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71st out of 552 books
—
126 voters
Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression
by
Nell Casey
Unholy Ghost is a unique collection of essays about depression that, in the spirit of William Styron's Darkness Visible, finds vivid expression for an elusive illness suffered by more than one in five Americans today. Unlike any other memoir of depression, however, Unholy Ghost includes many voices and depicts the most complete portrait of the illness. Lauren Slater eloque...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
January 8th 2002
by William Morrow Paperbacks
(first published 2001)
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Oct 29, 2007
Colleen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Depressed people and effected family and friends
I read this book while visiting my friends Kacy, Ben, and their six-month old adorable son, Miles, on the Oregon coast. Kacy and Ben are staying in Kacy's parents house. Her parents are visiting her brother in Japan.
I realize that this family history isn't necessary to explain my enjoyment of the book. What is crucial is that you imagine where and when I read it. The house is a soft brown cabin, shingles caressing every external surface. After playing with Miles, helping cook and eat, and talkin...more
I realize that this family history isn't necessary to explain my enjoyment of the book. What is crucial is that you imagine where and when I read it. The house is a soft brown cabin, shingles caressing every external surface. After playing with Miles, helping cook and eat, and talkin...more
During the depths of a major depressive episode, this book felt like good company rather than something I probably should not be reading. Other than William Styron's "Darkness Visible," (which a part of is included here,) I don't know of many other books that have the power to bring empathy, compassion, and the mastery of the written word to bear on the existential devastation of clinical depression. Though each writer's story is unique, the sentiment of being on the outside of life is universal...more
22 essays by writers on depression:
Artists and writers are associated more often with depression or "artistic temperaments". Perhaps the way that artists are able to express darkness through their work could make this seem true but it's not supported by research. Artists have the same struggles with depression as the general population but they talk, write, and sing about it more.
I found Donald Hall's essay "Ghost in the House" was especially moving. He was married to poet Jane Kenyon who strug...more
Artists and writers are associated more often with depression or "artistic temperaments". Perhaps the way that artists are able to express darkness through their work could make this seem true but it's not supported by research. Artists have the same struggles with depression as the general population but they talk, write, and sing about it more.
I found Donald Hall's essay "Ghost in the House" was especially moving. He was married to poet Jane Kenyon who strug...more
This was an amazing book. I really enjoyed the way I learned about depression from the viewpoint of different writers; the way each one shared their experience and I related to their words and their minds; the way each essay was unique to its approach and that I didn't necessarily agreed with all of the writers. Nell Casey certainly chose the exact writers for the compilation of this book.
David Karp's experiences certainly related to the phases of my own illness, but it was Nancy Mairs experien...more
David Karp's experiences certainly related to the phases of my own illness, but it was Nancy Mairs experien...more
Several essays were illuminating, the way in which the writers conveyed their histories of depression (or melancholy, as a few preferred to call it). The latter certainly has a lyrical, forlorn quality that depression lacks, and I agree with some of the reasons given for preferring it (if interested, check out its origins in the OED). I just realized I used the term, "illuminating," in describing some of these works; it's revealing because to anyone who has lived with it, depression at its bleak...more
I'm not one who usually enjoys compilations of short stories or essays, but such a collection is perfect for this topic. It gives a face to the often unspoken world of depression, and when it is difficult for author's to describe, no wonder it is for the rest of the world! Situations in here are as varied as the author's themeselves, and everyone can learn a little something from what they have to say.
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Edited by Nell Casey, this collection of twenty-two essays by contemporary American and European writers explores the many faces of depression. Rather than a medical guide of what constitutes depression or a depressive episode these essays vividly portray each writer’s experience of depression.
The link between the depressed person and their family member is explored as Casey includes her personal essay entitled Wish You Were Here. Her essay illuminates the role of caregiver to her sister’s bi-p...more
The link between the depressed person and their family member is explored as Casey includes her personal essay entitled Wish You Were Here. Her essay illuminates the role of caregiver to her sister’s bi-p...more
Sep 28, 2010
Toby Elliott
added it
this was pretty intense. especially "noontimes" by lauren slater, and obviously the contribution by russell banks. so many of these stories lead to medication, or some kind of medical treatment (in two of them, ECT is used and somewhat astonishingly, both are reported as successful) which gives one pause, but it shouldn't be taken as a book about drugs. there is an excerpt from "darkness, visible" by william styron in the book, and it is one of the best sections to include in this anthology: sty...more
Dark and descriptive short stories/essays of different writers' experiences with clinical depression. The stories are heart wrenching and give an intimate, and palpable understanding of what each writer experienced. One would have to go through a experience akin to these experiences to fully know what it means to be afflicted with such a parasitic, life draining poison that is severe depression. For those suffering it can be helpful to know or be reminded that one is not alone in their afflictio...more
The most interesting essay in this collection was Joshua Wolf Shenk's "A Melancholy of My Own," where he argues that the introduction of the term "depression" by Adolf Meyer in 1905 as a replacement for melancholia in the lexicon of psychiatry has served, if nothing else, to deaden and flatten the way we use language to describe certain painful experiences. The essays in this collection are strong evidence for his argument. While some of the authors do use vivid language to describe their experi...more
I recommend this book to people who know anyone coping with a mental illness. Many of the stories began long before the pharmaceuticals came up with funny cartoons and purple pills, but the symptoms and the struggles are the same. The stories offer comfort to people with mental illness -- a kind of community. Most writers coped with not wanting to take medication, symptoms of depression exacerbated by solitude even when solitude felt like the right medicine, and the guilt of seeing partners and...more
I highly recommend this to people either struggling with depression, as I have, or to people who know depressives. It's a great insight to see into a very dark cave that depression is. To me it's like a reverse Plato's cave--where the cave is dark and on the wall there are shadows/slivers of light and I want to lift my hand to snatch the light but can't seem to move or understand why I'm in the cave to begin with.
This is also a great book for creative souls who struggle with depression. It lifts...more
This is also a great book for creative souls who struggle with depression. It lifts...more
Each essay, taken individually, can be rated as good to excellent. The problem, for me, is that together, the essays really form no narrative, no cohesive point.
As a person who suffers from chronic depression (since my teens), I have a good understanding of depression, and it's pain. And, each of the writer's told their tales of bouts with depression. Perhaps the fault is mine, asI was hoping the book would be more about people who've dealt with depression for a good portion of their lives, as I...more
As a person who suffers from chronic depression (since my teens), I have a good understanding of depression, and it's pain. And, each of the writer's told their tales of bouts with depression. Perhaps the fault is mine, asI was hoping the book would be more about people who've dealt with depression for a good portion of their lives, as I...more
Jul 22, 2008
Cindi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people with depression or with a loved one who struggles with depression
I'll start by saying that this book had some language and some sexual innuendo. I don't usually plug through a book with either of these, but in this case, I did because I could tell that I was learning some important things. I give it a high rating because of what I feel I take away from the book. I must say that for me, reading a book about depression is DEPRESSING! a sentiment expressed by one of the essay writers!
I have suffered from depression for as long as I can remember. I think it goes...more
I have suffered from depression for as long as I can remember. I think it goes...more
From "A Delicious Placebo" by Virginia Hefferman
I would say I was sick- sick with any ailment I could think of except "depression," which no one, no matter what the brochures with grainy girls' pictures and the word "reputable" say, will ever believe it is a real illness.
Overnight, it seemed, I'd gone from a twenty-eight-year old optimist, the type advertisers and politicians take into account, who might find a career and start a family, to a person who is unreliable and preoccupied, a person...more
I would say I was sick- sick with any ailment I could think of except "depression," which no one, no matter what the brochures with grainy girls' pictures and the word "reputable" say, will ever believe it is a real illness.
Overnight, it seemed, I'd gone from a twenty-eight-year old optimist, the type advertisers and politicians take into account, who might find a career and start a family, to a person who is unreliable and preoccupied, a person...more
Solid book that provides insight into the incredibly complex, pseudo-logical darkness of depression. Follow the narratives of these authors as they describe the haunting sadness that fights to consume their lives.
I'm not sure I understand depression any more after reading this, but I feel that I will be able to empathize better with patients suffering from the conditions captured in this book. It's not uplifting or satisfying but is certainly an illuminating read.
I'm not sure I understand depression any more after reading this, but I feel that I will be able to empathize better with patients suffering from the conditions captured in this book. It's not uplifting or satisfying but is certainly an illuminating read.
Excellent collection of essays. The book discusses everything from the roots of the mental illness to living with it. The writers discuss how hard it is to deal with depression on a daily basis, whether to be married to someone who suffers from it or having the diagnosis themselves. Although I would recommend it, it can be sad to read. Suicide and pills are included topics.
I bought this book because the cover caught my eye--even after I realized what the content entailed: Amazing essays on living with clinical depression and living with someone with clinical depression--could only read a little at a time. The contributors are mostly writers, and there's a wonderful list of their works included in each bio at the back of the book.
This book of essays is not merely a collection of sad stories from depressed artists, but rather an exploration of all sides of the illness-- from inside and outside, from before and after, from searching to knowing. That's what makes it so incredible.
I have read many collections and memoirs of madness, and few have successfully painted a full picture of depression in a way that isn't contrived. Unholy Ghost successfully dodges that easy trap by allowing each writer to enter the subject from a d...more
I have read many collections and memoirs of madness, and few have successfully painted a full picture of depression in a way that isn't contrived. Unholy Ghost successfully dodges that easy trap by allowing each writer to enter the subject from a d...more
Worth Reading. The essays vary in tone and quality, but all include interesting ideas. Lauren Slater's essay "Noontime," an intense and poignant look at her battle to balance her pregnancy with her depression and medication is a very powerful, well-written piece. That essay merits 5 stars.
Ah, Peacegal, another book on depression? The illness affects each person differently, so the need for an essay collection such as this is clear. The best chapter is an excerpt from Darkness Visible by Styron, which may be the best memoir of this misunderstood affliction ever written. I only had to skip one essay in this collction out of disinterest.
The subject of clinical depression is a tough one to put on paper, but who better to do it than writers? This book is excellent for anyone who has experienced depression and feels misunderstood, as well as the family members of those who have been diagnosed with depression.
While not light reading, this collection of essays by authors who have either been touched by the “ghost” themselves or lived with someone who has, offers insight into a disease that is often indefinable, misidentified, and misunderstood.
Despite having an introduction from the fabulous Kay Jamison, this essay collection is incredibly mediocre. Many of the essays are poorly written or circle aimlessly around the same topics. With so many evocative accounts of depression in the world, this book was a big disappointment.
This book is interesting. I would like for there to be a newer version released. With more diversity. But it is nice to pick this book up and get an understanding of the impact of depression on people.
I can't tell you how many essays in this book had me thinking "wow....you mean OTHER people do that as well?"
it's sad, I had to put it down several times. But worth the read.
it's sad, I had to put it down several times. But worth the read.
Would be heartbreaking but for the astonishingly articulate accounts of a writer's particular kind of hell in dealing with depression, writer's block, and very real illness--
For anyone who has suffered depression or has a loved one with depression. It's a book of essays by writers who have intimate knowledge of the subject.
Unsurprisingly, a bleak read. Different flavors of depression, experienced and described. I was careful to read this in small doses.
a remarkably good collection of essays on an incredibly complicated and terrifying subject. nell casey is an excellent editor.
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