Editor's Commentary on 'Unfastened'

 , January 14, 2015

With popular culture depictions such as those portrayed in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” often prevailing, hospital psychiatry wards hardly seem to be a desirable destination. “Haven” is perhaps the last word that would come to mind to describe such a facility. Yet that is just what floor 7 West is for this gentleman. Cut loose by his family, with seemingly nowhere else to turn, we follow his downward spiral, which progressively picks up speed until he hits rock bottom. As he arrives on the psych ward, his “spinning” finally slows down, suggesting that he has landed in a safe place – a place where he will be truly cared for, at least for a while.

Rachel Elkin