Depression Books

As a mother, teacher and social worker I have had the opportunity to use Kay Hockey's advice in a variety of settings. She offers gentle, easy to follow suggestions for effective interaction with children.
Parents anxious to step out of the cyclical trap of failure and discouragement will come to believe that they CAN learn new skills for raising their children after reading this book.
Kay Hockey's book is a must for all parents and others who work with those in need of guidance and assistance in raising happy, healthy children.

Ransomed

If you are a victim of abuse or have struggled with issues of self-worth, profound pain, or hopelessness, this woman's story illustrates the fact that there is a Hope.

In Reach To Recovery: Depression Anonymous by Marilyn Patterson (a Twelve Step Certified Counselor and Adjunct Professotr, Hosuton Community College Southwest, Stafford Center, Texas) addresses the mental/emotional condition of chronic depression, a condition that antidepressant medication can offer no relief to 20% of afflicted men and women. It takes an often-overlooked approach of transforming the twelve-step recovery program of Alcoholics Anonymous to a similar Depression Anonymous program, in order to help people cope and remain balanced. Personal stories of both famous figures and ordinary people who combat depression, as well as appendices covering cognitive behavior therapy, learned optimism, learned optimism, and sample format for Depression Anonymous meetings round out this excellent self-help guide to better understanding and dealing with the depressive condition.

I didn't know who H. Norman Wright was when I first picked up this book. But the title looked like something that was relevant to many situations and struggles I've faced in my own life as well as the kind of struggles that are all-too common in today's world.

Whether you're struggling with clinical depression, a minor case of the blues, or fear of rejection by others, this book has some very important things to say. Probably more than anything else though, this book is a cure for the common Pity Party. Mr. Wright points out, and rightly so, on page 94, "Another benefit of the blues is feeling sorry for yourself."

Although the principles in the book are Scripturally based, the author does a very good job of always maintaining a healthy balance between writing his own book and filling in blanks with Scripture. The Scripture passages he uses are very helpful, but he doesn't try to "church" the reader to death. Also, the author writes this book for the layperson. There's nothing in this book that's too complicated to understand.

At many places in the book, Mr. Wright may merely identify the general cause of the blues, and by so doing, I was left thinking, "Yeah, that makes plenty of sense. That's exactly where I'm at!" Then there were other places in the book in which the author seemed to know my most secret thoughts and most personal struggles. Chapter 8 hit me the hardest. Therein, the author identified some major problems in my own life that I guess I always knew were there but really didn't want to admit as problems. (Even as I type this review, I still don't want to admit it, but I know I must.) This chapter, which concentrated on relationships, helped shed some light on things that I've been doing wrong...things which on the surface sound good, decent, and well-intentioned. But the author offered clear, fundamental reasons why these things were unhealthy.

And that brings me to a very important point I'd like to make about this book. Although it offers pleanty of encouragement and comfort, it is by no means simply a book in which an author puts his tender hand on someone having a pity party and saying, "There, there" the whole time. Quite often Mr. Wright just states it how it is, leaving the reader feeling challeneged and possibly uneasy. But sometimes the only way to be cured of something is to first feel the prick of the needle that delivers the vaccine.

The cures and treatments in the book are usually quite simple (except for clinical depression which may require counseling and possibly prescribed medication). They usually consist of repeating statements about oneself, out loud, which reinforces a positive mental self-image. Moreover, the statements are well-grounded in Scripture and point to the fact that in the eyes of the Savior/Creator we need never be discouraged (particularly the ones found on pages 44; 95-96). Now, I know that doing this may make one feel kind of ridiculous at first, especially if you've seen as many of Saturday Night Live's "Stuart Smalley" skits as I have. But doing this actually does produce positive results.

Several different passages of the book I thought interesting enough to underline included

"Who we are today is a product of how we remember our past events." (18)

"Remember that God has already declared us to be sufficient enough through what he has done for us through Jesus Christ." (11)

"When we're discouraged, we don't have hope. But hope is an antidote to discouragement." (19)

"When we relate to...Jesus Christ by faith, we have the potential for inner wholeness." (37)

"Whenever you're sad or blue or discouraged, ask yourself the comparative question: What would I be thinking if I were basing this on a positive truth? Then write it down. That's what to concentrate on." (97)

Book Review Rearwin: A story of Men, Planes, and Aircraft Manufacturing During the Great Depression By Bill Wright Reviewed by Eric Rearwin In his book, Bill Wright provides insight into the history of aviation in America at the time of its birth through World War II. He chronicles the life and times of Rae Rearwin who founded a small airplane business in Salina Kansas in 1928. Over the years, Rae and his sons would see the design and building of the Rearwin Junior, Ken-Royce, Cloudster, Speedster, Sporster, and Skyranger. The company would see hard times during the Great Depression, the sale of gliders and trainers during World War II, and the sale of the company in 1942. The book imparts the reader with unique historical perspective on early aviation and the attention to detail makes for a fascinating journey into the hearts and minds of the public who were seeing these new flying machines for the first time. Ken Rearwin, son of founder Rae Rearwin and a pioneer salesman, struggled to gain the public's acceptance of the new aircraft. In 1936, he remarked at the difficulty of selling airplanes to a certain potential customer who was "typical of too many Americans who, serene in ignorance, decry flying". Over 350 photos and illustrations make the book a treasure for collectors and a valuable resource about the men who built a legacy that still lives on today.

This well-researched book documents the significant history of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, from the turn of the century until the Great Depression. Immigrants from Mexico called their new life in Los Angeles México afuera, or Mexico outside, describing the process through which their new American lives emerged from the old ways and customs. The book is interesting enough to appeal to a wide audience, beyond the scholarly and university audience for which it was written.

Esto bien-investigo' documentos del libro la historia significativa de americanos mexicanos en Los Ángeles, de la vuelta del siglo hasta la gran depresión. Los inmigrantes de México llamaron su nueva vida en Los Ángeles México de afuera, o México afuera, describiendo el proceso con el cual sus nuevas vidas americanas emergieron de las viejos maneras y costumbres. El libro es bastante interesante de abrogar a una audiencia ancha, más allá de las audiencias de estudiante y de la universidad para quienes fue escrito.

This was a very well written, informative, "chatty" style book. I would have liked to see more recipes and more in depth explanations about the recipes, but it is a great "starter" book if you want an introduction to what the era was like.

I especially liked the "chatty" style it was written in - I felt like I was sitting down to a cup of tea with a wiser, older, more knowlegeable friend.

This books was so interesting I couldn't put it down. The insight into this time in history was incredibly educational. The author is brilliant.

William Miller's Rent Party Jazz is set in New Orleans of the 1930s, where Sonny has to work before school to help his mother. When his mother loses her job, rent day looms and Sonny must devise a unique plan to save the day. Charlotte Riley-Webb's drawings are lively embellishments.

This book was recommended to me by my doctor after recently diagnosing me with bipolar disorder. It was very helpful in calming my fears and linking me back to my "normal" life. The book is written in a very segmented way (lots of subheadings) that is useful for jumping around to subjects that interest you. It provides very useful suggestions and practical tools for dealing with periods of depression and periods of mania. Throughout the book, the author provides first-hand accounts of her own experiences with different episodes in her illness. This gives a good sense of what the illness is like for those never having experienced it, and a sense of not feeling alone, for those who have. Probably most importantly, this book maintains a very hopeful outlook, and really instills the sense that anyone with a mood disorder can still accomplish their goals and live a relatively normal life. That is how it helped me at least. I think that this book would be excellent for not only those diagnosed with a mood disorder, but also their loved ones.