false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172521985m/184120.jpg 184120 2 "A reader on melancholy," the editor calls this book: a collection of 22 modern essays about depression by writers (several well known) who know their subject intimately. Some face depression as a sudden interruption of a previously gratifying life; others have never known life without it. Their words wrestle to express their vision, their gloom, their attempts to cope, their interactions, their isolation, and, often, their reactions to medications. Some attempt to analyze their depression; others just want you to know what it's like. Besides the essays by writers who have experienced depression firsthand, editor Nell Casey (also a writer of one of the chapters) includes a few essays by their spouses and siblings about what it was like to live with a person suffering from depression.<p> The writers' descriptions of "dwelling in depression's dark wood" (William Styron) are disturbing and haunting, laden with vivid imagery. "My heart pumped dread," writes Lesley Dormen. David Karp describes his depression as sometimes a "grief knot" in his throat, sometimes chest pain like a heart attack, sometimes "an awful heaviness" in his eyes and head. From her teenage years, Darcey Steinke would wrap herself in an old comforter and lie in a fetal position on top of her shoes in the closet (her brother called this her "poodle bed"). Nancy Mairs describes being institutionalized: "Lock [a woman] into a drab and dirty space with dozens of other wayward souls, make sure that she is never alone, feed her oatmeal and bananas until her bowels are starched solid, drug her to the eyeballs so that she can scarcely read or speak, and threaten to shoot bolts of electricity through her brain." If you want to know depression from the inside, from thoroughly gifted writers, you'll find it here. <I>--Joan Price</I> 515675 2001 Unholy Ghost: Writers on Depression total:188|5:53|4:69|3:47|2:14|1:5| 188 715 348 42 4 1 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 07 16:20:08 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 29 15:23:44 -0700 2007
I realize that this family history isn't necessary to explain my enjoy...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Aug 26 11:39:34 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 26 11:44:59 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Nov 16 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 22 07:33:46 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 07:35:47 -0800 2009 ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 06 15:32:18 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 22 18:32:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 16:40:55 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 16:43:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jul 11 08:58:57 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 09:01:31 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu May 21 09:53:52 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 09:54:04 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Thu Mar 12 22:00:27 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 22:01:22 -0700 2009 it's sad, I had to put it down several times. But worth the read.]]> 5 0 false false Tue Apr 07 23:36:21 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 23:37:50 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Thu Jan 01 23:46:31 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 01 23:49:11 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 14:12:47 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 17:33:52 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jan 31 10:24:14 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 10:24:28 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Sep 14 12:14:44 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 12:14:44 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Apr 05 11:47:24 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 05 11:48:37 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Nov 12 06:46:40 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 06:48:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jun 18 14:51:55 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 18 14:57:52 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri May 30 20:06:50 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 21:43:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Wed Apr 11 10:38:10 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 11 12:30:04 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu May 14 22:25:27 -0700 2009 Thu May 14 22:25:27 -0700 2009 2 4 0 false false Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue Jul 17 10:03:33 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 28 12:02:48 -0700 2007 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=184120