Anna-Sara sent in this moving review of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, a book that still changes lives sixty-odd years after its initial publication. Over the years, we have heard similar comments from the many readers whose journeys were aided by this classic mental health novel.
“Hello, I read your book. I never promised you a rose garden for the first time when I was 12 or 13. It shook something deep in me, changed something deep in my core. Since then, I have re-read it at least 5 times, and for every new re-reading, I see something new. I recognize a different angle or a new perspective I never saw before. I want to write this to you so you know that your book can change people. Because I realized I was not alone, not alone in fighting Psychosis and coming out, not as a shipwreck and medicated, but as a thinking human being living in the world. The hunger for learning and the colours the world has given me is something I recognize from your book. I’m deeply grateful for the chance I got to read your book and recognize that I’m not alone in fighting and living. Your book is my favourite, for the reasons above and the warmth it gives. For me, it’s a symbol of hope. And I want to thank you for writing it because the written word is what brings people together over oceans. With love over the Atlantic, Anna-Sara.”
Indeed, a book that still changes lives, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, remains one of the most-read psychological novels. Thanks to Penguin Books, a whole new generation can receive the healing insights it offers readers, and we will continue to receive their words of gratitude.
Joanne Greenberg