D. Still Sane

This is a terrifying, powerful and moving story of Sheila Gilhooly's struggle to keep her sanity during a time in her life when everyone around her said she was crazy because she was a lesbian. Years later, Sheila wrote the story, and Persimmon Blackbridge, an artist and friend, made clay body-size sculptures to go with the story. They called the resulting show "Still Sane." Later the book of the same name was published. The book has photos of the sculptures and the text; as well, there are essays and short personal accounts by other people on the subjects of lesbianism and psychiatric institutions. Three short excerpts are presented here, with some bridging material between the excerpts. Getting at least one copy of the book is a good idea. The sculptures help the reader understand the experience.

imageThe main text of the book is very painful reading because of the emotions it brings up; this is a book to use with one student or a small group of students. When you use this book, you are dealing with homophobia and abuses in the mental health system.

In guiding this discussion there are several points to keep in mind. In any society, approximately 10% of people are homosexual. In Canada, sexual preference is protected to a certain degree under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But it often has been, and still sometimes is, treated as a mental illness. The mental health system is sometimes used to change or punish people who are different. In your group you may have lesbians or gay men or people who have homosexuals among their families and friends.

What Sheila and Persimmon did by publishing this book was call attention to abuses in the mental health system. You may well have students who have suffered themselves or have had a friend or relative who has suffered abuses from mental health practitioners. As well, you may have students who have very positive feelings about their dealings with the mental health system. The mixture is often volatile.

1. Introduction and ground rules

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If these stories lead to a discussion of shame or embarrassment, good. If not, you may have to ask more generally if anyone can talk about having to hide something about themselves, especially something that they had no control over.

After these discussions be sure the group wants to continue before starting to read the excerpt. If the discussions have been judgmental, if some have been silent, it may be better to save this work for one student or a small group of students instead of the whole group.


* Before you take up the excerpt from Still Sane, tell the students about the material and start a discussion of their experiences. You might begin by setting some rules for the discussion. Some suggestions are:

  • Be careful every time you say "they." Is this really true of all of "them"? How do you know? What if someone in this room is one of "them"? Will your words hurt or silence them?
  • Remember the way you like people to speak about you.
  • Remember how little we know about why people are the way they are. We usually don't know what "causes" people's choices.
  • Ask the group to agree, perhaps by a nod or a show of hands, that they will be careful in what they say.

* Now ask if anyone in the room will tell about a time they thought there was something "wrong" with them. Does anyone want to talk about an experience they have had or someone they know has had with either homosexuality or mental hospitals? As these stories are being told try to draw out what the person in the story may have been feeling.

2. Reading: Still Sane

Still Sane
 Still Sane
Reading 119		 Still Sane

* Read the story (page 119) and discuss it. Some questions to consider:

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Students who have flaunted some aspect of themselves might want to write about their experiences.


  • What does Sheila mean when she says, "When you flaunt something, nobody can use it against you"?
  • Do you agree with her?
  • What is your reaction when someone flaunts a behavior that is usually hushed up?
  • Have you ever flaunted something that people criticized you for? How did it make you feel?
  • What qualities does Sheila have that allowed her to survive and to make this book? (Look back again at the list from activity B-1, above.)
  • Sheila was without a role model. What difference would it have made if she had grown up knowing some lesbians?

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