north point press january 2001 (1 risultati)

Paper Back. Condizione: New. Amidst the front matter preceding chapter one, Jeffery Smith chooses a few lines from poet Charles Wright's 'Apologia Pro Vita Sua' as his epigraph: There is forgetfulness in me which makes me descend / Into a great ignorance, / And makes me to walk in mud, though what I remember remains.What I remember redeems me, / strips me and brings me to rest. A clinically diagnosed depressive with a history of treatment-resistance, Jeffery Smith quits his chemical cocktail (consisting of three different powerful anti-depressants) after experiencing a frightening temporary paralysis. His fear catalyzes a shift in his approach and makes him consider whether (and how) a person can fruitfully live with depression rather than spend valuable resources trying to outrun it. In the tradition of Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, and with a nod to the extensive cataloging in Melville's Moby Dick, Smith synthesizes a compelling geographical and natural history of depression-which he alternately calls clinical depression, melancholy, melancholia, acedia, and the dark night of the soul-spun with enough candid personal narrative to keep the prose moving. Referencing mythology, human biology, homeopathy, literature, humoral theory, theology, anthropology, and the biographies of several famous melancholics, Smith documents the authentic life he slowly and painfully discovers is possible as he chooses to let himself sink into his own story. Ultimately, forgiveness of self proves to be his biggest obstacle, and the reader may very well find himself not only rooting Smith on, but also glimpsing the nature of his own struggle.