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The Noonday Demon
 | |
| Authors | Andrew Solomon |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Goya - A Giant Seated in a Landscape |
| Language | English |
| Subject | major depressive disorder |
| Genre | non-fiction |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
Publication date | 2001 |
| ISBN | 9780684854663 |
| OCLC | 45806437 |
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression is a memoir written by Andrew Solomon and first published under the Scribner imprint of New York's Simon & Schuster publishing house in 2001. There was a later paperback under the Touchstone imprint.[1] The Noonday Demon examines the personal, cultural, and scientific aspects of depression through Solomon's published interviews with depression sufferers, doctors, research scientists, politicians, and pharmaceutical researchers.[1] It is an outgrowth of Solomon's 1998 New Yorker article on depression.
Reception[edit]
The Noonday Demon received positive critical response, being described by The New York Times as "a book of remarkable scope, depth, breadth, and vitality." The book was honored in 2001 with the National Book Award for Nonfiction[2] and the Lambda Literary Award for autobiography or memoir.
In 2002 it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.[3]
In 2019, the memoir was ranked 23rd on The Guardian's list of the 100 best books of the 21st century.[4]
Updated edition[edit]
A new edition was published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 2015 that added a chapter about new treatments for depression.[5] The update was mentioned during an NPR Fresh Air interview of Solomon and a New York Times article he authored.[5][6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (official World Wide Web site).
- ^ National Book Awards, National Book Foundation, 2001, retrieved 2012-02-20 (with acceptance speech.)
- ^ Finalists' list, Pulitzer Prize, 2002.
- ^ "The 100 best books of the 21st century". The Guardian. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ a b Fresh Air interview with Andrew Solomon (official World Wide Web site).
- ^ Andrew Solomon's article on pregnancy and depression (official World Wide Web site).
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
Paperback – May 19, 2015
by Andrew Solomon (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 966 ratings
4.2 on Goodreads
13,587 ratings
Kindle
from $16.08Read with Our Free App
Paperback
$17.88
The Noonday Demon is Andrew Solomon’s National Book Award-winning, bestselling, and transformative masterpiece on depression—“the book for a generation, elegantly written, meticulously researched, empathetic, and enlightening” (Time)—now with a major new chapter covering recently introduced and novel treatments, suicide and anti-depressants, pregnancy and depression, and much more.
The Noonday Demon examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policy makers and politicians, drug designers, and philosophers, Andrew Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease as well as the reasons for hope. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications and treatments, and the impact the malady has on various demographic populations—around the world and throughout history. He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by biological explanations for mental illness. With uncommon humanity, candor, wit and erudition, award-winning author Solomon takes readers on a journey of incomparable range and resonance into the most pervasive of family secrets. His contribution to our understanding not only of mental illness but also of the human condition is truly stunning.
Print length
688 pages
Language
Editorial Reviews
Review
by Andrew Solomon (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 966 ratings
4.2 on Goodreads
13,587 ratings
Kindle
from $16.08Read with Our Free App
Paperback
$17.88
The Noonday Demon is Andrew Solomon’s National Book Award-winning, bestselling, and transformative masterpiece on depression—“the book for a generation, elegantly written, meticulously researched, empathetic, and enlightening” (Time)—now with a major new chapter covering recently introduced and novel treatments, suicide and anti-depressants, pregnancy and depression, and much more.
The Noonday Demon examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policy makers and politicians, drug designers, and philosophers, Andrew Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease as well as the reasons for hope. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications and treatments, and the impact the malady has on various demographic populations—around the world and throughout history. He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by biological explanations for mental illness. With uncommon humanity, candor, wit and erudition, award-winning author Solomon takes readers on a journey of incomparable range and resonance into the most pervasive of family secrets. His contribution to our understanding not only of mental illness but also of the human condition is truly stunning.
Print length
688 pages
Language
Editorial Reviews
Review
“All encompassing, brave, and deeply humane. . . . It is open-minded,critically informed, and poetic at the same time, and despite the nature of its subject it is written with far too much élan and elegance ever to become depressing itself.” ― Richard Bernstein, The New York Times
“The Noonday Demon is the ideal and definitive book on depression. There is nothing falsely consoling about this account, which is the opposite of a bromide, unless to be accompanied by so much intelligence and understanding is a consolation in itself.” ― Edmund White, author of A Boy’s Own Story and The Flaneur
“An exhaustively researched, provocative, and often deeply moving survey of depression. . . . original and vividly recounted, Solomon writes engagingly; his style is intimate and anecdotal. . . witty and persuasive. Overall. . . The Noonday Demon is a considerable accomplishment. It is likely to provoke discussion and controversy, and its generous assortment of voices, from the pathological to the philosophical, makes for rich, variegated reading.” ― Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Times Book Review
“The book for a generation. . . . Solomon interweaves a personal narrative with scientific, philosophical, historical, political, and cultural insights. . . . The result is an elegantly written, meticulously researched book that is empathetic and enlightening, scholarly and useful. . . . Solomon apologizes that ‘no book can span the reach of human suffering.’ This one comes close.” ― Christine Whitehouse, Time
“Both heartrending and fascinating . . . the book has a scope and passionate intelligence that give it intrigue as well as heft.” ― Gail Caldwell, The Boston Globe
“The Noonday Demon explores the subterranean realms of an illness which is on the point of becoming endemic, and which more than anything else mirrors the present state of our civilization and its profound discontents. As wide-ranging as it is incisive,this astonishing work is a testimony both to the muted suffering of millions and to the great courage it must have taken the author to set his mind against it.” ― W. G. Sebald, author of The Emigrants
“It’s a compendium, it’s a think piece; it’s both! . . . Remarkable . .. [Solomon] has a killer eye for detail, as well as curiosity and compassion.” ― Emily Nussbaum, The Village Voice
“A wrenchingly candid, fascinating, and exhaustive tour of one of the darker chambers of the human heart.” ― Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence
“Everyone will find a piece of himself in Solomon’s account, even if he has been spared the experience of watching that kernel blossom into a monstrous and strangling plant. . . . Solomon shows bravery and rigor.” ― Christopher Caldwell, Slate magazine
“Exhaustive and eloquent.” ― Maria Russo, Salon.com
“The Noonday Demon is an amazingly rich and absorbing work that deals with depression on many levels of perception. It its flow of insights and its scope—encompassing not only the author’s own ordeal but also keen inquiries into the biological, social, and political aspects of the illness—The Noonday Demon has achieved a level of authority that should assure its place among the few indispensable works on depression.” ― William Styron, author of Darkness Visible
“Andrew Solomon’s The Noonday Demon is immensely readable and should be universally useful. It is indeed an atlas of depression, sensitively chronicling the illness’s characteristics, social and cultural history, modes of treatment, and prospects. What makes it remarkable is a highly individual blend of the personal and the dispassionate, the work of a benign intelligence.” ― Harold Bloom, author of How to Read and Why and Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human
“Frank . . . clearheaded [and] valuable . . . “ ― Entertainment Weekly
“Compulsively readable, harrowing, and helpful, The Noonday Demon is an act of redemption in an epidemic ofsorrow.” ― Louise Erdrich, author of Love Medicine and The Antelope Wife
“Solomon’s done his homework . . . smart, lucid, and sometimesintensely moving.” ― David Gate, Newsweek
“As the great Flaubert discovered, it’s hard to write about boring people without being boring yourself. Similarly, it’s hard to write at length about depression without depressing the reader. Yet in The Noonday Demon, Andrew Solomon, through his candor, intellectual elegance, and ultimately his human resilience, manages to write of traumas both deep and ordinary without leaving the reader traumatized. His book is a large achievement.” ― Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove
“Solomon’s highly readable, tag-all-bases new book . . . gives us nothing less than an evolving portrait of who, collectively, we are . . .ambitious and broadly synthesizing . . . [written with] considerable stylistic grace. . . . Solomon is knowledgeable, trenchant, and an admirable distiller of facts and perspectives.” ― Sven Birkerts, The New York Observer
About the Author
Andrew Solomon is a professor of psychology at Columbia University, president of PEN American Center, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, NPR, and The New York Times Magazine. A lecturer and activist, he is the author of Far and Away: Essays from the Brink of Change: Seven Continents, Twenty-Five Years; the National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, which has won thirty additional national awards; and The Noonday Demon; An Atlas of Depression, which won the 2001 National Book Award, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and has been published in twenty-four languages. He has also written a novel, A Stone Boat, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Award and The Irony Tower: Soviet Artists in a Time of Glasnost. His TED talks have been viewed over ten million times. He lives in New York and London and is a dual national. For more information, visit the author’s website at AndrewSolomon.com.
Product details
Publisher : Scribner; New edition (May 19, 2015)
Language : English
Paperback : 688 pages
ISBN-10 : 1501123882
ISBN-13 : 978-1501123887
Item Weight : 1.6 pounds
Dimensions : 6.13 x 1.7 x 9.25 inchesBest Sellers Rank: #33,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)#18 in Coping with Suicide Grief
#54 in Depression (Books)
#1,412 in Memoirs (Books)Customer Reviews:
4.5 out of 5 stars 966 ratings
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Top reviews from the United States
Kitty Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars RealReviewed in the United States on June 27, 2022
Verified Purchase
From chapter 1:
"I was not strong enough to stop breathing. I knew then that I could never kill this vine of depression, and so all I wanted was for it to let me die. But it had taken from me the energy I would have needed to kill myself"
I downloaded a sample of the book to test the waters. Bought it immediately upon hitting that passage. I've never felt beautiful words hit so hard, and so close to life.
4 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
SB_Co
4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Understanding DepressionReviewed in the United States on September 25, 2012
Verified Purchase
I recommend this book for anyone who wishes to better understand the complexities of depression, from those who live with it personally to those who have/lost a loved one who does/did. It articulates how the lows of depression feel in a way that I couldn't put to words until I read it.
Atlas may throw some off a bit. It's not so much a clinical book on depression. There are certainly clinical references given that lay a foundation of the science of depression and it's treatments. But it is also a bit of a memoir, which I didn't mind at all.
Some may feel the author's inclusion of personal accounts come from a place of privilege and thus negates the validity of his experience. That thinking is precisely why this book needs to be read. This misunderstanding that the struggles of those who are perceived to "have it good", arbitrarily decided by whom I don't know, don't count is part of the reason some people suffer in silence and for much longer than necessary. Shaming them into silence because their circumstance seems ideal to YOU is why many take so long to get help and only get worse as a result. Depression knows no tax bracket, no gender, no race, no age. Circumstances certainly may trigger it, but bank accounts, passports, degrees matter less and less when you're in the midst of a downswing of emotion. Depression lives outside the realm of reason.
All that said, I appreciate the picture of depression that was given by the author. I was personally able to find a foundation that will help me fully understand and describe to others what goes on in my head when I'm going through an episode. Even better that such a vivid picture may help me better manage my own.
6 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
Kathryn Mendoza
5.0 out of 5 stars I've Never Felt So SeenReviewed in the United States on August 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book is the best description of depression i have ever read, and i have been searching for a long time. It may be triggering, but for me it brought a certain peace, to know there are others.
I highly reccommend this book to both sufferers of depression and those that they love.
7 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
Alex Canton-Dutari
4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed FeelingsReviewed in the United States on January 15, 2013
Verified Purchase
From an objective, almost clinical viewpoint, this book deals with the subject of Depression in a way that helps the normal reader understand the dynamics of the illness. It shoud be a required reading in psychopathology courses.
I wrote 'normal' to refer to people who have never had a bona fide episode of depression. The suffering exposed by the personal experiences so vividly detailed in the text may create a unique awareness.
On the other hand, a person who has been clinically depressed and is under remission may fear another strike of the depression devil in any moment.
Andrew Solomon is a professor of psychology at Columbia University, president of PEN American Center, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, NPR, and The New York Times Magazine. A lecturer and activist, he is the author of Far and Away: Essays from the Brink of Change: Seven Continents, Twenty-Five Years; the National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, which has won thirty additional national awards; and The Noonday Demon; An Atlas of Depression, which won the 2001 National Book Award, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and has been published in twenty-four languages. He has also written a novel, A Stone Boat, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Award and The Irony Tower: Soviet Artists in a Time of Glasnost. His TED talks have been viewed over ten million times. He lives in New York and London and is a dual national. For more information, visit the author’s website at AndrewSolomon.com.
Product details
Publisher : Scribner; New edition (May 19, 2015)
Language : English
Paperback : 688 pages
ISBN-10 : 1501123882
ISBN-13 : 978-1501123887
Item Weight : 1.6 pounds
Dimensions : 6.13 x 1.7 x 9.25 inchesBest Sellers Rank: #33,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)#18 in Coping with Suicide Grief
#54 in Depression (Books)
#1,412 in Memoirs (Books)Customer Reviews:
4.5 out of 5 stars 966 ratings
Videos
Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!Upload your video
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Follow
Top reviews from the United States
Kitty Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars RealReviewed in the United States on June 27, 2022
Verified Purchase
From chapter 1:
"I was not strong enough to stop breathing. I knew then that I could never kill this vine of depression, and so all I wanted was for it to let me die. But it had taken from me the energy I would have needed to kill myself"
I downloaded a sample of the book to test the waters. Bought it immediately upon hitting that passage. I've never felt beautiful words hit so hard, and so close to life.
4 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
SB_Co
4.0 out of 5 stars Great for Understanding DepressionReviewed in the United States on September 25, 2012
Verified Purchase
I recommend this book for anyone who wishes to better understand the complexities of depression, from those who live with it personally to those who have/lost a loved one who does/did. It articulates how the lows of depression feel in a way that I couldn't put to words until I read it.
Atlas may throw some off a bit. It's not so much a clinical book on depression. There are certainly clinical references given that lay a foundation of the science of depression and it's treatments. But it is also a bit of a memoir, which I didn't mind at all.
Some may feel the author's inclusion of personal accounts come from a place of privilege and thus negates the validity of his experience. That thinking is precisely why this book needs to be read. This misunderstanding that the struggles of those who are perceived to "have it good", arbitrarily decided by whom I don't know, don't count is part of the reason some people suffer in silence and for much longer than necessary. Shaming them into silence because their circumstance seems ideal to YOU is why many take so long to get help and only get worse as a result. Depression knows no tax bracket, no gender, no race, no age. Circumstances certainly may trigger it, but bank accounts, passports, degrees matter less and less when you're in the midst of a downswing of emotion. Depression lives outside the realm of reason.
All that said, I appreciate the picture of depression that was given by the author. I was personally able to find a foundation that will help me fully understand and describe to others what goes on in my head when I'm going through an episode. Even better that such a vivid picture may help me better manage my own.
6 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
Kathryn Mendoza
5.0 out of 5 stars I've Never Felt So SeenReviewed in the United States on August 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book is the best description of depression i have ever read, and i have been searching for a long time. It may be triggering, but for me it brought a certain peace, to know there are others.
I highly reccommend this book to both sufferers of depression and those that they love.
7 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
Alex Canton-Dutari
4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed FeelingsReviewed in the United States on January 15, 2013
Verified Purchase
From an objective, almost clinical viewpoint, this book deals with the subject of Depression in a way that helps the normal reader understand the dynamics of the illness. It shoud be a required reading in psychopathology courses.
I wrote 'normal' to refer to people who have never had a bona fide episode of depression. The suffering exposed by the personal experiences so vividly detailed in the text may create a unique awareness.
On the other hand, a person who has been clinically depressed and is under remission may fear another strike of the depression devil in any moment.
There seems to be an underlying message that depression never goes away.
The book was well written. This could be sensed from the beginning.
The book was well written. This could be sensed from the beginning.
Nevertheless, I had to close my Kindle at 60%.
It became too threatening for me, as I have known depression on a theoretical level as a clinical psychologist and as a person who has suffered from depression and is doing everything possible to stay in remission.
15 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
BWright
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible PublicationReviewed in the United States on November 18, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book is called an Atlas, and that's exactly what it is. Its content is comprehensive and Solomon's writing is superb. This work is informed by a rich and dense combination of psychiatric research and personal experience. Amazing resource for anyone struggling with depression or anyone witnessing a loved one cope with mental illness. Her has made an incredible contribution.
HelpfulReport abuse
UserE
3.0 out of 5 stars Outdated informationReviewed in the United States on March 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book has a little outdated information in it. I didn't realize how old it was when I bought it. As someone who suffers with severe depression, I thought this would be more useful for someone who has never experienced any moderate to severe mental health issues and wants to learn more.
2 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
SLD12DAY
5.0 out of 5 stars Want to Understand Someone with Depression? You'd Better Read This Book.Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2015
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression was written over a five-year period, providing an intimate and complete work that examines scientific research, historical aspects, and public perspective of mental disease. Solomon's willingness to provide us with this no-holds-barred annal is courageous and selfless, to say the least.
The author poses challenging questions such as whether suicide is a personal right or if it should be obviated no matter what, and if the benefit of dulling one's depression with the use of antidepressants outweighs the cost of emotional resilience, why the disease's focus in the medical community isn't on prevention like so many other diseases such as diabetes, and so much more. He is refreshingly matter-of-fact about his experiences with the disease, something that is difficult at best for most people, myself included.
The Noonday Demon is by far the most perfectly written book about depression I have ever read. Solomon's personal experiences and those of others, coupled with research of every imaginable aspect of the disease equal a tome that is nothing short of a bible for the suffering and those who care about them.
45 people found this helpful
Top reviews from other countries
Lewis Fitchett
1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible customer serviceReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
Bought the book second hand from WeBuyBooks. Was expecting the book in the described condition but unfortunately both this book, and another I ordered came delivered and had been damaged by the delivery company. The company WeBuyBooks then made me negotiate my refund for 3 weeks and still processed it wrong! Terrible customer services. So many other second hand book sellers on Amazon. Stay well clear of WeBuyBooks.
The actual book is a very interesting read and well worth if you’re looking to explore this topic in great depth.
Report abuse
AH
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on depressionReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
We need more books like this. Having watched Andrew Solomon talk, I decided to buy his book. It's perfect for me - a mix of really fascinating insights into historical and cultural aspects of depression mixed in with an honest tale of his and others' lived experiences. I found this really helpful.
7 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Ona
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic bookReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2018
Verified Purchase
Brilliantly written book, though quite dense in parts. He goes into a bit too much detail for me on the pharmaceutical side of things but others may find that interesting. Apart from that I found it a fascinating read by an excellent author. Definitely recommend it.
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Dave Prout
5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty, personal, harrowing yet hopefulReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
One of the best book on the subject, up there with Kay Redfield Jamison. Depression has always been quite common in our species, and probably always will be, although we'll find better ways to treat it. The author describes his intimate relationship with depression, and proposes that, for those that survive it, life is richer. I know I've experienced moments of great joy, that I might never have known had I not been through the hell of major depression.
5 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Richard Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Interesting Reading.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
For those of us who have our own demons this book helps by clearly showing we are not alone. To read of others who have worse to contend with makes our own trials easier and more understandable. The most accurate portrayal of the effects and symptoms of depression, in all its forms, that I have read.
Report abuse
15 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
BWright
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible PublicationReviewed in the United States on November 18, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book is called an Atlas, and that's exactly what it is. Its content is comprehensive and Solomon's writing is superb. This work is informed by a rich and dense combination of psychiatric research and personal experience. Amazing resource for anyone struggling with depression or anyone witnessing a loved one cope with mental illness. Her has made an incredible contribution.
HelpfulReport abuse
UserE
3.0 out of 5 stars Outdated informationReviewed in the United States on March 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book has a little outdated information in it. I didn't realize how old it was when I bought it. As someone who suffers with severe depression, I thought this would be more useful for someone who has never experienced any moderate to severe mental health issues and wants to learn more.
2 people found this helpful
HelpfulReport abuse
SLD12DAY
5.0 out of 5 stars Want to Understand Someone with Depression? You'd Better Read This Book.Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2015
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression was written over a five-year period, providing an intimate and complete work that examines scientific research, historical aspects, and public perspective of mental disease. Solomon's willingness to provide us with this no-holds-barred annal is courageous and selfless, to say the least.
The author poses challenging questions such as whether suicide is a personal right or if it should be obviated no matter what, and if the benefit of dulling one's depression with the use of antidepressants outweighs the cost of emotional resilience, why the disease's focus in the medical community isn't on prevention like so many other diseases such as diabetes, and so much more. He is refreshingly matter-of-fact about his experiences with the disease, something that is difficult at best for most people, myself included.
The Noonday Demon is by far the most perfectly written book about depression I have ever read. Solomon's personal experiences and those of others, coupled with research of every imaginable aspect of the disease equal a tome that is nothing short of a bible for the suffering and those who care about them.
45 people found this helpful
Top reviews from other countries
Lewis Fitchett
1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible customer serviceReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
Bought the book second hand from WeBuyBooks. Was expecting the book in the described condition but unfortunately both this book, and another I ordered came delivered and had been damaged by the delivery company. The company WeBuyBooks then made me negotiate my refund for 3 weeks and still processed it wrong! Terrible customer services. So many other second hand book sellers on Amazon. Stay well clear of WeBuyBooks.
The actual book is a very interesting read and well worth if you’re looking to explore this topic in great depth.
Report abuse
AH
5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on depressionReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
We need more books like this. Having watched Andrew Solomon talk, I decided to buy his book. It's perfect for me - a mix of really fascinating insights into historical and cultural aspects of depression mixed in with an honest tale of his and others' lived experiences. I found this really helpful.
7 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Ona
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic bookReviewed in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2018
Verified Purchase
Brilliantly written book, though quite dense in parts. He goes into a bit too much detail for me on the pharmaceutical side of things but others may find that interesting. Apart from that I found it a fascinating read by an excellent author. Definitely recommend it.
2 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Dave Prout
5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty, personal, harrowing yet hopefulReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
One of the best book on the subject, up there with Kay Redfield Jamison. Depression has always been quite common in our species, and probably always will be, although we'll find better ways to treat it. The author describes his intimate relationship with depression, and proposes that, for those that survive it, life is richer. I know I've experienced moments of great joy, that I might never have known had I not been through the hell of major depression.
5 people found this helpfulReport abuse
Richard Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Interesting Reading.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
For those of us who have our own demons this book helps by clearly showing we are not alone. To read of others who have worse to contend with makes our own trials easier and more understandable. The most accurate portrayal of the effects and symptoms of depression, in all its forms, that I have read.
Report abuse
