Summarizer: Pages 36-70-Alecia

Pages 36-70 basically begins with talking about the rules the patients have to follow. It then leads into talking about all of the people that Norah Vincent has met so far at Meriwether and the relationships that she has with them.

Meriwether is a very strict place. The nurses enforce rules at all times, and it seems to Vincent that they have eyes in the back of their heads. The head nurse, Mrs. Weston, is the most strict of all. She takes away ballpoint pens, shoelaces, oranges, plastic bags, etc. Vincent used the orange peels and put them in the trash to mask the urine smell that was overwhelming in the rooms. She called it "prison potpourri". Vincent learned how to hide ballpoint pens and put the plastic bag under her pillow. From her boredom, she made shoelaces from toilet paper for her shoes and then would proceed to pace the halls for exercise. The staff also didn't let people smoke, although they always found ways around it.

Mr. Clean was her first encounter mentioned in the book. He tried to coax her to sneak him cigarettes. His hair was "long and nappy" (44), his breath smelled absolutely awful, and his eyes were yellow and bulged out.

Vincent has three roommates; Tracy Chapman, Ellen, and Sweet Girl. Tracy Champman had dreads and could carry on a decent conversation, and was in Meriwether because her foster children had "called her in" on indecent treatment. Ellen was in her last 60s, black, and liked to eat. She only left her room to eat, otherwise she sat in her chair and watched everyone. Sweet Girl was her third roommate. She was in her twenties and had attended college at a local university. As Vincent described her, she was "beautiful"(49). Sweet Girl had an imaginary friend, Patsy, and would talk to her constantly.

Another in Meriwether was Mother Teresa. She was given this name because she would preach all the time about God. She was an immigrant from Puerto Rico and came to the US by herself, leaving her three kids back in Puerto Rico with relatives.

Deborah was scary. The first time Vincent met her, she wolf-howled at her. Whenever Deborah would walk by Vincent, she whispered curse words under her breath. She always got into fights with her roommate, who had many tattoos and was Hispanic.

Her best friend at Meriwether was a patient named Casey. Casey worked as a teacher at a rough school. She was in the ward because she told her Psychologist that she was depressed and thought about committing suicide. Vincent gave her pointers about how to act so she didn't have to be in Meriwether for a long time.