About the Book
This exhaustive 600 page memoir is written most eloquently but should come with a trigger warning. It was one of my top 10 reads of the decade and comes closely after Kay Jamison (An Unquiet Mind). The fact that Dr.Solomon has lived a privileged life as the son of a pharmaceutical mogul, has “made it” in his career as an author who writes for the New York Times, New Yorker, NPR etc; teaches at Columbia and Yale, has a solid support system AND access to good healthcare is precisely what made this book EVEN MORE appealing to me. Depression like diabetes does not discriminate. The book is a moving narrative of the authors breakdowns, his views on treatments – mainstream and alternative, his encumbrances and his insights into what has worked and what hasn’t worked for him, including the dilemma of medication, length of medication, going off medication, getting back on medication, frustration with finding the right psychiatrists and psychologists – trying to convince therapist or doctors that some medications are really not working (and one is not lying about it), etc. While the book is not an Atlas of depression as it lacks objectivity and as an Indian psychologist, it does not touch upon cultural (or gender) issues in much detail, it is a rather well-researched (for 2001) account of the goings-on in the field. A must-read for someone who plans to work in the fields of psychology/psychiatry and mental health.
Read time : 70 hours approximately
Star Rating : 4 out of 5 stars
Book publication Date : 2001 and 2015 (New chapter) (English)
Publisher : Simon and Schuster and Scribner
Book Review : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7J3u9_EryE&t
Description
by Andrew Solomon
