Year of the Comets: A Journey from Sadness to the Stars

by Jan Deblieu

Book Overview

On the clearest nights in the darkest places you can see as many as two thousand stars. On what scaffolding are they hung? Jan DeBlieu began to wonder. Her husband had become enveloped in a depression of his own, and both he and DeBlieu were struggling to find points of light out of that darkness. DeBlieu discovers it in the sky above, a firmament of order and beauty that prompts her to consider the worlds inside our minds, the delicate framework of neurons and synapses that support our fragile selves. Year of the Comets is her record of the journey she and her husband take from pain to healing.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593760701
• ISBN13: 9781593760700
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
• Length: 201 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Darkness and light

I really appreciated the author's humility regarding her knowledge of astronomy. She takes us on her journey of self-education which, for someone like me who knows very little about the stars, allowed me to keep pace with her discoveries. Her writing is descriptive but not overly flowery; I appreciated the directness and succinctness. My only regret is that she did not share more of her experiences in dealing with her husband's slide into deep depression. Her description of what she went through seemed muted, too measured. Didn't they argue? Wasn't she angry? Didn't she feel helpless? She touches on these but I would have liked her to go a bit deeper. Nonetheless, it is a very well-written, engaging combination of memoir and scientific discovery.

Interesting Mix

This is an "enjoyable" book. Given its subjects of depression and astronomy, one would expect a heavy read; however, I zipped through the 200 pages with ease. Perhaps it is because I enjoy astronomy and cosmology, but I rather think it is because the book is well written and edited. It is not a light read by any means, both subjects are serious and DeBlieu treats them as such. However, she describes them in layman's terms and only provides enough technical information to explain her views of the concepts. That approach makes it easy for any reader to grasp the insights she presents. The book is more about her experience with her husband's depression, than his experience. I appreciate that approach, as it is first-hand and personal. She does not try to write the book on his behalf nor does she pretends to understand what he is going through. In fact, her own confusion and suffering comes to the fore every now and then, but she never dwells on it or look for sympathy. It provides wonderful perspectives for spouses and family members of depression sufferers. But be warned, DeBlieu does not provide a cure for depression nor does she have the ultimate answer for living with a depression sufferer. This is not what the book is about. It is rather about a personal experience and how she coped with it. At best, it registers empathy with those who suffer from depression and their loved ones who are affected by it without choice. Having suffered from depression for a number of years myself, the glimpses that DeBlieu provides of her husband's experience are startling real. Her rather `gentle' description of the impact on the people around us is even more startling - in a state of depression one tends to focus on oneself and forget about those around you. And the fact that depressed people can do little about it is downright frightening even though they (we) know it is true. I particularly appreciated the way she aligned the complexity of the human mind with the complexity of cosmology and astronomy. It is true that it is non-scientific and rather her way of coping with and thinking about depression as an illness of the mind, but her views are easy to relate to and provides that little bit of a different perspective to the everyday sadness of depression. I recommend this book strongly for anyone who is living with or close to a depression sufferer as well as to anybody inclined towards depression. It is uplifting to both parties to see that it is possible to deal with depression even if it might require adjustments and sacrifices. If you are interested in astronomy it will be a huge bonus, but if you are not, do not let it put you off the book. You will most likely understand DeBlieu's astronomical and cosmological descriptions relatively easily, but if not, it will not lessen the value of the book. The book is certainly not for readers who are looking for astronomy and cosmology in terms of scientific subjects.

Unusual

This is an interesting and unusual book in which the author weaves together an account of her husband's depression with observations on her hobby - Astronomy. One gets the strong feeling that her marriage would not have survived the impact of depression had she not had some interest to turn to for fulfillment.

Clear, readable and sympathetic

Jan Deblieu is a gifted nature writer whose straightforward, accessible prose can make both the tangle of the galaxies and the tangle of neurons in a person's brain comprehensible to the lay reader. As a mother, wife, and amateur astronomer, Deblieu walks a fine line between personal revelation (about her husband's depression and its effect on her and their young son) and abstract explication (about the complexities of contemporary astronomy and physics). Year of the Comets effectively links these two seemingly disparate subjects, presenting both with clarity and vitality. Highly recommended.

The stars and a dose of misery

Here's a book that proves again that there's nothing like the boundlessness of the cosmos to snap one's problems into perspective. The Year of the Comets proceeds on two tracks. In the aftermath of his mother's death, Deblieu's husband, Jeff, settles into a deep depression. Simultaneously, Deblieu takes up stargazing, with a study of the two comets that crossed Earth's path that year. The neatly balanced result is this book, which is a compassionate look at what happens when the disease of depression enters your home, and a lovely description of the solace that a contemplation of the heavens can provide. The writing here is moving and informative on both fronts.