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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Described by acclaimed author Carmen Maria Machado as a deeply necessary exploration of healing, anger, and the profound impact of misogyny, Men Have Called Her Crazy is a compelling memoir by popular artist Anna Marie Tendler. This deeply personal work shines an unflinching light on mental health struggles and examines the subtle yet destructive ways in which men influence women’s lives.

Following a year dominated by intense anxiety, depression, and self-harm, Tendler voluntarily checked herself into a psychiatric institution in early 2021. There, during two transformative weeks, she underwent extensive psychological evaluations, engaged in therapy, connected with fellow patients, and experienced groundbreaking realizations. One particularly powerful moment was when a doctor observed, “There is a you inside that feels invisible to those looking at you from the outside.”

In this honest and intimate memoir, Tendler reflects not only on her time in treatment but also on crucial memories before and after her hospitalization. Many of the standout experiences from her life have been significantly shaped by men—ranging from an unrequited high school crush and the problematic relationship she had at sixteen with a twenty-eight-year-old man, to the exhausting absurdities and frustrations of dating in her mid-thirties, and her decision to freeze her eggs while watching close friends begin their families.

Men Have Called Her Crazy paints an evocative portrait of a woman confronting society’s relentless pressures and impossible expectations in today’s world. While this raw narrative lays bare moments of pain, anxiety, and self-doubt, Tendler ultimately delivers an empowering message of resilience and healing. Early in her hospital stay she expressed a heartfelt desire: “My wish for myself is that one day I’ll reach a place where I can face hardship without trying to destroy myself.” By the book’s moving conclusion, she shows she has fulfilled that wish.