An African Girl Living with Depression

Thandi Brown is a young woman living in South Africa. She grew up in an abusive home. Her father was abusing her mother regularly. Her mother chose to stay in the marriage for a long time because she wanted her children to grow up in a home with both parents. Growing up in an abusive environment affected Thandi and her two sisters significantly.

Thandi has been battling with depression since childhood. However, she only received an official diagnosis after the age of 30. She always knew that she needed to get help, but she dreaded the idea of seeing a therapist. In the African culture, depression is not discussed openly because it is considered to be a first world problem.

In this book, Thandi has retyped journal entries she had made for one month. This was a period when she was going through the darkest time in her life. She used to believe that she was abnormal and crazy. She felt like she was fighting this battle alone. She is sharing her journal entries to encourage others who are also dealing with depression. Being depressed does not make you abnormal, there are millions of people who are dealing with it.