Shoot the Damn Dog
A Memoir of Depression
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'This brave and moving memoir challenges all the clichés about mental illness ... All who know the pain of depression will find the book immensely useful, and so will their friends and relations' Sunday Times
'Brave and honest ... It must have been terribly painful to write it. But, golly, am I glad that Sally Brampton did' Independent
Shoot the Damn Dog blasts the stigma of depression as a character flaw and confronts the illness Winston Churchill called 'the black dog', a condition that humiliates, punishes and isolates its sufferers.
It is a personal account of a journey through severe depression as well as being a practical book, suggesting ideas about what might help. With its raw, understated eloquence, it will speak volumes to anyone whose life has been haunted by depression, as well as offering help and understanding to those whose loved ones suffer from this difficult illness.
This updated edition includes a beautiful and moving afterword by Sally Brampton's daughter, Molly Powell, following her mother's death in 2016.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A British fashion industry insider, Brampton wrote for Vogue and the Observer before launching Elle magazine in the U.K. By midlife, she had a successful, creative career, many close friends and a lovely daughter. Everything was going fabulously "until she fell apart. A paralyzing depression gripped her so intensely, she finally acknowledged that she needed to be institutionalized. Unfortunately, she was one of the many with treatment-resistant depression "high-tech pharmaceuticals just didn't work for her. As she cycled in and out of mental wards, survived suicide attempts and tried countless therapies, she learned a lot about depression "the stigma surrounding it, how it's triggered, the range of available therapies. With unflinching honesty, she describes her own experiences as well as sharing her research, letting readers take from it what you need and leave the rest. Brampton is particularly good at describing the currently favored therapies, like cognitive behavioral therapy, positive psychology and cognitive mindfulness behavioral therapy. Her openness to all sorts of treatment, including acupuncture, is refreshing, as is the ease with which she advises friends and family on how to be most helpful. Brampton's story is accessible and endearing.
