The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
Sometimes, the legacy of depression includes a wisdom beyond one’s years, a depth of passion unexperienced by those who haven’t traveled to hell and back. Off the charts in its enlightening, comprehensive analysis of this pervasive yet misunderstood condition, The Noonday Demon forges a long, brambly path through the subject of depression–exposing all the discordant views and “answers” offered by science, philosophy, law, psychology, literature, art, and history. The result is a sprawling and thoroughly engrossing study, brilliantly synthesized by author Andrew Solomon.
Deceptively simple chapter titles (including “Breakdowns,” “Treatments,” “Addiction,” “Suicide”) each sit modestly atop a virtual avalanche of Solomon’s intellect. This is not a book to be skimmed. But Solomon commands the language–and his topic–with such grace and empathy that the constant flow of references, poems, and quotations in his paragraphs arrive like welcome dinner guests. A longtime sufferer of severe depression himself, Solomon willingly shares his life story with readers. He discusses updated information on various drugs and treatment approaches while detailing his own trials with them. He describes a pharmaceutical company’s surreal stage production (involving Pink Floyd, kick dancers, and an opener à la Cats) promoting a new antidepressant to their sales team. He chronicles his research visits to assorted mental institutions, which left him feeling he would “much rather engage with every manner of private despair than spend a protracted time” there. Under Solomon’s care, however, such tales offer much more than shock value. They show that depression knows no social boundaries, manifests itself quite differently in each person, and has become political. And, while it may worsen or improve, depression will never be eradicated. Hope lies in finding ways–as Solomon clearly has–to harness its powerful lessons. –Liane Thomas
The Noonday Demon examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policy makers and politicians, drug designers and philosophers, Andrew Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications, the efficacy of alternative treatments, and the impact the malady has on various demographic populations — around the world and throughout history. He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by emerging biological explanations for mental illness. With uncommon humanity, candor, wit, and erudition, award-winning author Solomon takes readers on a journey of incom-parable range and resonance into the most pervasive of family secrets. His contribution to our understanding not only of mental illness but also of the human condition is truly stunning.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars A must reading to all without hope.
Incredibly enlightening into the darkness of depression and the light that hope provides to all who have suffered depression. A must read to all.
2 Stars Too raw for me to read……..a trigger for my depression
I had to put this book down after 70 pages. It was too graphic and too raw for me to read. With a history of depression myself and 2 hospitalizations, it triggered me into another depression. Do not recommend to anyone with a similar history as myself.
4 Stars CLASSIC FOUND IN HARD COVER
I MUCH PREFER HARD BACK BOOKS AS THEY ARE MOST OFTEN EASIER FOR ME TO READ. THIS IS A CLASSIC IN THE FIELD. I WAS HAPPY TO FIND IT AT A REASONABLE PRICE.
5 Stars This book affected my life more than any other
This is the best book I’ve ever read and likely will ever read. Period.
I have suffered off and on from depression throughout my life and this book, the first and only book I’ve ever read on the subject, did so much for my understanding about the condition. I’ve really never read a book that explained what I think and feel better than this.
First off, Andrew Solomon is an excellent writer. He gets a bit verbose at times but I found each sentence, regardless of it’s complexity, an adventure in and of itself. He paints such an incredible picture of the feelings and thoughts that accompany depression. Like anyone able to describe depression, Andrew has been through it and reading what he’s suffered from made me realize how lucky I have been with my own depression. Andrew has seen hell, been through hell, and came out enlightened.
Strangely, I always find this book difficult to describe adequately. His words were just so well chosen and the research so personal and interesting, I feel like it’s a book that needs to be experienced to be understood fully.
If you suffer from depression, clinical or occasional or undiagnosed or anything, I completely recommend reading this book from cover to cover. If you know someone who suffers from this condition and are struggling to understand what they’re going through, this book will go a long way towards helping you see what they see. I’ve really never had a book that explained something as well as this.
4 Stars Like an addiction
Like an addiction you want to put this book down (and you do for a while) but you can’t not come back to it…
The normality of the day to day abnormality of life.
Life, death, barely life, almost death, depression, struggle, complete despair, hope then numbness… what is a more basic set of human emotions… This book is so deeply troubling because it digs right through to the core of our emotions at a level fortunately most people’s only experience as a proxy…
Filed under: Mental Health Book Reviews