Exposure of the Heart: A Photographer's Year in an Institution

By Rebecca Busselle

Book Overview

This is the beautifully written, moving, and disquieting story of the year Rebecca Busselle spent as an observer in a large New York State institution for the retarded. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393025470
• ISBN13: 9780393025477
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.0" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Actually changed my life

I first read this book as a college student for a course on minority relations. This book made me realize that the mentally ill are a minority that often cannot speak for themselves and are frequently overlooked by society. This book portrays the individuals in the institution as real people, not just diagnoses or cases. At the time, I was majoring in criminal justice but soon after, I switched to psychology. Twelve years of college later, I have a doctorate in clinical psychology and still believe this book had a large impact on the path I took. Now, I will be teaching undergraduates and will certainly be recommending this book to my students to help them see the people and stories behind diagnoses.

A Wonderful Book!

This book is a new first time thrill for me. The story of a woman who, intending to make a photographic essay of profoundly retarded children in an institution, falls in love with a little girl there, and begins to bring her home for visits. A sensitive portrait too, of her own children's initiation into the world of disability, and how they adjust because of their mother's love. A wonderful book!