Susanna Kaynsen
The protagonist as well as the narrator, Susanna is diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder at the age of 17. This diagnosis arrives a year after she has attempted suicide. She is then committed to a psychiatric facility. The story is essentially woven together with the bittersweet experience of her 18 month stay in the facility.
Lisa Cody
Lisa is a fellow patient at the facility and one of Susanna’s friends. While Susanna is attached to many of the patients, she has a strange fascination for Lisa and is constantly drawn to her. Lisa is a dominant person who is able to convince Susanna to resist treatment and defy authorities. She has been in and out of the facility for a while due to her erratic behavior.
Daisy Randone
While Daisy and Susanna aren’t exactly friends, they do have a connection that makes Daisy let Susanna in her apartment when she needs shelter. Daisy is perhaps the most mysterious patients in the facility and doesn’t mingle with anyone. She is later discharged from he facility and goes to live in an apartment. When Lisa and Susanna run away from the facility, they seek help from Daisy. Things get complicated when Lisa begins to confront and mock Daisy and Daisy commits suicide the next day.
Georgina Tuskin
Georgina is Susanna’s roommate in the facility. She is in a relationship with another patient, Wade. Georgina is a self-identified pathological liar. She is a calm and friendly patient who sticks with Susanna until the end. Susanna reveals in her diary that Georgina only lies to those who pose a threat to her.
