ABSTRACT
Growing up for me was unusual, as I grew up in a mental hospital not realizing that it was a very different world than what most children experience. My playground was the hospital grounds and some of my special friends were mental patients. I played with the other doctors' and staff members' children, yet my favorites were some of the adult patients who had “grounds parole.” We also had our “maids” who came into our apartment to clean or do the dishes, trying for a higher level of “parole” on their way to being discharged.
