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Summary: Academic View of Illness
Review: Karp is a sociologist who examines depression from a cultural point of view. Folks looking for a "quick cure" are not likely to be satisfied with this particular outing. However, folks looking to understand how society views those with depression, how folks with depression view society, and how the illness can also impact family members ... this is the place to go. I read this book as part of a medical anthropology curriculum ... an ethnography of an illness ... and found it to be quite enlightening. I have been in and out of treatment for depression myself over the years, and finding that so many people had similar experiences of reconstructing their self-view as a result of the illness was quite useful. Again, this book is definitely not a "quick fix" or "feel good" kind of book ... it's one that looks at the nitty-gritty of one of the country's most prevalent illnesses and examines the minutiae therein.
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Summary: The most compassionate book on depression I have read
Review: Professor Karp combines the art of a sociologist and the wisdom and compassion of a man who has been there. Anyone who has experienced depression or been close to someone depressed will be riveted by the stories told in this work. Karp not only allows depressed people to tell their own stories but offers a brilliantly illuminating analysis of how people come to understand themselves and their condition. Karp does not peddle any easy solutions, but the reader will come away with profound new insights about how to make sense of mental illness and live in a world full of suffering.
Rating:
Summary: The most compassionate book on depression I have read
Review: Professor Karp combines the art of a sociologist with the wisdom of a man who has been there. His book offers riveting stories that will captivate the reader, as well as a brilliant analysis of how depressed people come to understand and make sense of their condition. Whether you have known depression or not, you will come away from this book with profound new insight about the meaning of the human condition and how to live in a world of suffering.
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Summary: An Option
Review: Speaking of Sadness is a misleading term. This book is about the effects of depression as experienced by those who are unfortunate enough to undergo such an illness.This book is a very eye opening and excellent source of information for anyone curious about the likelihood of the presence of depression. I have personally experienced mild forms of depression during two different periods in my adolescence. Since these were mild forms, the time intervals between reoccurrences were vast. I must draw the conclusion (knowing my upbringing), that the trauma that caused these bouts of depression was mild (considerably) in comparison to the trauma that causes the depressions described in this text. Yes, I am making a bold statement when I speak of trauma. Science has this habit of rejecting that which cannot be scientifically measured. I have been fortunate enough to be able to release suppressed childhood trauma. Had it not been for my ability to do this, I would be undergoing another bout of depression. I therefore have a theory based on personal experience I would like to share with our author, and those of you who may chance upon this review. Mr. Karp, when you were in Orlando Florida, I think that you were at the beginning of the solution to your removal of depression. The fact that you 'broke down' signaled a step that needed continuance. From what I have experienced, depression is the symptom of suppression of trauma. I do not know how people, with the severity of depression of the order that you experience, will handle the pain that it takes to MOVE-THROUGH the sadness that you are holding within you. I say this because certainly one could not do it at once, I suspect that it would take numerous hours (over many years) of deeply painful weeping. For me and my minute depressive episodes, it took (not until the age of 39) hours of gut-wrenching, fetal position--pain (sadness/weeping) exposure. I had to expose myself to the real sadness inside of me, and it hurt more than I can explain. However, over time, I have been able to remove this sadness from my being, and I AM different from within. The title of the book 'Speaking of Sadness' is ironic due to the fact that depression is a symptom of the avoidance of real sadness. Real sadness is initially more painful than depression, and that is the very fear that keeps us from moving through the sadness. We fear that pain we know we will have!!! The real question is...could a person with severe depression, slowly and gently over time, handle the exposure to that intensity of pain? I believe the answer is Yes, as one becomes accustomed to pain, it becomes easier to remove. We are all aware that medication is primary for many to maintain some sort of balance and stability. And we are all aware, at the very same time, that the medication is merely a symptom fighter, at best. I am being so bold as to expound a cure, and I am personally aware that there is only one thing that could give an individual the courage to attempt such a cure, and that is that very same Spirit that keeps them alive at this moment!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The best book I've read on depression. Makes you realise that there's no magic medicine and that the illness will always be there - a fact I've found it difficult to come to terms with. Still he goes further and says how you have to live with this. No magic solutions, which, in my opinion, made it much more helpful than any book that promises to help you instantly overcome depression by simply being more cheerful.
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Summary: Areal spiritual eye opener.
Review: Thid book was great. After several years of suffering from depression I have finally found a book that relates to me. It was as if the author knew me so well. I would recommend this book to anyone in search of beginning a new life. As well as finding something to relate to this book was so interesting a real turn pager I couldn't put the book down.
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Summary: A study of the "meaning" of depression.
Review: This is a scholarly but very readable study of the meanings we attach to the term "depression," written by a sociologist who has struggled with depression himself. Karp emphasizes that as bad as the disease itself is the stigma that society attaches to it, and the shame that we sufferers feel. There is also a very thoughtful and balanced examination of the issues involved in "medicalizing" a condition like depression which has its medical aspects but cannot ultimately be explained as an imbalance of neurotransmitters.
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Summary: A must-read for the "intelligent" depressive
Review: While not offering neat/sappy cures for depression (a do this, do that approach), Karp does provide relief merely in his description of experiences someone suffering with depression has...profound insights that ring true for the commonality in dealing with this illness/condition. As an individual suffering from periodic bouts of major depression, I found his insights mindblowing as I had never attributed these "traits" as part of the depression itself, but as part of my "unusual history." While hard to explain to the "average" and "normal", someone who has undergone the misery of depression would surely find resonance and comfort in Karp's remarkable work. Lastly, I would recommend not digesting this book DURING a visit to the abyss as it is a bit heady (and usually concentration is a HUGE ISSUE at those times), but definitely read it after the bright lights turn on again.
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