Mike Wallace Chooses Five Books About Depression 1. How You Can Survive When They're Depressed By Ann Sheffield Harmony Books, 1998 I was first hit with depression more than 20 years ago during the time of a highly publicized libel trial against CBS, which happily ended in our favor. (I was hit again about 12 years ago, when I turned 75 and figured that I didn't really need the Zoloft I'd been told to stay on for the rest of my life.) One of the first books I read back in the 1980s was Ann Sheffield's, aimed at helping the friends and family of depressives. I was lower than a snake's belly, and my wife, Mary, was suffering because of it. Ms. Sheffield describes, stage by stage, how depressives affect others around them. The wife of one depressed man told her: "At night I take my book into another room so as not to have to look at him reading the same Tom Clancy thriller over and over ... I hate being home with him because I really hate looking at him." 2. More Than Moody By Harold Koplewicz, M.D. G.P. Putnam's, 2002 The author, a leading child psychiatrist, provides advice on treating depression in the young, drawing on anecdotes from his practice. One of the great strengths of this work is the sustained view of some of the patients. One of them recalls the day he was so overwhelmed with life that he lay down in the middle of a road "hoping someone wouldn't see me and run over me." A car came, the driver got out and the would-be suicide apologized. The patient gleaned from this event, at least, that he wanted someone else to do the job. 3. The Peace of Mind Prescription By Dennis Charney, M.D., and Charles Nemeroff, M.D. Houghton-Mifflin, 2004 Distinguished academics though the authors are, their book is easy to read, and it dispels some of depression's ghastly mysteries. For instance: Perplexed families of suicide victims look for reasons behind this apparently senseless act. "In truth," the authors explain, "most suicides are senseless" -- suicide is the tragic final step in a long illness that robs its victims of meaning. They also provide exhaustive evaluations of various drugs and therapies. "The bottom line," the doctors say, "is that practically everyone can become tougher, more resilient, and less vulnerable to mood disorders or anxiety." 4. Undercurrents: A Therapist's Reckoning With Her Own Depression By Margaret Manning HarperCollins, 1994 Martha Manning, a practicing clinical psychologist, was herself struck by major depression and eventually resorted to electroshock therapy when other treatments failed. This book is her record of the journey -- an honest, touching and, believe it or not, funny account of her descent into despair and her re-entry into life via electroshock. "It is," she writes of one low moment, "all I can do just to empty the dishwasher and sweep the floor." She dreads a haircut appointment that will force her into conversation. This book isn't only for those suffering from depression; it's for everyone who would value a story of human endurance and hope. 5. Against Depression By Peter D. Kramer Viking, 2005 Peter Kramer, the author of "Listening to Prozac," chronicles, with disapproval, the development of attitudes that portray depression as ennobling or "heroic." Melancholy, he notes, has been enshrined in the romantic imagination -- witness the two great novels by men about women, "Anna Karenina" and "Madame Bovary," both of which end in the heroine's suicide. Such attitudes, he believes, and the prevalence of depression, have changed our culture, and not for the better. He considers depression an illness that must be fought. Toward that end, he provides breaking news from top research scientists about its causes and cures. Mr. Wallace is a correspondent for CBS's "60 Minutes." Carol A. Kivler Courageous Recovery "Changing the face of mental illness" 33 Traditions Way, Suite 101 Lawrence, NJ 08648 (609) 882-8988 carol@CourageousRecovery.com www.CourageousRecovery.com A Division of Kivler Communications www.kivlercommunications.com