Between the character differences and the overall structure of the memoir Girl, Interrupted written by Susanna Kaysen, it is difficult to find how the book is similar to the film. Changing the way Kaysen perceives and shares her story with the audience changes the meaning of her experiences illustrated throughout the text. Rather than seeing the nitty-gritty details of being hospitalized in a mental institution as depicted in the memoir, James Mangold, the film's director, presents a less abrasive version in order to be visually pleasing and accessible to the viewer. In Girl, Interrupted, we see a radical change in the substance of Kaysen's work compared to Mangold's film. Characters are either toned down or changed entirely to fit the norms and restrictions of audiences and public opinion. Looking closer, there are many factors to consider as to why the film differs so much from Kaysen's memoir, such as audience, budget, and casting. It also goes without saying that personifying someone's life experiences as perceived in a memoir can be difficult. Despite the many differences, it is almost impossible to imagine a better depiction of memoir as the film presents it. The director and actors did their best to bring Susanna Kaysen's memoir to life on the big screen. In the memoir Girl, Interrupted, a troubled teenager admits herself to a mental health facility after a half-hearted suicide attempt and later. wonders why it was placed there in the first place. The memoir does not have a linear plot, so the reader follows a series of scattered short stories told by Kaysen regarding her time at McLean Hospital. The memoir chapters give the reader tidbits of knowledge and... middle of paper ... an entire family is crazy, but since an entire family can't go to the hospital, one person is singled out. like crazy and goes inside” (Kaysen, 95).Work CitedCheever, Susan. “A designated fool.” The New York Times. The New York Times, June 19, 1993. Web. April 15, 2014. “The Film Rating System (CARA). » The film classification system (CARA). MPAA, and Web. April 14, 2014.Girl, interrupted. Real. James Mangold. Perf. Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall. Sony, 1999. VHS. “Girl, Interrupted (1999). » Find the Best. Find the Best, nd Web. April 14, 2014. Kaysen, Susanna. Girl, Interrupted. New York: Turtle Bay Books, 1993. Print. Saffian, Sarah. "Woman, played by Susanna Kaysen, had her troubled past recreated by Winona Ryder in Girl, Interrupted By Sarah SaffianUs, February 2000." Sarah Saffian Entertainment Feature Us, February 2000. Web.. 2014.