When I was eighteen years old, I started working at McLean Hospital, the psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School. I applied because I needed a job out of high school, and I think they hired me as a psych aide because they saw I had empathy for people. On paper, the job was to assist in medical care under the watchful eye of doctors, nurses, and psych techs. It turned out that I spent a lot of time chatting with patients, listening to their stories, and making friends I still think about to this day.
I didn’t meet anyone quite like Hannah at McLean (and I don’t think I’ve met anyone who lived in the Middle Ages), but the truths in this book are based on those I encountered as a psych aide and in medical journals and stories researched before writing The Girl in the Castle.
Mental and behavioral health units treat patients with a huge range of issues—including those shown in these pages, such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and complex trauma—using a range of therapies, often involving medication. If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, or other mental health issues, you don’t have to struggle alone. But don’t just take my word for it. You can talk to a trusted medical professional or visit some of these websites to learn more:
• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (aacap.org)
• Crisis Text Line (crisistextline.org)
• Go Ask Alice! (goaskalice.columbia.edu)
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org)
• National Institute of Mental Health (nimh.nih.gov)
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (suicidepreventionlifeline.org)
• Nemours Teens Health (kidshealth.org/en/teens/your-mind)
James Patterson