Mental Wellness for Women
by Rita Baron-Faust
William Morrow and Company (1997)
Collaborating with physicians, mental health experts, and professionals
in women's health, the author outlines the many forms mental illness
takes, particularly as they affect women. The book includes firsthand
accounts from women who have overcome depression, anxiety, addiction,
sexual dysfunction, and other challenges, as well as one woman's experience
with schizophrenia. It also presents recent research into how and
why women and men differ, and the problems stemming from the fact
that mental health has traditionally been measured based on a male
model. This is an essential reference on how each stage of a woman's
life may impact her mental and emotional well-being and what can be
done about it.
On the Edge of Darkness:
Conversations About Conquering Depression
by Kathy Cronkite
Delta (1995)
Walter Cronkite's daughter, herself a depression sufferer, interviews
other famous and successful people who have struggled with depression.
Writers, actors, and politicians such as Mike Wallace, Kitty Dukakis,
William Styron, Joan Rivers, and many others reveal how they endured—and
conquered—the disorder. The well-researched book also includes
information from medical researchers and other experts on the workings
of depression and types of treatment available. One reader called
it "...tremendously comforting and, most of all, it inspires
hope. Anyone who has or knows someone who has depression can benefit
greatly from this book."
Speaking of Sadness:
Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness
by David A. Karp
Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (1997)
Depression can be devastating, leading to family breakups, loss of
employment, even suicide. And it is a national problem, with some
10 to 15 million Americans suffering from it. In Speaking of
Sadness, Karp captures the human face of this widespread affliction
as he illuminates his experience and that of others in a candid, searching
work.
Combining a scholar's care and thoroughness with searing personal
insight, Karp brings the private experience of depression into sharp
relief, drawing on a remarkable series of intimate interviews with
50 depressed men and women. By turns poignant, disturbing, mordantly
funny, and wise, Karp's interviews cause us to marvel at the courage
of depressed people in dealing with extraordinary and debilitating
pain. Throughout, Karp probes the myriad ways society contributes
to widespread alienation and emotional exhaustion.
Speaking of Sadness is an important book that pierces through the
terrifying isolation of depression to uncover the connections linking
the depressed as they undertake their personal journeys through this
very private hell. It will bring a new understanding to professionals
seeking to see the world as their clients do, and provide vivid insights
and renewed empathy to anyone who cares for someone living with the
cruel unpredictability of depression.
The Beast:
A Journey Through Depression
by Tracy Thompson
Plume Books (1996)
An investigative reporter for the Washington Post recounts her own
struggle with depression. Drawing on journals kept from adolescence
onward, Thompson details her emotional and mental turmoil, creating
vivid scenes that help to convey the deep complexities of the human
mind. Wrote one reader, The Beast... occupies a unique niche
because of the author's brutally honest account of her low self-esteem
and acceptance-starved psyche that existed in spite of her career
successes. I felt Ms. Thompson had looked inside my brain and revealed
to me things I had never even admitted to myself."
Undercurrents:
A Life Beneath the Surface
by Martha Manning
Harper San Francisco (1996)
A psychotherapist's account of her own struggle with severe depression.
Written in the form of a diary, the book chronicles Manning's deepening
downward spiral into despair, as she loses interest, appetite, the
ability to sleep, and the will to live. It then recounts her arduous
battle back to eventual recovery, which includes unsuccessful drug
treatment and electroconvulsive therapy. One reader called it "an
excellent book about a miraculous woman's authentic life. Manning's
soul, work and wit craft a completely absorbing journey." Another
wrote, "This book deals with depression beautifully and at the
same time is absolutely hilarious."
Unholy Ghost:
Writers on Depression
by Nell Casey
Perennial (2002)
This is 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 medicines. 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.
The collection also includes an illuminating series of companion
pieces. Russell Banks' and Chase Twichell's essays represent husband-and-wife
perspectives on depression; Rose Styron's contribution about her husband's
struggle with melancholy is paired with an excerpt from William Styron's
Darkness Visible; and the book's editor, Nell Casey, juxtaposes her
own essay about seeing her sister through her depression with Maud
Casey's experience. These companion pieces portray
the complicated bond—a constant grasp for mutual understanding
forged by depressives and their family members.
With an introduction by Kay Redfield Jamison, Unholy Ghost allows
the bewildering experience of depression to be adequately and beautifully
rendered. The twenty-two stories that make up this book will offer
solace and enlightenment to all readers.
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