Men Have Called Her Crazy

ΓÇ£This book is so many things I didnΓÇÖt know I needed: a testament to the work of healing,a raw howl of angerand an indictment of misogynyΓÇÖs insipidpredictableinfuriating reign.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇöCarmen Maria Machadoauthor of the National Book Award finalist Her Body and Other Parties and the Lambda Literary Award winner In the Dream House A powerful memoir that reckons with mental health as well as the insidious ways men impact the lives of women. In early 2021popular artist Anna Marie Tendler checked herself into a psychiatric hospital following a year of crippling anxietydepressionand self-harm. Over two weeksshe underwent myriad psychological testsparticipated in numerous therapy sessionsconnected with fellow patients and experienced profound breakthroughssuch as when a doctor notedΓÇ£There is a you inside that feels invisible to those looking at you from the outside.ΓÇ¥ In Men Have Called Her CrazyTendler recounts her hospital experience as well as pivotal moments in her life that preceded and followed. As the title suggestsmany of these moments are impacted by men: unrequited love in high school; the twenty-eight-year-old she lost her virginity to when she was sixteen; the frustrations and absurdities of dating in her mid-thirties; and her decision to freeze her eggs as all her friends were starting families. This stunning literary self-portrait examines the unreasonable expectations and pressures women face in the 21st century. Yet overwhelming and despairing as that can feelTendler ultimately offers a message of hope. Early in her stay in the hospitalshe saysΓÇ£My wish for myself is that one day IΓÇÖll reach a place where I can face hardship without trying to destroy myself.ΓÇ¥ By the end of the bookshe fulfills that wish.