Ten Years and Ten Months in Lunatic Asylums in Different States

"Ten Years and Ten Months in Lunatic Asylums in Different States" by Moses Swan is a gripping true narrative from the 1800s where the author recounts his decade-long ordeal confined within mental institutions, exposing disturbing realities of patient mistreatment and neglect. The story begins with a brutal episode at the Marshall Lunatic Asylum, where Swan faces immediate physical abuse from the staff, setting a disturbing tone for the rest of his imprisonment. He shares his suffering and also throws light on the horrible conditions endured by other patients, all but forgotten by society, becoming a voice for the voiceless, and revealing a system devoid of compassion and rife with injustice and inhumanity. As he navigates one asylum after another, he documents the physical and emotional trauma that becomes the norm, while challenging society's views on mental illness and inspiring a need for change in how mental health is handled altogether.