How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
"I remember when I left my hospital in Germany, a patient gave me a knife to protect myself. This knife he had made in secret by grinding down a piece of metal for months and months. He had made it to save against the day that his illness would become too painful for him to bear...his ability to give was an indication of health and strength. But because I was coming to this country…I gave the knife to one who had to stay behind." (21.117-119)
Dr. Fried relays the story of how patients often act with great moral compasses and often give at great cost to themselves. This guy was keeping a knife to kill himself if his pain ever overwhelmed him. He selflessly wanted his doctor to have it instead, for protection, in case she needed it. Dr. Fried treats the mentally ill with compassion because she's seen them suffer and also act courageously.
Quote #11
"The part that's hardest is the feeling you get when everyone is polite and says 'good morning' and 'good night' while the distance between you and them is getting wider and wider. The doctors say it's the fault of the sick one—my fault. If I were less anxious, they say, it would be easier for friendships to come, but that's easy to say. I don't think any of the doctors ever tried to break into a new group with a heavy stigma on their heads and having their first acceptance in that group hinge on pity or morbid fascination." (23.35)
Carla tells Deborah about the judgment the mentally ill face in the outside world once they're discharged from the hospital. It's hard to get close when you're nervous about how you're perceived, and when everyone's politeness seems forced.
Quote #12
"I could do away with bars on the windows," Carla said. Deborah wasn't sure. "The patients would have to be strong enough to stand it, first [...] Sometimes you have to fight what won't yield and put yourself where it's safe to be crazy." (26.15).
Deborah understands instinctively what she needs to get well. She shows this when she and Carla talk about what kind of hospital they would build if they could. Carla says hers wouldn't have bars on the windows, but Deborah opts to have bars, because in her mind, when people first fight mental illness, they aren't strong enough to have no safeguards. She herself needed to feel the safety of firm boundaries.