Patient Stories
True Life Stories of Women Institutionalized
in Canadian "Insane" Asylums
Emily Metcalf
Excitedly squeezing her older sister Elizabeth’s hand, Emily was awestruck at the sight of the S.S. Tunisian, the ship that would sail them and the other British Home Children to start life afresh in Canada, wiping away her troubles over the last decade. She had persevered through family illnesses and deaths, forced estrangement of siblings,…
Read MoreVictoria Huffam-Docherty
Victoria Huffam-Docherty had suffered adversity and challenges in her life, but nothing, not even being a member of Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps), prepared her for her role as a World War One British war bride.
Read MoreRose Gardiner
Rose Gardiner was a young, white, working-class woman who lived in Toronto with her parents during the interwar years. She had a family history of mental illness and was unmarried yet had children. Social agencies, together with the medical profession and the court system, endeavoured repeatedly to institutionalize her, and they eventually succeeded. “Rose Gardiner”…
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