A quick read that provides tested techniques to reestablish equilibrium in one’s life.
A guidebook to help you through the rough spots in life.
In an upbeat, lighthearted narrative that combines elements of memoir, guidebook, and workbook, DeAngelis interweaves her personal story with therapeutic practices and exercises to help readers regain balance when all seems hopeless. The author’s past was filled with depression, bouts in psychiatric hospitals, and thoughts of suicide until she began applying these coping skills: paying attention to one’s breath, integrating movement to ward off depression, experiencing forgiveness, addressing grief, and more. Each of the 10 sections, which feature frequent lists, sidebars, and font changes, is intimate and expressive, pushing readers to fully explore what they are feeling or thinking at the moment. For anyone who has read the work of SARK, the format will feel familiar, with its handwritten notes interwoven with typed sections and blank spaces left for the reader’s own thoughts to be included on the page. DeAngelis combines insight into the realities of deep depression with humor and encouragement. Certain exercises may strike some readers as overly saccharine—e.g., creating a happy jar filled with happy thoughts—but most will help readers seeking to cope with the difficult aspects of life. “This is not one of those books where I am promising that your life will change if you take these simple steps,” writes the author. “I have no idea what will happen in your life and you do not need to try anything that does not sound cool. I do not and cannot know what is best for you or what will work for you.” With that in mind, readers can pick and choose what most appeals to them, knowing that all the exercises have worked at one time or another for DeAngelis, which is a good testament to their efficacy.
A quick read that provides tested techniques to reestablish equilibrium in one’s life.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-62106-901-0
Page Count: 157
Publisher: Microcosm Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2020
Rhimes said “yes” to sharing her insights. Following her may not land you on the cover of a magazine, but you’ll be glad you...
The queen of Thursday night TV delivers a sincere and inspiring account of saying yes to life.
Rhimes, the brain behind hits like Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, is an introvert. She describes herself as a young girl, playing alone in the pantry, making up soap-opera script stories to act out with the canned goods. Speaking in public terrified her; going to events exhausted her. She was always busy, and she didn’t have enough time for her daughters. One Thanksgiving changed it all: when her sister observed that she never said “yes” to anything, Rhimes took it as a challenge. She started, among other things, accepting invitations, facing unpleasant conversations, and playing with her children whenever they asked. The result was a year of challenges and self-discovery that led to a fundamental shift in how she lives her life. Rhimes tells us all about it in the speedy, smart style of her much-loved TV shows. She’s warm, eminently relatable, and funny. We get an idea of what it’s like to be a successful TV writer and producer, to be the ruler of Shondaland, but the focus is squarely on the lessons one can learn from saying yes rather than shying away. Saying no was easy, Rhimes writes. It was comfortable, “a way to disappear.” But after her year, no matter how tempting it is, “I can no longer allow myself to say no. No is no longer in my vocabulary.” The book is a fast read—readers could finish it in the time it takes to watch a full lineup of her Thursday night programing—but it’s not insubstantial. Like a cashmere shawl you pack just in case, Year of Yes is well worth the purse space, and it would make an equally great gift.
Rhimes said “yes” to sharing her insights. Following her may not land you on the cover of a magazine, but you’ll be glad you did.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4767-7709-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 31, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
A vibrant, encouraging depiction of a sinister disorder.
A British novelist turns to autobiography to report the manifold symptoms and management of his debilitating disease, depression.
Clever author Haig (The Humans, 2013, etc.) writes brief, episodic vignettes, not of a tranquil life but of an existence of unbearable, unsustainable melancholy. Throughout his story, presented in bits frequently less than a page long (e.g., “Things you think during your 1,000th panic attack”), the author considers phases he describes in turn as Falling, Landing, Rising, Living, and, finally, simply Being with spells of depression. Haig lists markers of his unseen disease, including adolescent angst, pain, continual dread, inability to speak, hypochondria, and insomnia. He describes his frequent panic attacks and near-constant anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure. Haig also assesses the efficacy of neuroscience, yoga, St. John’s wort, exercise, pharmaceuticals, silence, talking, walking, running, staying put, and working up the courage to do even the most seemingly mundane of tasks, like visiting the village store. Best for the author were reading, writing, and the frequent dispensing of kindnesses and love. He acknowledges particularly his debt to his then-girlfriend, now-wife. After nearly 15 years, Haig is doing better. He appreciates being alive and savors the miracle of existence. His writing is infectious though sometimes facile—and grammarians may be upset with the writer’s occasional confusion of the nominative and objective cases of personal pronouns. Less tidy and more eclectic than William Styron’s equally brief, iconic Darkness Visible, Haig’s book provides unobjectionable advice that will offer some help and succor to those who experience depression and other related illnesses. For families and friends of the afflicted, Haig’s book, like Styron’s, will provide understanding and support.
A vibrant, encouraging depiction of a sinister disorder.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-312872-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
SEEN & HEARD
Readers Donate Depression Book After Star Suicide
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