On the Edge of Darkness: Conversations About Conquering Depression

by Kathy Cronkite

Book Overview

"I was ashamed. It was a confession of weakness. For years, depression meant the crazy house. As I look back at it, [my shame] just seems damned foolishness, which is one reason I talk about it now." --Mike Wallace "Toward the end I couldn't get up. I just physically couldn't." --Kitty Dukakis They have made the impossible climb into the spotlight and attained their brightest dreams. But for Mike Wallace, Kitty Dukakis, William Styron, Joan Rivers,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385314264
• ISBN13: 9780385314268
• Release Date: July 1995
• Publisher: Delta
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

An extremely helpful book.

I have suffered from episodic clinical depression for years. I would never admit it was an illness. Instead, I regarded it as a character flaw or deficiency of will. I suffered in secret, mostly, maintaining an outwardly jovial appearance, although I drank heavily. Finally, I had a second severe bout beginning in 1995, and in 199 I became suicidal, and finally underwent shock treatment. Thereafter, I was unlicensed in my profession, got divorced, and went bankrupt. Because I was too proud to admit that depression is an illness, adangerous illness lke cancer, shared by many persons you'd never even guess have it. I wish I had had this book ten, or even five years ago. It would have taught things easily that i've learned the hard way. The book is a compendium of anecdotes, by people such as Mike Wallace, Dick Clark, Joan Rivers, William Styron, etc., all of whom have found that ways to cope with Churchill's so-called "Black Dog". You can too, if you find yourself on the edge of unbearable despair, as I did.Depression is, above all, a lonely illness. The people in the book make it less lonely, enabling the patient and his or her loved ones to cope with an illness that can't be seen, heard, sensed, or understood. If your life is touched by your own, or someone else's depression. You need this book. I believe it has helped save my life.

An extremely helpful book.

I have suffered from episodic clinical depression for years. I would never admit it was an illness. Instead, I regarded it as a character flaw or deficiency of will. I suffered in secret, mostly, maintaining an outwardly jovial appearance, although I drank heavily. Finally, I had a second severe bout beginning in 1995, and in 1999 I became suicidal, and finally underwent shock treatment. Thereafter, I was unlicensed in my profession, got divorced, and went bankrupt, all because I was too proud to admit that depression is an illness, a dangerous illness like cancer, shared by many persons you'd never even guess have it. I wish I had had this book ten, or even five years ago. It would have taught me things easily that I've learned the hard way. The book is a compendium of anecdotes, by people such as Mike Wallace, Dick Clark, Joan Rivers, William Styron, etc., all of whom have found that ways to cope with Churchill's so-called "Black Dog". You can too, if you find yourself on the edge of unbearable despair, as I did. I am now on the way back.Depression is, above all, a lonely illness. The people, and their narratives, in the book make depression less lonely, enabling the patient and his or her loved ones to cope with an illness that can't be seen, heard, sensed, or understood. If your life is touched by your own, or someone else's depression. You need this book. I believe it has helped save my life. Obviously, my recommendation is off the scale.

Not Alone...

As others before me stated, this book makes great strides toward letting sufferers truly realize they are not alone in their suffering. This may sound strange to those lucky enough to have never been afflicted, but the seemingly irrational thought that "I am the only person in the world who just cannot feel good about myself or happy about the world around me" races through your mind almost non-stop. A book like Ms. Cronkite's lets victims learn about some well-known people who have had (or still have) the illness and how they've coped (all these years) while having to be consistently "on" in the public's eye. It gives hope -- and that's the most you can ask for from a book on depression. Thanks Kathy.

Good for those close to someone w/ depression

This book was the best I have read on getting into the mind of people who suffer from depression. I used it to explain to my family how I had been suffering for 20 years! I highlighted everything that struck a (painful)resonant note with me. Also, I understood that many other successful people have the illness and have survived.

Excellent book for anyone who feels alone in depression

I wish I had read this book 3 years ago when I was first diagnosed. Hard as I tried to confide in family and friends; and hard as I tried to explain, there was really no one who understood. Ms. Cronkite's book is the first I've read - and I've read many - that truly made me feel as if I was not alone in my world of depression. It is honest, sometimes more so than I really wanted to admit. But it is also tremendously comforting and, most of all, it inspires hope. Anyone who has, or knows someone who has, depression, can benefit greatly from this book. I know it is a source I will turn to again and again