Stephanie Carpenter Presents: "Moral Treatment: A Novel"

In 1889, seventeen-year-old Amy Underwood is committed to a psychiatric hospital in northern Michigan. Feeling abandoned by her loved ones, she finds solace in her friendship with a spirited fellow patient, Letitia. Yet as Amy becomes more comfortable at the hospital, she faces a troubling reality: not everyone will leave this place.

The hospital’s aging superintendent, the doctor, believes in the principles of the moral treatment: that an orderly environment, healthy diet, exercise, and uplifting activities will restore mental health. But as the hospital’s population swells, the doctor’s control slips—and those closest to him clamor for change. In this dual coming-of-age story, as Amy grows in self-awareness, the doctor is forced to reexamine his long-standing professional and personal practices.

Inaugural winner of the Summit Series Prize from Central Michigan University Press, MORAL TREATMENT is literary historical fiction at its finest: elegantly written, moving, relevant, and unforgettable.

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