...a journey one man, a successful author, embarked upon to discover the truth, causes and healing for the illness we know as depression. In his thirties, Andrew Solomon experienced a complete depressive breakdown shortly after the death of his mother to cancer. From that point on he became lifeless, spending days and nights in bed without the energy or will to go on. He is fortunate because his father and other friends and family were there for him. He also has the financial mean to get the best help available for his illness. Many people--a large percentage of those with depressive symptoms--don't, and the depression kills their hope and spirit for life.



Andrew Solomon takes the reader along on his journey, recounting his personal experiences and sharing his travels to all corners of the world to unearth the ways many other societies label, react to and heal depression. He made the journey and his readers benefit from his wisdom. During the writing of this book, Solomon shares the relationships he formed with other depressives and their stories of hope and recovery.



Solomon traveled to many places for the purpose of trying experimental, spiritual and holistic relief for depression and its symptoms, and gives the reader an emotional reaction to what he finds.



This book is about emotions. Depression is a mood disorder wherein the person experiences the lowest of moods possible. How we as a society and world handle them, or, more correctly, don't handle them. Depression is a problem that--if ever to be accepted and healed--needs the communities we live in to become empathetic to the causes of the chemical imbalance that brings the symptoms of depression to many of the people within it.



I found several people during my research who said that the day someone called their problem depression and gave them a word to use for it was the day they began to get better. ~ Andrew Solomon

...the author's voice made a huge impact on my desire to read this long and deeply intellectual book. Solomon writes prose as if it is poetry. His writing style and articulations are a gift to read. He is highly intellectual and empathetic; his personality is an essential part of his writing. He shows courage, compassion and tenacity through the words he has put down in this book and shown to the world for our benefit.

…recommend it to every “down” person or depression sufferer and their friends and family. It is a phenomenal account of one man's journey to understand and come to terms with his depression. The information he garnered for himself is shared with the reader, and is enlightening to say the least. He travels all over the world to research the different ways other societies and cultures handle depression and the symptoms. It is NOT a typical clinician's book on depression.

...excited for the enrichment it brought into my life; validated in my own struggles, joy in the wisdom and journey to recover from depression and live a productive, alive existence, and sad for those who have and will live a lifetime of shame and deep sorrow for those with undiagnosed or undertreated depression and ultimately those who commit suicide.

To visit the author's homepage and read a biography, go to:





To read an excellent interview with the author, go to:



To read the May 2002 BusinessWeek magazine cover article on the author and his father, go to:

...there are millions who sufferer needlessly, not only with the depression itself but also from our society's stigma attached to being "depressed" and taking medication. Solomon sheds light on the common fallacies associated with depression with his research and personal revelations surrounding this illness. Finally, the author tells us why it is immensely important for us all to support those who are depressed because through the support of society so may could recover. Depression is a social disease in that it is exacerbated by the high stress world we have created that profoundly affects our moods and ability to cope. The people who need societies support the most are those we shun because we cannot handle their pain.

A quote from the book:



Depression is the flaw in love. To be creatures who love, we must be creatures who can despair at what we lose, and depression is the mechanism of that despair. Love, though it is no prophylactic against depression, is what cushions the mind and protects it from itself. Medications and psychotherapy can renew that protection, making it easier to love and be loved, and that is why they work. ~ From The Noonday Demon

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Created Sep 20, 2002 at 3:47pm • Submit your own review...