024
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Unbelievable book! The discrepancy between the psychotic kind and “normal” mind is shortened, allowing an honest reader to find a commonality with those plagued with psychiatric illnesses.
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K. Hudecek
5.0 out of 5 stars A Difficult Read but Worth It
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2017
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This book is not a book for entertainment, unless you are into mental illness and being inside a psychiatric hospital in the mid-to-late 1940s or early 1950s. You won't find anything about the horrible conditions of the hospital nor will you find the patients to be anything less than human beings with real problems that seemingly have no resolutions.

The main character is a high-school girl by the name of Deborah Blau. She has created the world of Yr in her head and lives between here, meaning the world most of us live in, and there. "There" being Yr. She has created gods in Yr, a few of them she can call friends. There is another language she speaks that is of Yr origin. There is a system of justice and punishment. She is the only one who knows of this place until she slowly lets in Dr. Fried, whom she refers to as Furii.

The book follows Deborah's relationships with her doctor, other patients, friends, and family. It vividly describes Yr and how she feels when she is there and what drives her to go there. Ultimately, it tells the story of living with schizophrenia and the struggle of a young woman to cope with and overcome the condition.

This is a hard read, one of the hardest I've ever read. I would go as far as to say it is arduous. The book has a copyright of 1964 and some of the words are hard to understand because nobody uses them anymore. The story sometimes gets a little dry, but you can't help but cheer for Deborah for every victory she has. Likewise, it's sad when she has setbacks.

It's worth the time it took to read. I can't say I particularly enjoyed it, but I did learn a lot and it renewed my respect for the mentally ill and the doctors who care for them. Sometimes it's good to get a refresher and a new appreciation.
47 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Regardless of her actual diagnosis, a great read
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2007
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INPYARG is a well-written book from the perspective of a highly intelligent adolescent girl. Recent mental health professionals that have analyzed the work do not see her symptomology as schizophrenic/psychotic, but as severe depression, loneliness, and possibly autism, a combination of which led to her "creative" inner detached world.
Regardless of what her diagnosis may be today, Green does a wonderful job of capturing the mindset of someone with severe mental illness who is crying for help and simultaneously fears the change that is associated with mental health. A must read for anyone in the field, and highly recommended to anyone else looking for a good read.
6 people found this helpful
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Mockingbird
5.0 out of 5 stars An interior look at what mental problems appear to be to the person affected
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2019
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As a book review, this rating refers entirely to the ideas and perspectives contained in the information. For those of us who are not in the mental health business, this explains a lot of things that we may not have fully understood, and provides a doorway to actual empathy with the victim. Not light reading, but intense and requires some thought. It is similar to the book "Sybil", which was made into a film. (The book is much better if you want to identify with the mind of the patient.) These books are actually complimentary.

People with many mental illnesses can be cured, but our present state of learning and medical evolution has a long way to go. Actually, even though the treatment of mental disorders has advanced since the time of the book, we are all really at the beginning of medical knowledge, which is why we see breakthroughs and advances on a regular basis. Nevertheless, illness, especially mental illness, has a stigma rooted in tribal superstitions, and is hard to remove from a society.
The Book "The Center Cannot Hold" is likewise a story of a person's journey into and out of mental illness. These are books that informs us to a view of life that is not open to those of us who do not have the problem.
9 people found this helpful
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TheBanshee
5.0 out of 5 stars Still as powerful as when I first read it in the 60s.
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2007
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This novel is astounding, no matter what side, if any (the book has no apparent agenda regarding the subject) you you may take in the meds/other therapies discussion, simply for its power to evoke the harrowing and heartbreaking experience of mental illness through the eyes of the sufferer, Deborah, in a way that goes right to the soul. If I could write like anyone in the world, I would want to write like Greene/Greenberg.

If you have not read this book, I suggest you read it. You won't soon forget it. Don't be turned off by what you think the writer is going to say regarding the relative merits of medications versus other treatment methods. That is not what the novel is about at all; it is Deborah's story, and the novelist doesn't exploit it. What it IS about is the experience of a very ill young woman going from bondage toward a freedom (and all that freedom means).
7 people found this helpful
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Meaghan
3.0 out of 5 stars You have to understand that psychiatry doesn't work this way anymore
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2012
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This book is rather horribly dated. Mental hospitals and the treatment of schizophrenia in the 1960s have very little in common with those things today. Deborah spent years in the hospital, treated with such things as cold packs (wrapping her mummy-like in cold wet sheets) and psychotherapy, rather than the anti-psychotic drugs they used today. The author based the book on her own experiences, but I have read that her schizophrenia diagnosis was probably inaccurate and she most likely suffered from depression with psychotic features.

This book might be good for people who want to know what the mental health system was like in the sixties, but I don't think it would do a schizophrenic person any good as far as getting insight into their illness and treatment.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Alexandra Wong
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books
Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2023
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Came in great condition, and I really love the cover. The story is fascinating, philosophical, and well-written.
One person found this helpful
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Dansinger
5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant.
Reviewed in Germany on September 4, 2023
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Read, reread several times, and will read again.
Need I say more?
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Ankur
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book! Must read for all and those who ...
Reviewed in India on March 27, 2017
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Very good book! Must read for all and those who wish to understand sczhiopbrenia and mental illness as a whole!
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Amanda Green
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic look at Schizophrenia, treatments and how it affects the family
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2013
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It took me quite a while to tackle this book - the first memoir of schizophrenia that I have tried. It took a little getting used to, as it absorbs you straight into the world of the mentally unstable, hallucinations and all very well defined, but it was a masterpiece and I thoroughly enjoyed it, whilst learning a little about my own Mother's possible symptoms at the same time. It follows the other side of her story, through her parents - their thoughts, feelings and actions on their daughter's hospitalisation and diagnosis, whilst the main feature is her experiences of her three year hospitalisation, showing key events that trigger an episode, description of the episode, and the treatment that was administered by the doctors and nurses and her psychiatrists dedicated psychotherapy techniques and conversations in trying to cure the schizophrenia. She manages this, over a three year process, to the degree that the patient is able to leave the hospital, take qualifications and be accepted in a college. Although submitted as a work of fiction, it is semi-autobiographical, and she used a different name initially, as her Mother wanted her to. (although, since it was billed as fiction, I don't know why she was bothered). I really liked it, it gave me a real bite of what it is like to be schizophrenic and to live in two worlds - reality and fantasy with acute hallucinations. Very good indeed and one of the first proof that talking therapies can help without medications.
5 people found this helpful
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Haeon
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
Reviewed in Canada on June 16, 2019
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I love this book and have read it many times. As someone with mental illness it resounds magnificently and gives me hope.
2 people found this helpful
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