Depression is a solitary disease; there are few people with the stomach and the stamina to cultivate a close relationship with someone suffering from it, and those afflicted spend the majority of their energy towards maintaining as normal a life as possible.
Close relationships among depressives is therefore somewhat of a paradox. The next best thing, at least for me, is reading the memoirs of the depressed. A late Christmas gift ($100 gift certificate from Borders) gave me the opportunity to expand my social circle, as it were, and the least I can do is pass along links to the wealth.
Undercurrents: A Life Beneath The Surface
Good for people like me who find themselves in the sometimes overwhelming position of juggling a full-time, rigorous career, depression and a family. In other words, a book for "high-functioning depressives"
The Beast: A Journey Through Depression
I'm still reading this one, but it is excellent so far, if a little dated.
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
The gold standard. Part memoir, part exploration of the disease, this book is a gold mine of both information on and ancedotes about the disease. I've probably mentioned it before somewhere in this blog, the title of which having been inspired by it.
Prozac Nation: Young And Depressed In America
I can't relate too much to the narrator of this novel, she's obviously an extrovert that suffers from depression whereas I am the exact opposite, but unlike the first two memoirs this is a thick, juicy book, full of pages (at least this paperback version is) and even though I usually zip through books it took a while for me to wade through.
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