The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness

Lori Schilling’s friend Lori Winters narrates this chapter. She begins the chapter by reflecting on the fact that, since she and Lori Schilling loved rooming together while they were at Tufts, it should have logically followed that they would love being roommates when they moved to New York.

The two girls move into the renovated McAlpin Hotel, which initially seems like a great choice, as it is located in the bustling center of midtown Manhattan and the building only charges $500 for a one-bedroom. However, Lori Schilling’s parents do not approve of the girls living in a commercial area: they prefer that they live in a residential area. Lori Winters also reveals that she actually doesn’t truly want to live with Lori Schilling, because, during their last year of college, Lori Schilling(the book’s author) had become “just too weird” (30).

She recalls that, during their last year at college, “a secret side of Lori began to emerge” (30). Lori Schilling had become increasingly unpredictable and volatile in her moods and actions, and some of her friends suspected she was using drugs, while others—particularly men in their friend group—believed that Lori was faking her moods for attention. However, Lori Winters and others knew that Schilling was seeing a psychiatrist, and they therefore figured that she was getting her troubles addressed.