Against Depression, Peter D. Kramer
Against Depression, Peter D. Kramer
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Against Depression

Author: Peter D. Kramer

Narrator: Peter D. Kramer

Abridged: 6 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 02/10/2005


Synopsis

In his landmark bestseller Listening to Prozac, Peter Kramer revolutionized the way we think about antidepressants and the culture in which they are so widely used. Now Kramer offers a frank and unflinching look at the condition those medications treat: depression. Definitively refuting our notions of "heroic melancholy," he walks readers through groundbreaking new research—studies that confirm depression's status as a devastating disease and suggest pathways toward resilience. Thought-provoking and enlightening, Against Depression provides a bold revision of our understanding of mood disorder and promises hope to the millions who suffer from it.

About The Author

Peter D. Kramer, MD, is "possibly the best-known psychiatrist in America," as The New York Times put it. Peter Kramer received his MD from Harvard and is the bestselling author of Listening to Prozac, Should You Leave?, Spectacular HappinessMoments of Engagement, and Against Depression. In 2004, two programs of The Infinite Mind hosted by Kramer won top media awards: a Gracie Allen Award from the American Women in Radio and Television for an examination of "Domestic Violence," and a National Mental Health Association Media Award for “Between Two Worlds: Mental Health for Immigrants. Kramer has written for The New York Times Magazine and The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book Review, The Washington Post, the (London) Times Literary Supplement, and U.S. News & World Report, among other publications. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island, where he is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University, and has a private practice. Visit Dr. Peter D. Kramer at peterdkramer.com


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kristen on July 26, 2011

I read this several years ago, after recovering from a serious episode of depression. Peter Kramer addresses the sort of twisted love affair that western culture has with depression. He writes to combat the idea that melancholy and depression somehow make one heroic and interesting. My favorite part......more

Goodreads review by John on October 16, 2008

The author certainly knows about depression, but in this book his prose style and frequent tangents slow the reader down and are little more that detractors and fillers. You wonder if he is writing for himself: has he fallen in love with his writing style so that as many sentences as possible can be......more

Goodreads review by Jesse on May 31, 2007

Against Depression may be the most significant book I've read on the topic of depression, combining new scientific research with cultural and social criticism. The book chronicles new developments in the science of the brain, highlighting the lack of resilience in certain parts of the brain in the d......more

Goodreads review by Emily on September 30, 2007

in natalie angier's review for the new york times, she says, "Forget the persistent myth of depression as a source of artistry, soulfulness and rebellion. Depression doesn't fan creative flames. It is photophobic and anhedonic and would rather just drool in the dark." this is so important for artist......more

Goodreads review by Kirsten on February 08, 2008

This is a magnificent book, definitely required reading for those who have suffered from major depression or anyone who has ever been close to a depressive. Kramer (the author of the also-excellent Listening to Prozac) makes it clear from the start that he believes that depression is an insidious di......more


Quotes

"“[Kramer] may have done more than anybody else to illuminate the clawing, scrabrous, catastrophic monotony that is depressive illness . . . An eloquent, absorbing book." —The New York Times Book Review

"Deeply felt... [Kramer's] book is a polemic against a society that accepts depression as a fact of life." —O, The Oprah Magazine

"Kramer makes an eloquent case for considering depression a disease... Captivating, convincing and thorough." —San Francisco Chronicle

In Against Depression, Peter Kramer opens our eyes once again to a fresh, important and humane understanding of the human condition. His bold rethinking of the condition we call 'depression' gives us a clear-eyed scenario for freedom from the grip of this soul-searing disorder." —Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

"There is nothing romantic in the suffering of depression. Kramer shows us the horrific reality of the illness, dispelling myths that pervade popular culture. This book should usher in an era when the disordered chemistry of the brain is viewed with the same concern and care that mark the treatment of any malady." —Jerome Groopman, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

"Here one of our most thoughtful psychiatrists attends a wide-spread psychological malady—the bouts of melancholy that afflict so many individuals, laying them low in mind and spirit. This book offers much critical wisdom, even as it is written with a grace and sensitivity that will endear its words to the reader." —Robert Coles, Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities, Harvard Medical School

"Our treasured sense of self is often challenged by neuroscience—how do you wedge 'Self' in among neurons and synapses and neurotransmitters? No one has written about these issues in a more sensitive, thought-provoking and accessible way, and has touched more people in the process, than Peter Kramer." —Robert Sapolsky, Professor of Biological Sciences, Stanford University

“Peter Kramer is an analyst of exceptional sensitivity and insight. To read his prose on virtually any subject is to be provoked, enthralled, illuminated." — Joyce Carol Oates

“Strong, erudite, and always readable . . . Against Depression confirms the adage that reading can be transformative.” Boston Globe

“[Against Depression] successfully advances the cartography of a (quite literally) gray area between physical and mental illness.” New York Times

“Kramer examines depression with a cool, intelligent and sympathetic eye. . . there are no straw men in Against Depression . Kramer gives the arguments against his ‘medical’ view of depression full muscle and wrestles them with admirable exertion and impressive skill.” — Washington Post

“A provocative take on the science and mythology of depression.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Peter Kramer, of Listening to Prozac fame, brings the latest brain science to his new book, Against Depression. . . [Kramer] is a lucid and shrewd popularizer of complex ideas”Elle

“Peter Kramer's instinct for a memorable narrative is unerring . . . an admirable and welcome book. Kramer's clearly-written, even-handed discussion of the causes of depression, for example, provides a nuanced and layered counter to the oversimplified explanatory stories still sometimes issuing from the respective nature and nurture camps. . . a wonderfully stimulating and enjoyable [book] to read.” Metapsychology

“Highly recommended.” Library Journal

“A heartfelt argument that depression is not, as many would have it, a source of heroic melancholy and artistic genius, but, rather, a pathological condition that should, if possible, be eradicated. . . While not predicting that depression will be eliminated anytime soon, Kramer brings hope to those afflicted by it. ” Kirkus

“The book is rich with questions that engage the reader in an active dialogue. . .Resolute but not preachy, this book is an important addition to the growing public health campaign against depression.” Publisher’s Weekly, starred review