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Summary: if she can make it through so can I
Review: I read this book in a day and longed to get back to it when I was away. It's releving how she deals with situations that would drive other people insane with calm reflection and ok, next step attitude. being a depressed person myslef I read this book of a clear case of biological depression and also "Undoing Depression" which helps depression from your environment and it was nice to get both perspectives. I would recommend this book to nondepressed people too cause it's highly entertaining.
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Summary: I would rate it with 10 stars if I could
Review: I read this book in one day.. an easy read, very articulate, touching.. it made me cry.. I learned about depression.. I love reading it.. and felt bad that it had to end!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I read this book in one sitting. I felt like Martha Manning was writing about my life! There were so many parallels to my own depression that I understood just what she was going through. I'm glad to finally read a book by someone that's been there and describes this personal hell so eloquently.
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Summary: Humour in the Truth
Review: I received this book at an appearance by Ms. Manning at my place of work; a pharmaceutical company that happens to manufacture a leading antidepressant. Unfortunately, one that does not work for me. After spending 14 years of my life suffering from clinical depression, I found myself nodding my head in affirmation throughout the whole presentation. I took the book home and devoured it in one evening. It was nice to see someone that I could relate to (especially when she described the disarray of her home!). I was initially hesitant to read the book, for fear that it would bring up too many painful experiences. Ms. Manning's humour took out some of the sting. I only regret that I did not have her sign my copy. If you ever get a chance to meet her, you'll know why. Yes, she's even funnier in person and a great lady.
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Summary: A humorous and hopeful look at severe depression
Review: I recently lost my best friend of 23 years to the ravages of severe, clinical depression. She was offered ECT as a procedure of last resort, as all other forms of treatment had been unsucessful to date. She declined ECT, and three weeks ago took her life. This "diary" holds great interest for me, as I am very curious about the author's decision to go forward with ECT. For her, the treatment was successful, and now I can't help but wonder if it would have had the same result for my friend. I enjoyed reading this book very much, it's funny, touching and gives real insight into the pain and desperation that is felt by those suffering from severe depression. Like the author my friend was also highly educated, and high functioning for a great deal of the time. I would recommend this book for anyone dealing with depression, and for anyone wanting to gain a better understanding of this misunderstood illness.
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Summary: Touching and meaningful
Review: I was given this book to read by my therapist as I am a sufferer of manic depression. I love to journal and this book is written in journal form. It is quick and easy to read which is important when you have a lack of concentration due to Depression. I finished it in a couple of hours and I laughed and cried my way through it. It is very touching and it is comforting to know you aren't alone. Martha Manning is me in her thoughts and feelings about dealing with this solitary illness.
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Summary: This is how I feel!!!! But she's funnier...
Review: Martha Manning beautifully articulates the emotions and thoughts that many people have who are struggling with major clinical depression. Not only does she make you feel understood and comforted by sharing her experience...she also causes you to laugh out loud by gently poking fun at some of the absurdities encountered by patients in their search for treatment. This book sparked a lot of revealing conversations between the members of my family who suffer from the same illness, and helped some of my friends understand what is going on behind the scenes and inside my head. It also provided a common ground to share a laugh...and if anything is essential to getting through a depressive episode, it is a sense of humor.
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Summary: An excellent description of the depression experience.
Review: Martha Manning's book Undercurrents is an excellent description of the experience of major depression. It is an enlightenment for those who have not shared the experience and a confirmation for those who have. I laughed and cried throughout Martha's experience because much of it was my own (including ECT). Thank you Martha!
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Summary: Words to express painful thoughts
Review: Martha Mannings book "Undercurrents" was a tremendousencouragement to me when I was desperate. I have suffered severechronic Double Depression for 15 years. I had just finished almost three years in psychotherapy, which left me more depressed to the point of being suicidal before reading Ms Mannings' book. Ms. Mannings is a brave person to go against what appears to be the psychologist's way of thinking about Depression and admits the need for medications. The following are some quotes from the book "undercurrents" - these quotes put into words the thoughts that wander through my mind but I do not have the talent to put into words: "I'm getting less good at faking it. People in my family are noticing and asking what's wrong. My friends give me invitations to talk, to cry, to love them for their caring, but I want to run from it. I have lost their language, their facility with words that convey feelings. I am in new territory and feel like a foreigner in theirs." "In the psychological literature, depression is often seen as a defense against sadness. But I'll take sadness any day. There is no contest. Sadness carries identification. You know where it's been and you know where it's headed. Depression carries no papers. It enters your country unannounced and uninvited. Its origins are unknown, but its destination always dead-ends in you." "We spend a long weekend with my family at the beach. I've had better times at the dentist. I should come with a consumer warning, like the labels that say 'Handle with care' or 'May be hazardous to your health.' I am unfit for human consumption. I struggle to articulate how awful and isolating this feels, but I can't find the words.." In a difficult discussion with her husband she says: "What do you want me to do, Brian? I take my medicine. I go to therapy. I say my prayers. Tell me what you want me to do. Please. Because right now it takes all I have just to breathe and move and be" Her husband answers: " I know it, Marth, and it's breaking my heart." "I look at other people and think, 'He lives without meds. She does. What is wrong with me? Am I so biochemically screwed up, so neurotic, so narcissistically self absorbed that every hour is an obstacle course for me?' And the last quote is the summation of it all. It sums up my overall feelings and no one could say it in any better words. Ms Mannings is able to get inside the Depressives mind as she certainly does mine -: "I don't know, but this can't continue. I feel like I am dying. A slow torturous death. And the worst thing is that I'm taking other people along for the ride. But I swear, I don't know how to do it differently."
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This book deals with depression beautifully and at the same time is absolutely hilarious.
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