The Back Building

A rriving alone at the Willard Insane Asylum is daunting enough, but when you are a fifteen-year-old girl no longer wanted by your family, the implications are devastating. Iona Mueller’s quirk of counting her steps, along with her exploits in the woods, proved to be too much for her parents, particularly her pregnant mother. Yet, it wasn’t until she cut off her own hair that her parents took her to a doctor who declared her insane. Iona knows she isn’t anything like the patients who bang their heads against the cinder walls until they bleed or run naked through the hallways. She must escape before she truly does go mad. The doctor at the asylum believed Iona might benefit from a job. She was assigned to work at the farm that kept the asylum supplied with fresh foods. There, in the stables where she tended the horses, she met James. His kindness made the deprivation and horror of her situation more bearable. It was James who recognized that the violet hollows beneath her eyes, the bruises on her arms, and her apparent unraveling, were the result of being placed in the Second Ward, which was designated for those considered dangerous. Together, they formed a plan, one that would remove Iona from harm’s way permanently, lest she be sent to the mysterious back building, from which no one returned. In present day, Jenna, a young relative of Iona’s, is plagued with mental illness. Jenna’s odd behaviors, bizarre language, and confusion disrupt her once perfectly normal life. Jenna’s family members trace their roots back to Iona in hopes of understanding their predisposition to mental illness. Their journey leads them to an amazing discovery of belongings left behind by hundreds of patients at the Willard Asylum.