The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

Willowbrook State School was built on Staten Island, a borough of New York City, in the early 1940s. After World War II, when it was commandeered as a military hospital, Willowbrook became the largest mid-20th century institution for children with disabilities. The institution touted itself as a safe space for children to receive care, education, and rehabilitation. However, concerns about the actual conditions mounted. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and journalist Jane Kurtin reported on the horrific conditions at the institution; then, in 1972, an exposé by investigative journalist Geraldo Rivera exposed Willowbrook as horrifically abusive.

Kurtin and Rivera’s reporting revealed that after a series of budget cuts, Willowbrook was unable to keep sufficient staff to properly care for residents. One staff member to roughly 100 residents was common (“About Willowbrook Mile.” College of Staten Island). As a result, staff misused transportation carts designed for single residents with specific disabilities, piling multiple children into a single cart. The hygiene of the residents was so neglected that many children contracted hepatitis. In response, the school began clinical trials on hepatitis vaccines, using residents as experimental subjects despite their inability to consent.

In the 1970s, the families of Willowbrook sued the facility. A 1975 judgment ordered Willowbrook to treat residents with respect and proper care, primarily by drastically reducing the number of residents. In 1987, Willowbrook closed. Its history led in part to the federal implementation of disability rights laws in the United States. The de-institutionalization movement, which promoted community support systems instead, followed (“Willowbrook 51 Years Later.” Disability Rights Tennessee).

Ellen Marie Wiseman’s novel accurately represents many of the elements of abuse and neglect described by reporters, doctors, and visitors to the facility. The horrific smell of the facility is directly drawn from Rivera’s reporting and from the testimony of staff who left the facility. The camera crew that provides a distraction for Sage’s escape attempt is based on Rivera’s unannounced investigation. Dr. Michael Wilkins, the doctor who alerts reporters to conditions at Willowbrook, is based on the real Dr. Wilkins who did precisely that in 1971. Dr. Douglas Carter is likely inspired by Dr. William Bronston, who wrote about his experience working at Willowbrook and about assisting the families in their lawsuit in A History and Sociology of the Willowbrook State School (2013) and Public Hostage, Public Ransom: Ending Institution America (2021). Bronston’s experience working at the school inspired him to become a vocal and effective advocate for the rights of people with disabilities for his entire career. Wiseman credits Bronston in her author’s note for his contribution to her novel.