Depression the Comedy: A Tale of Perseverance

"An uplifting memoir we can all relate to, and the funniest book about depression you’re ever going to read.” Kathryn Greenwood, Whose Line Is It Anyway?

"Jessica Holmes has delivered a powerful ‘antidepressant’ with this hilarious, informative, and heartwarming book.” Dr. Shimi Kang, psychiatrist, bestselling author of The Dolphin Parent

“Jessica's ability to open up about painful things in a way that make them hilarious and beautiful is astounding! This book will make you laugh, make you feel brave and make you feel like you are normal and wonderful just the way you are!” Aisha Alfa, comedian, Just For Laughs

Comedians live by the mantra tragedy + time = comedy—hence Jessica Holmes’s refreshing and hilarious new memoir about depression, “the cold sore of the mind.” She takes us on her journey— sometimes laugh-out-loud, sometimes cringe-worthy—from successful performer to someone who was basically living the life of a house cat. She muses about

* the chicken and the egg of depression and comedy
* marriage counselling (a.k.a. tattling on your spouse)
* where jokes come from
* living on the sofa, which now looks like a tornado hit a 7-Eleven
* her kids’ take on the perks of having a depressed mom: “We don’t have to clean up anything. Yesterday the cat barfed and Mom just put a cushion on it and went back to playing on the iPad!”
* the obnoxiousness of anti-depressant commercials: “I never noticed the ocean before!”

Holmes shares her two cents on how to play it cool when your medication makes you hear Kate Hudson’s voice, and why you don’t sneak elk pepperettes into the movies. It’s a validating read for anyone who has suffered from depression a little (“I get sad every January”) or a lot (“My psychiatrist doesn’t have a name for what I’ve got”) or who just thinks real life calls for levity and understanding.

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Jessica Holmes is a Canadian comedian and writer best known for her work on the Royal Canadian Air Farce and The Holmes Show. As a stand-up comic, she has opened for Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, and Russell Peters, as well as icons like Oprah Winfrey and Deepak Chopra. She’s performed with The Second City, Just for Laughs, and appeared on the TV shows Little Big Kid, The Itch, and Wild Card. Her first memoir, I Love Your Laugh: Finding the Light in My Screwball Life, was published by McClelland & Stewart in 2011. After battling post-partum depression and “regular, run-of-the-mill, garden-variety depression” (her words), Holmes began openly sharing her mental health story using humour. She is the daughter of a Mormon father and feminist mother (yes, that should be a sitcom), and she currently lives in Toronto with her husband and two kids.