Absolutely a wonderful story. Shared with my family and friends. They also thought it was a great read. I grew up in St. Peter and my mother worked at the State Hospital, so this story is very special to us. Highly recommend!
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Frequently bought together
This item: Poems from the Asylum
$20.00
Get it as soon as Friday, May 30
In Stock
+
$15.00
Get it as soon as Friday, May 30
In Stock
+
$32.00
Get it as soon as Friday, May 30
In Stock
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
- The 1864 Diary of Mrs. Sarah Jane Rousseau: Unabridged Edition (The Rousseau Series)Sarah Jane RousseauPaperback
From the Publisher
Poems from the Asylum (2021) - Martha H. Nasch
The true story of the woman who would not eat, drink, or sleep for seven years...
After noticing something strange from a secret medical procedure in 1927, St. Paul, Minnesota, Martha Nasch's doctor claimed she just had a "case of nerves." With a signature from her adulterous husband, Martha was committed against her will to the asylum. She spent nearly seven years in the Minnesota hospital during the Great Depression and tried to escape twice. Martha's poems from behind bars include shocking eyewitness accounts of patient treatment and a long-suffering adoration for her only child, now being raised alone by her deceiving spouse. When not a soul believed Martha's story, she sought an explanation for her mysterious condition that led her to a spiritual answer for the mystifying curse. Would her findings make her a metaphysical guru of the Breatharian lifestyle, or would she become the laughingstock of her Depression-era family?
The biography includes a full anthology of harrowing and insightful poems written by Martha Hedwig Nasch, patient-inmate #20864 at the St. Peter State Hospital for the Insane.
Editing and arrangement by Martha's great-granddaughter, Janelle Molony, with an introduction by Jodi Nasch Decker, granddaughter. More than fifty photographs and illustrations are included with the historical research that accompanies this beautifully preserved collection of poems.
Martha's Story is Making Headlines
- As seen on ABC 5's Minnesota Live, on the pages of St. Peter Herald, Mankato Free Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Twin Cities Pioneer Press ...
- As seen in magazines, Asylum (UK), Harbinger's Asylum, Minnesota Genealogist, Fine Gardening ...
- As heard on the David Coleman Show, the Relatable Voice, Weird Candy, and This Sh*t is Crazy podcasts ...
- Adopted by the Minnesota Genealogical Society's Hoffman Research Library
Professional Reviews
"A satisfactory read ... for historians, poetry lovers, [and] mental health workers." (Beth Zabel, St. Peter State Hospital Museum)
"A true honor to Martha's life and legacy. So many people tried to break her ... but she was a master old soul with a fighting spirit. Writing poetry saved her sanity." (Michelle A. Cox-Lomas, Ph.D., Psychologist)
"Martha's story restores dignity and self-respect ... to so many women diagnosed with a mental illness." (Mary Ann Lancette Palumbo, Genealogist and Saint Paul, Minn. Historian)
“The escape that her words provided her is now able to give her readers an insight into different worlds.” (Lit Reviewer, New University, CA)
“An interesting exploration of this family, its dynamics, psychiatric care at the time, and so much more. … In many ways her poems fit nicely in the modernist movement ... mirroring a stream of consciousness style but with rhyme.” (Serena, SavvyVerseAndWit)
Fun Facts!
Expert Reviewed
Martha's poems were reviewed by asylum historians, local historians, multiple family genealogists, and practicing psychologists. Sensitivity readers were included in the final stages of review.
Real Patient, True Story
Martha Nasch is a REAL and easily verifiable patient of the Saint Peter State Hospital for the Insane in Saint Peter, Minnesota. Her story initially made news headlines in 1934 when she was hailed as the woman who did not eat, drink or sleep for seven years.
Award-Winning Poetry
Martha Nasch's poetry has been posthumously merited by Minnesota and Arizona Poetry Societies.
About the author
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2023
- Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2022
