Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 A book to be grateful for August 19, 2008
I'd highly recommend this book for anyone who has suffered from depression. `We read to know we are not alone' it goes, and so it is here. The author successfully articulates the feelings associated with depression: the inability to function at a busy party; the wish to avoid watching upsetting news programmes and instead watch old films; eating food but feeling like you have ashes in your mouth; waking up at 3.20 every morning, infuriatingly. We read this and we think: you as well!
The complexity of depression is rife for intellectual assessment. Brampton, who is an intelligent writer, not only details her horrible experiences (and they are sometimes difficult to read) but discusses solutions. Yoga, talk therapy, vitamin supplements, interest in science, gardening and quiet, short meals with friends are some of the things offered as panacea.
She talks about antidepressants a fair bit and on one page lists the possible side effects of one particular drug. They are so horrendous as to be hilarious. It's little details like this that stop the book from being monotonous.
The book benefits from being written by a secular author, so no silly mystical or supernatural `solutions' are offered. If you're a depressive it's the book you might have been looking for for a long time, as it's one that offers more solace than many self help guides.
There's a surprising happy ending too - at least in book terms, because in life, there are no real endings: everything is temporary, everything keeps moving.
cautious July 24, 2008
Having a Black dog myself I found the book very good on facing up to the recognition of such a state of depression.It highlights very well the fundamental problem[s].However, I simply don't believe in the fairy tale ending. Firstly it is not an option between Happiness/death. Happiness is such an effervercent concept and simply not reality.In my experience it is about solid ground work.Happiness is momentary. To imagine another human being can wave a magic wand and dispel all internal problems is 'pie in the sky' In other words, the Black Dog cannot be shot, simply acknowledged and the pain eased through self help therapies.
 Worthy but not engrossing July 17, 2008
I bought mine from a charity shop and the previous reader - clearly someone who suffers from depression - had written all over it, as she obviously had been touched very deeply and found it very true. Sadly, I only got halfway through. I'm not sure why, but it felt a bit like a reader for mental health students and I didn't feel engaged (empathy?) with the author, although of course I felt for her. I really feel I ought to recommend it, but...
 Or at least give it a decent haircut darling July 15, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Winston Churchill called his depression the "black dog", hence the title. Despite the fact that one of the most famous figures of the 20th century suffered from this disease and was open enough about it that his term for it is widely known, sufferers from depression still seem to feel that it is a "hidden" problem and that the afflicted are condemned to social ostracism and outdated, ineffective treatments.
At least, Sally Brampton does. Sympathetic as I am to her struggle with her illness, there is such a strong element of "how could this happen to me?" running through this book, that I was tempted at points to shout at it "because you are a narcissistic, self-absorbed, career woman who has suddenly realised that her life is pointless". But shouting at books makes my husband look at me oddly, so instead, I gritted my teeth and allowed Ms Brampton to tell me about her glittering career and famous friends, be rude about hapless strangers who have said the wrong thing at dinner parties (where "wrong" means not taking Ms Brampton as seriously as she would like) and plant daggers firmly between the shoulders of her poor parents, who are, of course, to blame for the horrible mess she finds herself in. As someone with family members who suffer from the severest form of this illness, I have not always been a massive fan of the psychiatric profession, but even so found myself empathising with the professionals unlucky enough to encounter Ms Brampton during her journey through the disease.
Depression has many causes, some organic, some genetic, some situational, but often I believe, hits us at points in our life when reality makes our fantasy view of ourselves unsustainable. The bigger the gap between fantasy and reality, the more severe the depression. No surprise then, that Sally Brampton made her living in fashion journalism, where suppressing reality is the basic currency. If you want to read about how to tackle depression, shut this damn book and read Dorothy Rowe instead.
 A must if you or someone close to you suffers with depression July 6, 2008
If you suffer with depression or know someone who does, I highly recommend this book.
It says everything that you can only try to explain to someone when you suffer with depression. Its so hard to really get a glimps into the mind of someone who suffers from this illness and it will explain so much if you are trying to help someone through a difficult time or you suffer yourself and desperately want those close to you to understand.
Well worth a read, excellently written.
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