I compare I Never Promised You a Rose Garden to Ken Keysey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I first read them both as a troubled teen in juvenile hall back in the early ’70s. In both books, I saw myself, and both helped me realize that I was on the wrong path. So, I guess you could say that I Never Promised You a Rose Garden helped me become the person I am today. Maybe that’s not saying much 🤪. Both books are true classics and have been used as a teaching tool in psych classes worldwide. Over the years, I have read many of Ms. Greenberg’s other books. I give Rose Garden four stars, but I have thoroughly enjoyed everything else I’ve read. My wife and I both read On The Run, and I promise you’ll love it whether you’re interested in history, action-adventure, or books about the glass ceiling.
As with Kesey, Greenberg is no stranger to antihero characters. Even though I Never Promised You a Rose Garden was life-changing for me, my favorite of hers is The Far Side of Victory. In this book, you never really know who’s the bad guy and who isn’t. Did Helen kill herself to punish Eric? Was Eric a murderer or just a man who made a mistake? Did they fall in love? Did he give her a family to make up for the one he took from her? And the best part is Greenberg never answers any of these questions. You need to figure it out for yourself.
Then there’s Rites of Passage. One of Ms. Greenberg’s short stories in which a delusional farmer uses the affection of a young boy as a weapon to commit a murder. It’s a case study in manipulation and betrayal. There’s something pleasingly unwholesome about most of her characters. Even troubled teenagers can learn something from her writing.