Could I PASS A WEEK IN THE INSANE WARD AT BLACKWELL’S ISLAND? I SAID I Could AND I WOULD. AND I DID. — Nellie Bly

I felt sure now that no doctor could tell whether people were insane or not, so long as the case was not violent. Later — Nellie Bly

The insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island is a human rat–trap. It is easy to get in, but once there it is impossible to get out. — Nellie Bly

But here let me say one thing: From the moment I entered the insane ward on the Island, I made no attempt to keep up the assumed role of insanity. — Nellie Bly

I shuddered to think how completely the insane were in the power of their keepers, and how one could weep and plead for release, and all of no avail, if the keepers were so minded. — Nellie Bly

I always liked fog, it lends such a soft, beautifying light to things that otherwise in the broad glare of day would be rude and commonplace. — Nellie Bly

I’ve always had the feeling that nothing is impossible is one applies a certain amount of energy in the right direction. If you want to do it, you can do it. — Nellie Bly

Very WELL,’ I SAID ANGRILY, ‘START THE MAN, AND I’LL START THE SAME DAY FOR SOME OTHER NEWSPAPER AND BEAT HIM.’ — Nellie Bly

To have a good brain the stomach must be cared for. — Nellie Bly

On the wagon sped, and I, as well as my comrades, gave a despairing farewell glance at freedom as we came in sight of the long stone buildings. — Nellie Bly

Nonsense! If you want to do it, you can do it. The question is, do you want to do it? — Nellie Bly

Accept PRAISE FOR ITS WORTH–POLITENESS. BE BRUTALLY FRANK WITH YOURSELF. IT’S SAFER. — Nellie Bly

I took upon myself to enact the part of a poor, unfortunate crazy girl, and felt it my duty not to shirk any of the disagreeable results that should follow. — Nellie Bly

A stick beats more ugliness into a person than it ever beats out. — Nellie Bly

It is only after one is in trouble that one realizes how little sympathy and kindness there are in the world. — Nellie Bly

Well, I don’t care about that,’ she said. ‘You are in a public institution now, and you can’t expect to get anything. This is charity, and you should be thankful for what you get. — Nellie Bly

I always had a desire to know asylum life more thoroughly–a desire to be convinced that the most helpless of God’s creatures, the insane, were cared for kindly and properly. — Nellie Bly

Never having failed, I could not picture what failure meant. — Nellie Bly

I was too impatient to work at the usual duties assigned women on newspapers. — Nellie Bly

Energy RIGHTLY APPLIED CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING. — Nellie Bly

I had never been near insane persons before in my life, and had not the faintest idea of what their actions were like. — Nellie Bly

People in the world can never imagine the length of days to those in asylums. They seemed never ending, and we welcomed any event that might give us something to think about as well as talk of. — Nellie Bly

Energy rightly applied and directed will accomplish anything. — Nellie Bly

They were being driven to a prison, through no fault of their own, in all probability for life. In comparison, how much easier it would be to walk to the gallows than to this tomb of living horrors! — Nellie Bly

I have never written a word that did not come from my heart. I never shall. — Nellie Bly

I have watched patients stand and gaze longingly toward the city they in all likelihood will never enter again. It means liberty and life; it seems so near, and yet heaven is not further from hell. — Nellie Bly

While I live I hope. — Nellie Bly

A free American girl can accommodate herself to circumstances without the aid of a man. — Nellie Bly

Even that was all consumed after two days, and the patients had to try to choke down fresh fish, just boiled in water, without salt, pepper or butter; mutton, beef, and potatoes without the faintest seasoning. — Nellie Bly

I said I could and I would. And I did. — Nellie Bly

I had looked forward so eagerly to leaving the horrible place, yet when my release came and I knew that God’s sunlight was to be free for me again, there was a certain pain in leaving. — Nellie Bly