I find the entire story to be contrived. I know of many people who work in the area of psychology, psychiatry and mental health. Personally I have a degree in Psychology and currently work in the field. There is little evidence in the book that would be a grounds for so many years in institutions! My feeling is there is more illness than is being relayed, classic Sociopathic symptoms come to mind.I fear this kind of diatribe aimed at institutions will hurt the field of mental health and I believe it will harm the gay population as well for allowing fiction to be exemplified as actual experience of a young lesbian woman as I highly doubt she was institutionalized for being a tom- boy. There are too many true and terrible stories that need to be recognized, not this false memoir.