The Andrea Doria's Untold Psychological Scars

A new book about the Andrea Doria will be put out by Andrea Doria survivor Pierette Domenica Simpson this month entitled Alive on the Andrea Doria. This book is advertised as the first Doria book written by a survivor about the tragedy.  Actually, two survivors have written about their Andrea Doria accounts in two very obscure books that deal with psychological trauma of surviving this tragedy and how they deal with their lives. The first book was written by Canadian Doria survivor Eugene Gladstone and was printed in the mid-1960's entitled In the Wake of the Andrea Doria and the second book was printed in the late 1960's by Doria survivor Barbara Boggs Benzinger entitled The Prison of my Mind. In both books, the authors try to deal with their lives following the psychological impact of this tragedy. I can tell you that there were only 46 deaths on the Andrea Doria but uncounted hundreds of survivors that experienced post-traumatic stress syndrome following this tragedy.

Eugene Gladstone's book was originally a 'diary' that his doctor suggested he put together following his psychological trauma on board the Andrea Doria.  It delves into his coming to terms with his entire life and what it means to him to be alive. He has taken this diary and made it a remarkable book about the dealings of mental disorder.

Barbara Boggs Benzinger's book "The Prison on my Mind" is a fascinating read. The book was written from her coming to terms with her own mental illness that she became aware of following the trauma caused by the Andrea Doria tragedy. The book branches out into her own phobias and how she tried to overcome her demons. Although you might not learn much more about the tragedy itself, you will finally gain an understanding of the hidden scars that the Andrea Doria tragedy produced in many survivors. No book about the Andrea Doria has captured this element and I have found that it was one of the most devastating emotion that many survivors carry even to this day.