Queer Blues: The Lesbian and Gay Guide to Overcoming Depression

Rating:
Summary: A practical, engaging and kind approach to queer blues
Review: I heartily recommend this book for any gay or lesbian person who is suffering or has suffered from depression--a condition which is not at all rare in our community. The life partner or another loved one of a depressed person will also find a great deal of helpful information. Most of all, I appreciated the fact that this book really is gay specific--it is certainly not just another book on depression with a different cover slapped on the front. The authors are a gay man and a lesbian who work as psychotherapists in San Francisco, and the ways in which aspects of depression can be gay-specific, such as the impact of internal as well as external homophobia, are considered throughout, and always with respect to both men and women. I found that the sections on negative and homophobic self-talk really resonated with me, because it included some of the very statements I have used to malign myself, and I had never seen that in other books I've read on the subject. The case studies of different gay and lesbian individuals are also a strong point of the book; they cover such a variety of life stages and circumstances that almost any gay or lesbian person will find one or more stories that sound very much like their own. There is a tremendous amount of good information about different kinds of medications that can be used for depression, including an interview the authors conducted with two psychiatrists who are also a gay man and a lesbian. The interview offers much more than just a profile of the meds; it really delves deep into a discussion of approaches to medication and addresses some of the concerns one would have before undergoing treatment. The book closes with an excellent chapter entitled 'Befriending the Black Dog', a reference to the term Winston Churchill had for his own struggles with the blues. As the topics and perspectives covered in the book are reviewed, it is put to the reader to bring it all together in her own way, and to do so with courage and compassion.