Here is my short list of books on depression. This format is neither Chicago nor APA style, because I think the title should be first, and I think the number of pages and the cost needs to be in here.  Since this is my website, I get to do whatever style I choose, and this is Suki’s Style. (My nickname in the kitchen at MANNA).) Note: Amazon’s prices are somewhat different, even cheaper, so check out Amazon’s price using the icon below each book. This will also be posted on www.divorce-dayz.info, since divorce and depression often go hand-in-hand.

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Mood and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison. Vintage Books (A Division of Random House), New York, 1995. 224 pages, $12.95.

The author is a Professor of Psychiatry at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who lives with manic-depression.  Telling the story of her “madness,” as she calls it,  is a courageous act on her part. As the back of the cover notes, this book examines manic-depression, renamed bi-polar disorder (which Jamison feels is not descriptive enough), from the perspective of both the healer and the healed. This is an honest, brutal account of her own illness and its impact on her career, her family, and of course, herself. Rating: Excellent

Available from Amazon.com. Click on the icon below

Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron. Random House, New York, 1990, 84 pages, $15.95.  Author of Lie Down in Darkness and Sophie’s Choice (among others) gives a vivid account of his own dive into deep depression starting in 1985. (Styron died in 2007.) As he writes on page 56, “Loss in all its manifestations is the touchstone of depression….” His description is so vivid that I have underlined passages on every page.  If you need a book to give to someone so your own depression is explained, this is the one to give.  Rating: Excellent Plus!

Available from Amazon.com. Click on the icon below:

Dealing with Depression Naturally: The Drugless Approach to the Condition that Darkens Millions of Lives by Sid Baumel.  Keats Publishing, Connecticut, 1995. 270 pages, $19.95.

The author himself has suffered from depression, so you know this book is written from the mind and the heart. He writes about alternative ways of coping with depression in a logical, easy-to-read format. This book is a helpful reference for anyone willing to look beyond the narrow, strictly medical side of treating depression and open up to the possibilities that supplements, herbs, food, exercise, and other “natural” remedies, in addition to drug therapy or perhaps instead of drug therapy, may work, with all your doctors’ advice.  Rating: Excellent

Available from Amazon.com. Click on the icon below:

Silencing the Self: Women and Depression by Dana Crowley Jack. Harper Collins, New York, 1991. 256 pages, $10.

This book is written for women from a feminist perspective. It was extremely helpful to me in terms of how women’s defined roles in the 20^th century are part of the reason why depression seems to afflict women more than men. The core of the book is about how women can connect with others, namely a spouse or other loved one without losing herself in the process of loving.  While the focus is on depression, the book explains a great deal about women in our society and how societal rules and roles, as noted above, seem to be part and parcel of depression.  Rating: Excellent plus.

Available from Amazon.com. Click on the icon below:

When Someone You Love is Depressed: How to Help Your Loved Ones Without Losing Yourself by Laura Epstein, Ph.D. and Xavier F. Amador, Ph.D. The Free Press,  a Division of Simon & Schuster, New York, 1996. 262 pages, $22.00.

The approach of this book is from the perspective of the non-depressive person.  It is actually for those who live with or care for a loved one who is depressed. Just as the caretakers of Alzheimer’s patients can become stressed with the responsibility, so too can a person caring or living with a depressed person suffer from his or her own anxieties about the problems of the depressed person. The book discusses when your partner, child, or parents are depressed and also delves into suicide, alcohol, and drugs, and what you can and cannot do to help both yourself and the loved one who is depressed. Rating: Very good

Available from Amazon.com. Click on the icon below:

For more information on women’s mental health and depression:

Visit the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus http://medlineplus.gov

For information on clinical trials for depression NIMH supported clinical trials http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/trials/index.shtml

National Library of Medicine Clinical Trials Database: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov

Clinical trials at NIMH in Bethesda, MD http://patientinfo.nimh.nih.gov

Information from NIMH is available in multiple formats.You can browse online, download documents in PDF, and order materials through the mail. If you would like to have NIMH publications, you can order them online at http://www. nimh.nih.gov. If you do not have Internet access please contact the NIMH Information Resource Center at the numbers listed below.

National Institute of Mental Health

Science Writing, Press & Dissemination Branch 6001 Executive Boulevard Room 8184, MSC 9663 Bethesda, MD 20892-9663 Phone: 301-443-4513 or 1-866-615-NIMH (6464) toll-free TTY: 301-443-8431 or 1-866-415-8051 toll-free FAX: 301-443-4279 E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov Web site: http://www.nimh.nih

I’m “sweet” on Suicide by Sugar co-written by a recovering sugarholic and chocaholic (Nancy Appleton, PhD)and a reporter/film maker (G.N. Jacobs). It is probably the most comprehensive book on the dark side of sugar I have read to date.

The authors cover material that I have been somewhat aware of, but not totally familiar.  For example, I knew that weight gain and obesity were related to sugar, but I was not aware that man other ailments have been linked to sugar from cancer to epilepsy.

The authors’ arguments are sound, based on extensive research that covers 17 pages of bibliographic notes. I am impressed with the amount and extent of the research, and since Nancy Appleton, one of the two authors, is a PhD, I believe she takes her research seriously.

The book lists 140 reasons why sugar is ruining our health and notes that Americans consume 142 pounds of sugar yearly. The discussion on homeostasis, which the book defines as “the internal balance of the body’s electro-magnetic and chemical systems. This balance permits and encourages proper performance of the internal functions necessary for growth, healing, and life itself. Our bodies heal when we are I homeostasis. ” (p. 21)

Every chapter unveiled information that I found educational and enlightening. After reading the book, my heightened awareness of the dangers of sugar in our bodies, a substance that could be described as closer to a drug than a food, I have a greater appreciation of my own desire to eliminate sugar in all its forms. (On page 10, the authors list 31 names for sugar, starting with agave and ending with white sugar.

Because sugar compromises our immune system, it is a “dangerous substance” that we all need to eliminate from our bodies to remain healthy. But as Appleton notes, removing sugar “cold turkey” is not the way to accomplish this.  It’s a gradual process that is explained in the book’s last chapter, called A Practical Plan for Right Now that includes a few easy recipes entitled “Recipes to Tame Your Sweet Tooth.” (See sample recipe below)

I encourage everyone to read this book, because it is a compilation of a great deal of information written in an easy-to-understand manner that will open your eyes and perhaps close your mouth to sugar.

Suicide by Sugar is published by Square One publishers in Garden City Park, NY. It costs $15.95 and is available in bookstores and online. You can click on the icon below, which will take you directly to Amazon.com to purchase this excellent expose of the dangers of sugar in all its disguises.

Below is one of the recipes from this book. I tried it twice and loved it both times, although I did not have to cook it as long as 30 minutes, maybe 20.

Coconut Rice Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice
14-ounce can coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, mace, or cardamom

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring often, for about 30 minutes or until the mixture thickens and the rice is soft and tender.  If all the liquid is absorbed but the rice is still chewy, ass more water, 1/4 cup at a time, and continue to simmer until the desired texture is reached.

2. Remove from the heat, let cool a bit, then transfer toa  serving bowl or individual bowls. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Adapted recipe from Mil Keregu; Tierra Miguel Foundation (www.Tierramiguelfarm.org)

My Note: I Googled Sugar and Depression and found an interesting article. I emailed the doctor who wrote it and plan to post it as soon as I receive an OK from her, since it is copyrighted.