Girl, Interrupted: Chapter 23 Summary & Analysis

Kaysen writes that for many of the girls on the ward, the hospital was as much a refuge as it was a prison. Though they are secluded, there are also no demands made of them or expectations placed on them. The hospital shields them from receiving calls or visits from anyone they don’t want to talk to, and as long as the girls are on the ward, they are responsible for nothing at all except eating and taking their medications. In a strange way, the girls are free. They have nothing more to lose, and they have been stripped down to the “bare bones” of their selves. The hospital is what has stripped the girls down in the first place, but it does fulfill its obligation to help them. As the girls adjust to hospital life and forget how to do simple things, the hospital keeps them safe.

One thing Susanna notes is that families are almost entirely absent from hospital life. She and her fellow patients often wonder if they themselves are just as absent from the lives of their parents and siblings. Susanna observes that “lunatics are similar to designated hitters,” and that while all families are crazy, there is usually one individual singled out as the most unwell. Some families, however, feel the need to prove that no one in their family is crazy, and these are the kinds of families which threaten to stop paying for their son, daughter, or other dependent to stay on the ward. A girl named Torrey, Susanna writes, had exactly that kind of family.

All of the girls on the ward like Torrey, Susanna says, because of her “noble bearing.” Torrey is an amphetamine addict, and is the only person Lisa respects, because of the fact that they both shoot up. Every few months, Torrey’s parents fly from Mexico where they live to Boston to berate and harangue her. After each visit, the girls ask Torrey why she agrees to see her parents when all they do is blame their problems on her and threaten to stop paying for her treatment, but Lisa points out that belittling Torrey is how her parents “show their love.” The nurses agree, and tell Torrey that she is brave for seeing her parents.Torrey, meanwhile, is just grateful for a break from Mexico, a place where she feels “dead,” and where the only respite from that feeling is to shoot up speed.

One August, Torrey’s parents call to tell her that they are coming to collect her and bring her back to Mexico. Torrey is afraid that if she goes home, she will overdose and die. The other girls offer to help Torrey, but are unable to secure any help from the nurses—even Valerie. On the day of Torrey’s departure, Torrey’s parents call and tell her to meet them at the Boston airport. The other girls suggest Torrey hop out of the taxi on the way to the airport and escape. When Torrey points out that she has no money, the girls pool theirs and give it to Torrey, urging her to develop a plan for where she’ll go and what she’ll do. Torrey worries that she doesn’t have the nerve to escape from a cab on the way to the airport, but the girls all assure Torrey that they believe in her.

In the morning, it is revealed that two nurses will be accompanying Torrey in the cab to the airport, and the girls devise a plan to create a diversion so that only one nurse will be able to take Torrey in the taxi. Lisa throws a tantrum, successfully diverting the nurse’s attention—but then Valerie is selected to take Torrey to the airport, and the girls know that “nobody [can] escape from Valerie.” Valerie offers Torrey something to “relax” her for the drive. The other girls, knowing it is Thorazine, a powerful sedative, urge Torrey not to take the medicine, but she drinks it anyway. Torrey’s eyes glaze over almost immediately, and she is led down the hall towards the ward’s exit.

The next day is awful, as the girls worry incessantly about Torrey. They attempt to make a “schedule” for themselves and divide their time between rooms to distract themselves, but tensions remain high. While sitting in the TV room, Susanna stares at her hand, and begins thinking that it looks like a monkey’s hand. She considers her veins and her tendons, and as she prods her hand, attempting to feel different bones, she becomes concerned that she does not have any. She begins scratching and gnawing at her hand, finally piercing the skin with her teeth.

The other girls notice what Susanna is doing and ask her to stop. Susanna insists that she doesn’t have any bones. Georgina leaves the room and returns with Valerie, who brings a cup of Thorazine for Susanna to take. Susanna accepts it and right after she swallows, she is hit by a “wall of water.” Unable to hear, speak, or stand well, Susanna allows Valerie and Georgina to help bring her back to her room and lay her down on the bed. Susanna feels that she is now “safe,” as she is officially “crazy,” and nobody will ever be able to take her out of McLean. 

An insert from Susanna’s medical file, a progress note dated 8/24/67, states that Susanna has been doing “extremely well,” aside from a couple episodes. In one episode of “depersonalization,” the note says, Susanna became concerned that she was not a real person, and expressed her desire to see if there were any bones inside her body. The note concludes by stating that “the precipitating event for this episode is still not clear.”