Life B
Overcoming Double Depression
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $12.99
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
A bracing and fresh look at a lifelong struggle with depression and mental illness
Plagued by depression her entire life, it wasn’t until her early fifties that writer and book critic Bethanne Patrick, advocating for her own care, received a medical diagnosis that would set her on the path to wellness and stability.
Recognizing the intergenerational effects of trauma and mental health struggles, Patrick unearths the stories of her past in order to forge a better future for herself and her two daughters, dismantling the stigmas surrounding mental health challenges that can plague families into silence and resignation. Life B is an intimate portrait we haven’t yet seen—of a lifelong struggle with depression, of midlife diagnosis and newly found strength. Most important, it’s a life-affirming blueprint of how to accept and transcend the limitations of mental illness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Book critic and PW contributor Patrick (The Books That Changed My Life) turns a mirror on her lifelong struggles with mental illness in this bracing memoir. After grappling with depression for decades and coming to the cusp of self-harm multiple times ("On my best days, I was depressed... on my worst days, I considered ending my life"), Patrick finally received a diagnosis at age 52 that changed her life: double depression, a condition in which chronic depression spirals into major depressive episodes during times of great stress. As Patrick dug into her adolescence, she came to realize how the disease had driven her feelings of inadequacy and stalled her productivity: "Being depressed every day—and during high school and college I was not treated for the condition at all—means that every day you come up short. You're not as good, not as worthy, not as savvy, not as talented, not as studious." But with medication and therapy, Patrick began to brighten, and here provides a road map for others to do so as well. Riveting and remarkable in its portrayal of the author's struggles, this will lend hope to others suffering from mental illness and those who love them. It's a standout in a very crowded field.
