Wise reading for depressives and their families/friends

books:


	• Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness David A. Karp Oxford University Press, USA, 1997 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 16 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The most helpful book on depression I have ever read

I borrowed this book from my local library before purchasing it to be sure it wasn't just another one of those preachy books encouraging those of us who struggle with depression to just get over it, that it will eventually subside. David Karp is honest about depression as an illness, which is totally on-point considering he suffers from it himself. The words he has written echo through my head each day, and have helped me in a tremendous way. He analogizes depression as a sort of mental arthritis, something we will just have to learn to live with. He doesn't make false promises of overcoming the problems associated with the illness. He is honest, and describes his own experience in ways that I related to immediately. One of the hardest things about depression is a feeling of isolation because not everyone in our immediate circle of friends can understand it if they've never experienced it. The narratives in this book have helped me more than I can put into words here in the mere fact of knowing I am not the only person to feel this way. I highly recommend this book to anyone who suffers with depression.

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Academic View of Illness

Karp is a sociologist who examines depression from a cultural point of view. Folks looking for a "quick cure" are not likely to be satisfied with this particular outing. However, folks looking to understand how society views those with depression, how folks with depression view society, and how the illness can also impact family members ... this is the place to go. I read this book as part of a medical anthropology curriculum ... an ethnography of an illness ... and found it to be quite enlightening. I have been in and out of treatment for depression myself over the years, and finding that so many people had similar experiences of reconstructing their self-view as a result of the illness was quite useful. Again, this book is definitely not a "quick fix" or "feel good" kind of book ... it's one that looks at the nitty-gritty of one of the country's most prevalent illnesses and examines the minutiae therein.

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A very real and honest look at depression.

I have read so many books on this topic, and this book is, hands down, the best I've read. It isn't overly-clinical, and lets the reader see what this illness is all about through the experiences of fifty depressed people from all walks of life, how they cope, experience with medications, therapists, and how this devastating illness has affected their lives. The author also has an edge in writing this material, as he suffers from depression as well, and shares his own experiences in coping. Insightful, thoughtfully written, it is a must read for depressives, and the people who love them.

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Beautifully written and profoundly insightful book

David Karp's book on depression is written in beautifully simple prose. His own battle with depression is interwoven throughout the stories of others, and the humanity and gentleness with which he portrays both speaks of a generosity of vision which preserves the sanctity of each person's story. There's no sociological-ese to distract from the stories, which is a delight for someone who- though an academic- tires of its exclusionary language. The courage it took to write this book-- as it is a "coming out" book of sorts-- is extraordinary, and that thought rests in the back of your mind as you read it, gathering inspirational power. As someone who has struggled with depression throughout my life, I felt a "resonance" with the souls represented in this book which at times had me in tears. Highly recommended-- both for those suffering from depression as well as academics.

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Wise reading for depressives and their families/friends

Karp's case studies will help the reader understand the stages of depression, how friends and family are affected by depression, how depressives interact with therapists/psychiatrists/medicine, how depression can be incorporated into life therefore adapting to it (since his stance throughout the book is that depression does not go away no matter how hard it is fought), why depression is so hard to talk about (i.e. inchoate feelings), why support groups are so important, and how keeping depression hidden can cause nervous breakdowns (impression management). He repeats himself somewhat, has fairly stilted prose and is too thorough with his introduction and conclusion style in every chapter. Overall, however, if you suffer from depression, and don't have a support group as a resource (or even if you do have a support group) this book will help you understand that you are not alone in your illness and what your options in dealing with it are (yes, there are options). 50 people cannot all be wrong, and the synergy of their experience is to the reader's benefit.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

"Even though depression has periodically made me feel that my life was not worth living, has created havoc in my family, and sometimes made the work of teaching and writing seem impossible," writes David Karp, "by some standards, I have been fortunate." Indeed, depression can be devastating, leading to family breakups, loss of employment, even suicide. And it is a national problem, with some ten to fifteen million Americans suffering from it, and the number is growing. 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 fifty 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. We hear what depression feels like, what it means to receive an "official" clinical diagnosis, and what depressed persons think of the battalion of mental health experts--doctors, nurses, social workers, sociologists, psychologists, and therapists--employed to help them. We learn the personal significance that patients attach to beginning a prescribed daily drug regimen, and their ongoing struggle to make sense of biochemical explanations and metaphors of depression as a disease. Ranging in age from their early twenties to their mid-sixties, the people Karp profiles reflect on their working lives and career aspirations, and confide strategies for overcoming paralyzing episodes of hopelessness. They reveal how depression affects their intimate relationships, and, in a separate chapter, spouses, children, parents, and friends provide their own often-overlooked point of view. 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 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.

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