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Summary: Clear, concise, and conversational.
Review: I take issue with the reader who found it dry. Quite the contrary in my estimation. I was riveted and felt like "I was there". A great read at many levels. If you or someone you know is clinically depressed, this is as close as you'll get to understanding an un-undertandable human condition. Mr. Styron describes the indescribable.
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Summary: Too dry and intellectual
Review: I first read William Styron many years ago when one summer I found Lie Down in Darkness. Others books followed. A psychiatrist recommended it to me as a help with my depression. While interesting it lacks a human touch or feeling. It is too intellectual and dry and it succeeds only because of the stature of the author. Martha Manning's Undercurrents takes the reader into the soul of a person in deep depression and makes you feel the pain and finally you both break out. It's a small classic.
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Summary: Gave me hope that I too could be helped.
Review: This was the first book that I read written by someone who understood what it was like to live with clinical depression. I had read all of the "self-help" and "feeling good" books recommended by my therapists but none of them gave me any hope that my depression would end. Sure, they described my symptoms and prescribed therapies but what was lacking was "hope." It is the feeling of hopoelessness that drives depressed people to suicide and this book was the only one that gave me any hope for a future. Since then I have read numerous biographies of others with the same condition. If you or someone you love is depressed this book is a great place to start the road to recovery because it is short, well-written, honest, and , above all, gives you hope - if not for a "cure" at least for help to cope with depression.
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Summary: Thank you Mr. Styron
Review: An incredible read. For anyone needing to know how a depressesd person feels, this is it.
Mr. Styron, thank you. I wish I could meet you and shake your hand. You have weritten a book which has proved to be an invaluable aid to many.
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Summary: Styron's Darkness Visible rings true.
Review: William Styron's 'Darkness Visible' provided a vivid portrait of the hell depression can make one's life. Fine prose and deep understanding on an agonizing experience to have to endure.
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Summary: Styron is brilliant!
Review: Anyone who is affected by either the disease of alcoholism, anxiety, or depression must read this autobiography. Styron explains what so many people have tried to do. He tells about each of these diseases from first hand experiences. He shares all of his fellings with reader, he does not hold anything back. Styron sharing all of his true feelings is what made this book so rememberable. It puts the reader in the eyes of a severe alcoholic depressant. Styrons great description can help anyone see what it might be like to suffer from the terrible effects of alcoholism, depression, and anxiety.
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Summary: A courageous and noble memoir of a misunderstood disease
Review: In this 83-page memoir, William Styron provides an indispensable education for those who have not experienced depression, a consolation of shared experience for those who have, and an essential read for those who treat the disorder. Styron attacks the popular confusion of the more mundane varieties of depression with the crippling effects of severe mood disorder. Although one of the themes is the inability of those who have not been severely depressed to understand the disorder, Styron comes as close as may be possible to writing an account that may help achieve that understanding. A courageous, noble and beautiful book.
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Summary: This book captures depressions engulfment of your very being
Review: Mr. Styron is able to capture the uttermost desperation of a person suffering from depression. He is able to express so artfully and skillfully the pain associated with this illness. Even though depression is such a mind and spirit paralyzer, this book helps one realize that with proper treatment a person can win the battle against depression.
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Summary: Required reading
Review: This book should be required reading for everyone who is close to someone suffering from depression. Mr. Styron's description of his illness sheds light on what depression is really like in a way that most depressed people can't articulate. Read it during the depression so you can better understand what your loved one is feeling.
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Summary: An excellent example for us all
Review: He tells his story with brutal truthfullness, which is hard to find. I am tired of simply hearing that "it will all be all right." This booked dealt with personal facts and showed me that this is a livable disease.
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