Madwoman by Louisa Treger

In the past, women could be incarcerated in the lunatic asylum for being depressed, widowed, having an affair, being passionate, enjoying or not enjoying sex, having painful periods and being ill among many other ridiculous reasons.

Based on a true story, NY Journalist Nelly Bly, ahead of her time, gets herself put into the loony bin so she can write an expose on the horrors that go on inside the hellish place, and hopefully change things for the better. Shocking, excellent read.