You Are Not Alone: Words of Experience and Hope for the Journey Through Depression

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Summary: Absolutely the best book on depression!
Review: I first read this book a few years ago during my first 'go round' with depression. (I have since gone through a second depressive episode) I continue to flip through the pages, and have several of them flagged, as well as highlighted. I have ready many books on depression and have found this one to be the best yet! I remember reading some of the pages and thinking 'Oh, my God ... I feel that!!' ... It definintely made me realize that I am not the only person suffering from this horrible disease ... depression. Thank you Julia Thorne!

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Summary: Best way to "describe" depression to your family & friends
Review: I have clinical depression and for years I struggled to understand what I was feeling and then how to describe it to others. I felt so alone. This book was a God send for me! It made me realize that others struggle with the same problems that I do - it was confirmation that I was not crazy. I shared the book with my family to help them understand what I was feeling but could not express.

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Summary: The company she kept
Review: Look at who she was married to! If I'd been married to him I would have been depressed for eight years, too.
Luckily, the American people didn't elect him or we'd ALL might have ended up DEPRESSED FOR EIGHT YEARS!

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Summary: a paperback "friend" who can relate
Review: People who have never been to the Dark Side just don't understand what it is like to be depressed, to be inconsolable and cry uncontrollably. Caring friends may encourage you to "cheer up" or tell you "you don't have anything to be depressed about", but these things only make you feel worse. This book is -- okay, it's no substitute for a therapist or a caring friend -- but its full of one-two paragraph snippets from folks who have been there -- sharing their feelings, their symptoms, their words of encouragement. This book is not a how-to; it doesn't discuss the chemistry of depression or outline treatment programs. Rather, it really does make you feel like you're not crazy, not the only person in the world who is crippled by depression. Some of the writers even describe how they are empowered by their depression -- which is encouraging. My only, tiny little gripe about the book -- the author/editor changes the names and home towns of the contributors to protect their privacy, and in one of the stories, the author's purported name doesn't match the name in the story. Nitpicky, I know.

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Summary: Thank God for Explaining Depression So Well!
Review: This is a good book to read if you need reassurance that you are not alone. Anyone suffering from depression knows that pervasive feeling all to well and this book fits that niche nicely. However, if you are looking for help on how to recover, there are far better books out there offering sound advice most notably "undoing Depression". Again though, this is an important book for people in the stage of depression where they are feeling alone.

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Summary: Great Book for Describing Depression
Review: This is a wonderful book if you want to know what it feels like to be depressed. It does feel like you are all alone because one of the main things about depression is that you disengage from everything and everyone. For a book about how to get out of depression, how to re-engage, try the book Depression is a Choice or Undoing Depression.

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Summary: I Beg To Differ
Review: When you have depression, nothing matters. The title of this book is complete B.S Yes, you are alone. Just because there are millions of people suffering with depression, doesn't mean that these people are with you. Depression isn't easy and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. These stories are heartbreaking and make you feel even more alone because there's still no one to talk to. One of the stories explained it perfectly:
"No one wants to be around someone who's down. Who wants to spend time with someone who's full of fear, anger and sadness? Besides, I don't know anyone who's gone through what I'm going through right now. What can I say to people? That I want to check out, that I want to go to sleep and never wake up. Nobody wants to hear that. It's lonely being depressed."
I'm not saying this is a bad book, it's just that the title is completely unsuitable.

Rating:
Summary: I Beg To Differ
Review: When you have depression, nothing matters. The title of this book is complete B.S Yes, you are alone. Just because there are millions of people suffering with depression, doesn't mean that these people are with you. Depression isn't easy and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. These stories are heartbreaking and make you feel even more alone because there's still no one to talk to. One of the stories explained it perfectly:
"No one wants to be around someone who's down. Who wants to spend time with someone who's full of fear, anger and sadness? Besides, I don't know anyone who's gone through what I'm going through right now. What can I say to people? That I want to check out, that I want to go to sleep and never wake up. Nobody wants to hear that. It's lonely being depressed."
I'm not saying this is a bad book, it's just that the title is completely unsuitable.

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Summary: Read This Book!
Review: Whether you are, aren't sure, or convinced you are not, this is a worthwhile book to read. Everyone knows someone who is depressed, and this book is so helpful for understanding what depression feels like from people in all age ranges. There are stories from people who have suffered from depression most of their lives to people who found solutions early on. I was lucky to happen upon this book in my therapist's office (she practically has a library there) and took it home to read because I am being treated for depression and also have a young son who is depressed. I have now purchased the book for my son. This book offers so much hope to those who are suffering from depression and so much insight to those who know someone depressed.

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Summary: Being There
Review: While depression has a cluster of common symptoms and emotions, each person's experience of is unique. This book consists of many verbal snapshots, by people of all ages. It contains the voices not just of those who suffer directly from depression, but of those who suffer with the sufferers. If you are depressed, or if you love someone who is depressed, you will find in this book words which articulate your emotions. Finding those words will reassure you that "you are not alone," and will help you towards health.