Struck By Living (2nd Edition)
From Depression to Hope
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Struck by Living, originally published in 2010, is a story about me, Julie Kosnik Hersh, my experience with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and management of depression. This new version includes a prologue detailing the strange series of events this book spurred, as well as a wellness list in the back.
On the original book tour, I decided it was too depressing to just talk about my depression, so I talked about how I stayed well too. People scribbled down these ideas like gospel, which they aren’t. They are common-sense ideas I’ve learned from years of psychotherapy, my own reading, and talking to people about this topic. I’ve included these ideas in this new edition so people don’t have to scribble. I love to read, so I wrote this book like a novel, instead of like a self-help book. I’m not a fan of self-help books as most of them claim to be “the answer.” The older I get, the more I realize how little I know. I do know there is no single answer for managing mental illness. This is a life-long task, where we all have to figure out our own quirks and how to manage them. If my story can help you figure this out—great.
Each time I speak about my experience, I find people are often one step removed from the devastation of mental illness or even suicide. Stories about mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, spouses, and children all make me wonder: Could we have stopped those deaths? If we are more aware, can we see the signs earlier and save a life?
I think we can. In that belief, I offer my story. Proceeds from this book will be donated to programs and research to battle mental illness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Despite an idyllic family life, including two children and a loving husband, the depression that consumed former business exec Hersh drove her to three suicide attempts in the space of six months. In this inspiring, brutal memoir, Hersh documents her struggle back to life, including stints in hospital psychiatric wards, a month at an anti-depression camp, various medications, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Hersh renders her journey in graceful prose ("My deathtrap brain failed to truncate my existence") that doesn't get in the way of her attempts to dispel the stigma that surrounds mental illness and its treatment; she faces ECT early on and finds it a particularly effective treatment far removed from its negative popular image. As a severe case, Hersh gives a clear, resonant voice to many aspects of a complicated illness, while offering a moving and hopeful (though at times frightening) narrative for those fighting to overcome depression's worst.