Chronicled Narration

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden is based on the author's real experiences. She chose to tell her story as if it were unfolding before the readers' eyes in a chronological order. In the beginning of the story, Deborah is being driven to the mental hospital. The following chapters chronicle her experiences as she adjusts to her new life. Her sessions with Dr. Fried follow a definite pattern, showing how Deborah at first is afraid to open to the doctor and later how she relies on Dr. Fried for her very life. By the end of the story, readers understand that the journey they have witnessed belongs to someone who has and continues to battle with mental illness.

This chronicled narration offers readers a predictable sequence through which to follow the details of the story. This might have seemed necessary because the protagonist weaves in and...