The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear (Women's History Month, True Story about an Inspirational Woman)

In 1860, Elizabeth Packard, a housewife and mother of six, is committed to an insane asylum by her husband of twenty-one years. Theophilus feels threatened by her intellect, independence, and refusal to suppress her thoughts, and uses her commitment as a way to control her. At the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, Packard encounters horrific conditions overseen by Dr. Andrew McFarland. She discovers she is not alone—many rational women on her ward have been committed not for medical reasons, but to silence them and keep them compliant. Labeled as mentally ill, these women have no legal recourse and cannot advocate for themselves. Packard, having lost everything, finds she has nothing left to lose. She begins a courageous fight for her own freedom and that of the other women confined with her. Her refusal to be silenced leads to significant changes in medical practice and human rights, and exposes injustices that continue to have relevance today.