Characters

Susanna Kaysen- Committed to McLean because she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder by a family friend. At first Susanna doesn't believe there is anything wrong with her and is in denial of the fact that she tried to committ suicide. She is usually in a depressed, pessimistic mood and is generally unstable with relationships, mood, goals, and is often promiscuous.

Lisa- Committed into McLean for having an antisocial personality disorder. Lisa has been at McLean for a long time. She escapes occasionally, whenever she feels like it, and is usually brought back in a police car one to two days later. She knows everyone and everything at McLean and uses information to her advantage. Her disorder enables her to disregard rules, regulation, and authority. She is proud of her disorder and at one point competes with another sociopath to show who is more insane: Lisa wins.

Georgina- Susanna's roommate. She suffers from schizophrenia and is in a relationship with Wade.

Wade- A patient at McLean who has random violent outbursts. His father is in the CIA and tells everyone stories about how his father has killed people and has very dangerous friends.

Polly- A patient at McLean because she poured gasoline on her body and set herself aflame; she is a schizophrenic. She is covered in scars. Her attitude is mostly cheerful and happy until she has a breakdown and realizes what she has done to herself. Susanna feels bad for her because most of the people at McLean can be cured of their illnesses but Polly will be forever reminded of her tragic mental episode.

Cynthia- One of "Polly's protectors"; she is a close friend of Polly's and often stands up for her especially when Lisa makes fun of Polly. She has depression and gets shock therapy which changes her.

Daisy- Is a laxative addict and only comes to McLean for a few months between Thanksgiving and Christmas. She is not social and does not come out of her room. The only thing she eats are the rotissery chickens her father brings her. After picking off the meat of the chickens she hoards the carcasses under her bed.

James Watson-A friend of Susanna's family. He won the Nobel prize and is a close friend of Susanna. He visits her at McLean and gives her a chance to escape but she stays at McLean.

Valerie-The authoritative figure on Susanna's ward. She is the head nurse and genuinely cares about the patients.

Melvin-One of the therapists at McLean. He listens to Susanna in therapy and decides to do an analysis on her. Susanna isn't impressed by his diagnosis or his judgements of her.

Dr. Wick-One of the therapists at McLean. She is from Africa and has few visits with Susanna. Susanna is uneffected by any "treatment" the doctor gives and is also unimpressed by Dr. Wick's advice.

Lisa Cody- another sociopath that comes into the ward. She gets along with Lisa at first but the two later start competing on which one is more insane. Lisa (the first Lisa) wins when Lisa Cody runs away.