You’re Not Alone: Moving Memoirs About Anxiety and Depression
by Jennifer Ridgway
Eighteen percent of Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder, up to one in seven women who give birth in the U.S. experience postpartum depression, and suicide is the second leading cause of death in the world for 15- to 29-year-olds. Yet there is still a lot of stigma surrounding mental health.
As someone who has struggled with bouts of depression and anxiety, I’ve found that books can go a long way to remind me that I’m not alone. Below are some of the many memoirs written by authors who have struggled with anxiety and depression. Not only are they helpful for those who are dealing with these issues, they are also great resources for anyone looking to better understand what anxiety and depression can be like.
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On Edge: A Journey Through Anxiety
Available from:There have been a couple of books in my life that I’ve read and thought, “This explains so much about me!” and On Edge is one of them. Petersen, a health, psychology, and neuroscience journalist, uses her own history and diagnosis of anxiety as a jumping-off point to explain anxiety, test various treatments, and delve into groundbreaking research.
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Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression
Danquah’s memoir speaks to issues of race, immigration, motherhood, and mental health. There aren’t many memoirs from women of color about mental illness, and one of Danquah’s motivating factors in writing this book was to help overcome the stigma of depression in African American communities. She writes candidly and openly about her experiences and treatment attempts, and about ultimately finding her way through with the help of music, meditation, and vigilant mood monitoring.
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My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind
Available from:In this part-memoir, part-reportage book, American journalist Scott Stossel uses his own battle with anxiety as a lens with which to view the history of how humans, including scientists and writers, have tackled the condition. He discusses the various ways in which it manifests, how it affects people, the different psychiatric treatments that have been used to attempt to treat it, and its potential causes. (Also of note: Scott’s sister Sage Stossel wrote a graphic novel, Starling, that addresses anxiety in a much different way.)
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Reasons to Stay Alive
Available from:At the age of 24, Matt Haig stood at the edge of a cliff (literally) with the intention of committing suicide. Fourteen years later, he wrote this book to share his journey with mental illness. He interweaves his life narrative with facts about depression and lists of his thoughts and feelings. His writing is honest, and many will recognize their own experiences in his story. For those who’ve never suffered from depression, Haig’s story can help to understand the struggle.
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Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
While there’s nothing funny about suffering from depression and anxiety, Jenny Lawson somehow manages to write her personal history in a book that combines laugh-out-loud moments with some potential tears. She is honest and unapologetic about her experiences, making this a refreshing read for anyone who also suffers from depression or anxiety (or just wants a good laugh!).
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This Close to Happy: A Reckoning with Depression
Merkin has struggled with clinical depression almost her entire life and she has been hospitalized numerous times, beginning when she was a child. Now in her sixties, she writes about her lifelong struggle, ruminates on whether nature or nurture (or maybe both?) may have caused it, and describes how she has attempted to cope. While some readers may quibble with her privilege, her experiences are raw and real.
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The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
First published in 2000 and updated in 2015, Andrew Solomon’s National Book Award-winning exploration of depression is both research-driven and deeply personal. Drawing on his own struggles with depression and interviews with fellow sufferers, scientists, philosophers, doctors, and policy makers, his book is a comprehensive study of depression. You can learn more about Solomon and his work by watching his TED Talk.
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Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness
Available from:In October 1985, novelist William Styron flew to Paris to accept a prestigious literary award; during this trip, he began to descend into depression. This short work, whose title was inspired by Milton’s description of Hell in Paradise Lost, is his account of his depression and how he recovered. He describes the therapy he went through, the drugs he was prescribed, his suicidal thoughts, and his hospitalization. Styron’s eloquent writing provides a great explanation for those who have no firsthand knowledge of depression.
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Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
The majority of this book is filled with funny illustrated memories and essays from Brosh (for a quick sample of her humor, grammar enthusiasts should check out her online post “Alot”), but she also includes two sections about her fights with depression that have been called some of the best depictions of the disease ever written. “Adventures in Depression” and “Depression Part 2” vividly illustrate what it feels like to have depression and the toll it takes on you.
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What other memoirs about mental health would you recommend?