Hylton’s Madness shines a light on the intersection of systemic racism and mental health, and the legacy of de-institutionalization. Crownsville in Maryland was once the only asylum that accepted Black patients and also served as an unofficial jail for the same population, where some families would never know that their loved one had lived and died within its walls. Antonia Hylton treats this topic with the care it deserves, weaving in her own family’s hardships with mental illness, and the oral histories of the workers and patients of Crownsville. A necessary read for anyone interested in equity and anti-racist medicine.
Madness by Antonia Hylton, (List Price: $30, Legacy Lit, 9781538723692, January 2024)
Reviewed by Jordan April, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina