Shocking
This is a rare and outstanding book, that reads like a novel yet manages to educate at the same time. Biehl has chosen to follow the story of Caterina, a woman who resides in Vita, a clinic of sorts, where the diseased, the mentally ill, and the unwanted are abandoned. It is through the spy-hole of Caterina's life that Biehl explores the widespread issues that surround the confinement of Vita's patients. He portrays the desperation of the disenfranchised who have no recourse to salvation, who a whole network of family, society, politicians and medical professionals have left at the wayside: out of sight, and out of mind. I hung on Biehl's every word. How exactly does one end up in Vita? On who's say-so? Is Caterina really 'mad', or could it be that years of misdiagnosis and incorrect medication have erroneously earned her a place there?
