Where Madness Lies
Historical Women’s Fiction/Based on a True Story
by Sylvia True
Germany, 1934. Rigmor, a young Jewish woman is a patient at Sonnenstein, a premier psychiatric institution known for their curative treatments. But with the tide of eugenics and the Nazis’ rise to power, Rigmor is swept up in a campaign to rid Germany of the mentally ill.
USA, 1984. Sabine, battling crippling panic and depression commits herself to McLean Hospital, but in doing so she has unwittingly agreed to give up her baby.
Linking these two generations of women is Inga, who did everything in her power to help her sister, Rigmor. Now with her granddaughter, Sabine, Inga is given a second chance to free someone she loves from oppressive forces, both within and without.
This is a story about hope and redemption, about what we pass on, both genetically and culturally. It is about the high price of repression, and how one woman, who lost nearly everything, must be willing to reveal the failures of the past in order to save future generations.
With chilling echoes of our time, Where Madness Lies is based on a true story of the author’s own family.
REVIEW
5 out of 5
This was a powerful, moving story that touches on some very tough topics, while spanning two generations. The story revolves around Inga in a way – she’s a link between the 30s and the 80s, the one trying to save the women involved. True does an excellent job of bringing the characters and story to life, and a few times I had to stop and take some deep grounding breaths because I just got too wrapped up in the book. True did a great job with the mental health aspect, without glossing over everything. A novel all women’s fiction lovers should read.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sylvia was born in England to parents who were refugees from Germany. She moved to the US when she was five. Growing up with parents from a different culture, a mother who was a Swiss champion figure skater, and a father who was a theoretical nuclear physicist, gave her varied and unique perspectives.
Sylvia is a high school chemistry teacher and head of the Science and Technology Department at Holliston High School. During her summer breaks, she likes to travel to the Amazon and do research in the rainforest.
She has raised two daughters, who are both pursuing their passions. If Sylvia had to sum up who she is in a word, she would say learner. There is so much in this world that she is deeply interested in—science, the paranormal, writing, teaching, and of course her grandchildren.