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To Bedlam And Part Way Back: Anne Sexton, Her Therapy Tapes, And The Meaning Of Privacy, Tamar R. Birckhead

Tamar R Birckhead

The poet Anne Sexton committed suicide in October, 1974, at the age of forty-five. Three months earlier, she had celebrated the 21st birthday of her elder daughter, Linda Gray Sexton, and on that occasion appointed her as Sexton's literary executor. Anne Sexton provided detailed instructions in her will about the disposition of her papers. She made no mention, however, of the four audio tapes of her psychotherapy sessions that were later found. She also did not mention the over 300 therapy tapes that were still in the possession of her principal psychiatrist, Dr. Martin Orne.

After Anne Sexton's death, Linda …