◆ l i n k s t o b u y t h e b o o k s
Paperback : amzn.to/3mXy6Gs
Kindle : amzn.to/3kkAd5L
◆ a b o u t t h e b o o k
This exhaustive 600 page memoir is written most eloquently and should come with a trigger warning! It was positively one of my top 10 reads of the decade and comes closely after Kay Redfield Jamisons "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 has access to good healthcare is precisely what made this book EVEN MORE appealing to me. Depression does not discriminate (Touché) and IS biological.
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 etc.
While the book is not an Atlas of depression (It is non-academic) and as such does not touch upon sociocultural (Indian) or gender issues in much detail - it is a rather well-researched (for 2001) account of the goings-on in the field.
I was also left rather hopeful and happy in the end on reading the newly added 2015 chapter and seeing that the author continues to be prolific in his writing and well-adjusted given the circumstances of his health.
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
◆ a b o u t m e
Hi, I’m Radhika Bapat and I have an MA, Mphil and PhD In Clinical Psychology. I am a columnist at Hufftington Post’s @Thrive Global, YourStory and Times of India. Since the mental health fallout of the pandemic, I have been creating free content to help people outside the space of individual therapy. I served as Head of the Department of Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health at Sahyadri Hospitals in Pune from 2009-2018 and resigned from this post to additionally pursue my passions - reading, studying & playing. I am married to Fulbright-Hays fellow and scholar in South Asian studies Justin Scarimbolo. Together we have a son, Neel, with whom we travel between our two homes in Pune, India and the Catskills Mountains of Upstate New York.
◆ s o c i a l m e d i a l i n k s
FACEBOOK: / 4ambookclub
INSTAGRAM : / psychotherapybar
TWITTER : / 4ambookclub
5 окт 2024
