I Never Promised You a Rose Garden

Dr. Fried is Deborah’s main psychologist and the person most committed to helping Deborah overcome her mental health condition and its symptoms in A Fight for a Life. She is a well-known clinician who takes time out of her demanding schedule to work with Deborah because she has hope in her recovery. Dr. Fried is a dynamic character that offers Deborah the patience, understanding, and reflective humanistic approach that allows Deborah to come to terms with her mental health condition in her own time, in her own way, and to choose when to let go of the crutch that is Yr.

Dr. Shield immigrated from Germany during the WWII and is particularly enraged by the antisemitic treatment that Deborah experienced during her childhood, as well as by the way that doctors who worked on Deborah during her tumor lied to her about the pain associated with the surgery. Dr. Fried does not lie to Deborah and instead helps her to see the truths that she has been covering up within herself. She explains things to Deborah that Deborah may know somewhere deep down, but cannot call to reality without Dr. Fried’s help. Dr. Fried always leaves the choice in Deborah’s hands and acts as an emblem of support, dignity, and companionship as Deborah goes through the arduous process of confronting her past and her mental health condition.

Jacob and Esther Blau are Deborah’s parents. They are static characters who remain the people they start out as when Deborah is diagnosed with schizophrenia and admitted to a mental healthcare facility after a suicide attempt. Jacob and Esther each have their own reaction to Deborah’s mental health condition, but their combined fears and damaged pride affect their own relationship and their relationships with both of their daughters. Jacob reacts with anger, confusion, and denial, refusing to believe his daughter is ill or that he could have had any hand in making that a reality. Deborah sees her father as controlling, emotional, and driven by anger in the same way that she is. She recalls him shaming her over minimal communication with men. He insists repeatedly on seeing Deborah while she is in the hospital, and when he finally does, he barely recognizes her. Esther, on the other hand, is always putting up a front of positivity, lying about Deborah, and willing the world around her to conform to her wishes. Her denial and pressure that she puts on Deborah to improve and eventually attend college only makes it more difficult for Deborah to do so. As a child, Esther’s interference in Deborah’s social life only made her feel ashamed and inadequate. Still, much later, Deborah comes to a realization of gratitude toward her parents despite their flaws. She realizes the amount of time, money, and patience that they put into her getting well, even against the odds.

Carla is Deborah’s closest friend in the facility. They are close in age and share similar experiences of alienation in the world. Carla is a dynamic character who moves into the outpatient program and back again, and who over time reveals more and more about who she is and why she keeps needing to return to the facility. She is a symbol of friendship and of the essential Connection and Communication that is necessary for Deborah to heal and regain her place in the world. Carla shows Deborah that she can trust, and inspires Deborah to acts of courage like announcing that she will miss Carla when she leaves. Carla is also the first thing Deborah sees in color after living in a field of gray for months. Ultimately, Carla inspires Deborah to find the same resilience in herself. One night, she and Carla sneak out of the facility and run down the road, celebrating their taste of freedom together. It is a changing moment in Deborah’s life and in her confidence in herself to live it.

Helene is a patient on the D ward of the mental healthcare facility where Deborah stays. She is a flat character defined by her aggression, by the side of Deborah that she sees in Helene, and by the hidden hope that lies underneath Helene and as the source of her aggression. Helene is perhaps the most violent patient on the ward and the other patients use caution when interacting with her. She often pesters Deborah, but for the most part their encounters are innocent. Deborah witnesses Helene be beaten by Ellis one night while they are both strapped down in cold packs, and reports it to the doctors but nothing is done. Helene herself never mentions the incident, and Deborah harbors anger over the inaction after such abuse. Deborah observes a sort of secret softness inside Helene—a hope in her that she may one day improve. This is demonstrated when Helene eventually makes it down to B ward, at least for a time. Like Deborah, it may take many attempts and a great deal of resilience for her to succeed in A Fight for a Life.