Book Report: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

In the novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg, sixteen year old Deborah Blau is in a tough three year battle with schizophrenia. On top of this illness, at the age of five Deborah had a tumor removed from her urethra, this awful surgery that was performed by mostly male surgeons, made Deborah feel violated. However this schizophrenia is unlike others; it takes a rough toll on her family leading through many ups and downs, this illness also causes Deborah to be placed in a mental institute. Deborah tried once to commit suicide and was unsuccessful. This breathtaking novel explores the stages of schizophrenia and what its effects and outcomes are.

The novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden takes place in a mental institute. This story is told from first person omniscient; therefore we are capable of knowing the thoughts of the characters while the author gives descriptions of what is happening. The protagonist of this story is Deborah. However there are many other characters that play important roles, such as; her parents, her sister Suzy, Dr. Fried, attendant Hobbs, Mr. Mcpherson, her friend Carla, and Dr. Royson. The mood or tone that Greenberg gives off in this story is frightening, sad and ashamed. Greenberg captures this mood by using words such as; illness, graceless, bitter and scream. Greenberg also captures this mood by the events that she causes to happen in her novel. For instance; when Deborah’s parents bring her to the institute, her mother hears other patients screaming, this causes her to frighten and worried for Deborah.

Throughout the novel I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Deborah makes herself an imaginary kingdom that’s goes by the name of Yr. Dr. Fried believes Deborah made this king...

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...eberg wrote an inspiring novel about a troubled girl who fought her way through her illness. This book was very effective for anyone who is looking to read an inspiring novel about a recovering schizophrenic. Though there are many horrifying events throughout the novel, it shows the true battle of mental illness and that it isn’t easy. Schizophrenia by definition is “a challenging disorder that makes it difficult to distinguish between what is real and unreal, think clearly, manage emotions, relate to others, and function normally”; this is a frightening definition however it doesn’t mean it can’t be cured. As seen in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden the protagonist; Deborah was on the road to recovery after all she had been through. This exceptionally well written book left me with a better understanding on this mental illness, as it should for other readers.