Depression Books

Outsmarting Depression: Surviving The Corssfire Of The Mental Health Wars is a straightforward self-help guide by journalist and mental health advocate Debbie Thurman, herself a "psychiatric survivor" of Major Depressive Disorder. Taking a sharp stance against the common belief that depression is caused solely by an imbalance of brain chemicals, Outsmarting Depression does not deny the role of medication in treating the depressed, but focuses on all-too-common cases where medicine is insufficient or even superfluous, and the roots of the problem lie in emotional or spiritual issues, childhood experiences, or a lifestyle that is in dire need of change. Teaching the reader how to distinguish biological from emotional/spiritual depression, how to avoid being trapped between warring health practitioners, and offering the straight scoop on what leading professionals truly think of depression treatments, Outsmarting Depression is highly recommended for anyone struggling with depression as a persistent problem or worse.

Debbie Thurman's work, Outsmarting Depression, captures that niggling feeling that the seemingly automatic process of prescribing anti-depressants is not all there is or should be to better mental health, as much as the advertising of Pharmaceutical companies would like you to believe. Well researched, and with personal insight, Thurman takes us carefully through the options of learning just how ineffective a single and not well-documented way of treating mental health can be. She leaves open the door for the various levels of depression to be addressed with medication and other outlets, but for the vast majority of those who suffer less psychotic forms of depression she offers much more than just cheerleading. Thurman proffers viewpoints from a host of professionals whom deal with treatment in various ways, and this allows the reader to examine that niggling feeling that just popping a pill isn't the answer to curing depression. With many of the negative side effects of current medications well reported, (and here Thurman tells us many medications are prescribed to combat side effects of other prescribed medications) consumers aren't educated as to how the industry works. Thurman pulls no punches about this, and in doing so, stirs deeper thought and hopefully much discussion from her pages.

Thurman's subtitle, "Surviving the Crossfire of the Mental Health Wars" is illustrative of the consumers' outside viewpoint in the pharmaceutical business, where television and print advertising tell us to just ask your doctor if it's right for you, never mind they don't tell you exactly what the medication is for in the advertisement. In the pages of "OUTSMARTING DEPRESSION" folks with and without depression will find enlightenment, as to how to take charge of that sense that we are more than just biological beings, as some in the Mental Health industry might have us believe. But Thurman does allow for the biological aspects, which makes her argument all the stronger. Highly recommeded for better mental health, or just for putting into words that niggling feeling that the pursuits of mental health lean heavily to the Big Business of Mental Health.

I have been dealing with anxiety and depression for almost 4 years. As a Christian, this book reconnected me with God and I was set free from many lies of Satan that I have been believing about myself and God for years. It is a must read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am the Director of a Freedom in Christ minsitry in California. I used this book in conjunction with the video series entitled "Finding Hope Again" in an eight week seminar. Each week the attendees read one chapter, viewed the corresponding video and discussed what they were learning. This book was a very effective way of reinforcing the videos. People attended the seminars because they were suffereing from depression. Most attendees admitted to learning something helpful that they did not previously know about depression. Some attendees followed up with counseling and visits to medical doctors for assessments concerning the possible need for medication. Some have requested to be led through the steps to freedom as a result. In my opinion "Overcoming Depression" is a book of great value on its own merits, but when used in conjunction with the corresponding videos it is extremely helpful to people suffering from depression or for those who are trying to help others who are suffering.

Former VP Girouard tells "prisoners of work" to take heart and we need it!

This author -- thankfully! -- deals with ways to serve one's self-appointed time with dignity, grace, and enjoyment, with less friction; also, ways to promote your ideas with sure professionalism.

Absolutely GREAT chapters on "Courtesy, Conflict, Command," "The Arena of Office Politics," "Personalities That Cause Conflict," "Surviving Through Conflict," "How to Know When You're Plateaued," "Electronic Mail and You," "Business Travel," "International Travel," "Anatomy of a Merger."

"P.O.W.: Prisoners of Work", by L.A. Girouard, is a very insightful and informative book. For the working person, it is a very useful guide. It should be "Manditory Reading" for all. No working person should be without it. You will refer to it over and over.

I was resently deployed to Iraq and read this book about a half dozen times and each time it reminded me of home. I grew up hearing these stories from both my granfather and my great uncle, L.H. Adams. But each time I read the book I learn alittle more about them and their days growing up. I can't recomend a better book than this one.

this book isn't normally something I would pick out for myself, my grandfather gave it to me. after reading it though, I understood a bit more about my grandfather as well as being a southerner. as young native of a big southern city, I gained a new respect for life in a small town, although I still love the conveniences of city life. you can tell that the author very fondly remembers those years and that town. almost makes me hope that I will remember atlanta as fondly someday.

This is a children's book written by a little girl whose teacher though her essay about her grandparents would make a wonderful book. The book tells the story of a family who during the depression had no work. So they picked potatoes. The owner of the farm told them that any potatoes they picked after hours were theirs to keep. The entire family picked potatoes, loaded them on their ancient car, drove back to their hometown, and supported themselves with their potato cache for the next winter. I will use the book to encourage my children and grandchildren to keep family stories alive.

This is one of the most charming and touching children's literature books I have ever read!!! I would recommend this book to children of all ages including those young at heart!!

As I was reading this book, I found that I was getting in tuned with my feelings and my emotions. Something I thought I would never had issues with. I am a lot happier now, that my garden is being weeded (you'll need to read the book to get that one).happiness comes from with in me, that is something that I have learned from this book. This book has really opened my eyes and my mind. It's like a bible I read it on my way to and from work and do the work shops that are offered in the book.
I think this is the best self help book that I have read.
Thank you, Surrey BC Canada

This book has changed my life in just the time it took to read it! I've read many self-help books but none of them had any lasting effect. This book is different. It's a book that not only told me what was happening, why I wasn't happy, but also told me specifically what I could do to change that. There are practical day-to-day examples of how to stop being un-happy and how to become happy!

Once I started reading it I found I couln't stop. My husband and my children are wondering what's happened to me ... I don't get angry or frustrated with them anymore and I am joking around with them (which I never did before).

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is frustrated and just un-happy. I'm sure it will make a difference like it did for me!

"Preserve Your Family History: A Step-by-Step Guide For Interviewing Family Members And Writing Oral Histories" by LeAnn R. Ralph is a thoroughly 'user friendly' instruction manual specifically designed and written for non-specialist general readers who would like to capture the anecdotal histories of aging family members whether it would be for supplementing genealogical research, preserving stories and biographies for the benefit of future generations, or to simply learn about the life stories of family members while they are still able to relate them. "Preserve Your Family History" demonstrates that all that is needed is compiling a list of people to be interviewed, a set of questions to ask them, a tape recorder to preserve what is said, a pen and notepad to write on, a typewriter or computer to put it all down in writing, and above all else, a willingness to listen. The benefits of recording family members' oral histories and anecdotal recollections is that their experiences are the backdrop for your own history, the foundations for your own value system, opinions, and attitudes, a framework to explain how you fit into your own family structure. "Preserve Your Family History" is meant to be a 'consumable', that is, to be written in, selected pages photocopied, given to others to utilize in preparing for interviews, and shared with others in cooperative efforts to preserve family histories while those who lived and created that history are still with us. Also very highly recommended for personal reading, as well as Wisconsin community library collections, are LeAnn Ralph's"Christmas in Dairyland: True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" (2003); "Give Me a Home Where the Diary Cows Roam (2004); "Cream of the Crop: More True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" (2005); and "Where The Green Grass Grows: True (Spring and Summer) Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" (2006).

I am the author of this book, and I have been a newspaper reporter for nearly a decade. Five years ago, I started writing my own books of stories about growing up on a small family dairy farm in Wisconsin. Before that, I wrote a newspaper column for nearly seven years about growing up on a dairy farm and about living in rural Wisconsin. I have an undergraduate degree in English with a writing emphasis from UW-Whitewater, and I also have a Master of Arts in Teaching from UW-Whitewater.

Because of my background and the types of stories I wrote, people would often talk to me about their own family stories. Many times, someone would say to me, "I would love to interview my grandmother (grandfather, aunt, uncle, elderly neighbor, elderly friends) but I don't know where or how to start."

That's how I got the idea for this book.

"Preserve Your Family History" is 70 pages and contains a step-by-step guide for interviewing people and also has more than 400 questions on 30 different topics to get you started.

This book is meant to be used. Write notes in it. Give copies to the people you want to interview so they know what kinds of questions you want to ask. And if you only record the interviews on tape or videotape and do not write an oral history, you will still preserve the stories.

I wish I had done that before my mom and dad passed away. But I didn't. Please don't make the same mistake.

LeAnn R. Ralph

William Wharton is one of the best writers. This book is beautifly written, very deep and one of those that will keep you up all night to finish it. I loved it ! Its good for younger readers as well.

I prefer to remain a reader rather than a reviewer. Nevertheless.. let me recommend this book, that I really liked when I read the Italian translation a few years ago.

The American Girl books from history are some of the best books out there. Not only do they tell the story of what life was like "way back when", they also encourage a love of history in my daughter. She thinks it is great to learn more about the time periods in these books.

Let me begin this review by saying I'm a 20 year old girl absolutely still in love with the American Girl series. And, in addition, that Kit is my favorite American Girl; the release of Kit's theatrical film no doubt prompted the American Girl company to release Ruthie, Kit's "friend-doll" and her very own book. What a great edition to makes to the Kit series and the American Girl line as a whole!

"Really Truly Ruthie" is set, like the rest of the Kit books, in the heart of the Great Depression. Kit and Ruthie are friends to the end, in spite of the fact that Ruthie's family has not suffered from the Depression, while Kit's family is struggling to keep their house. It is the threat of eviction that prompts Ruthie, a fairy-tale loving, head-in-the-clouds "goofy" girl to embark on a lengthy journey to Kit's Aunt Millie, who will be willing and able to help Kit's family keep their house. At first, Ruthie decides to go (in addition to helping her friend's family of course) so that people will stop looking at her as someone daffy and ditzy and begin to see her as a girl who can live in the here and now and handle herself. However, as Ruthie's journey continues, she begins to realize that there are more important things.

Out of all the American Girl series (my own opinion mind you) I believe that Ruthie is the most fleshed-out and likable of all the "friend" characters, who mostly appear in and out of the books when the central character needs them. "Really Truly Ruthie" not only gives us a better look at one of the characters in the Kit book series, but also provides readers with an insightful look into the Great Depression: not all families suffered the hardship that we often see and it's interesting to see another side, as well as to see how a character responds to the hardship of a friend. "Really Truly Ruthie" also provides readers with an important lesson; Ruthie seems like a character with only good and selfless intentions but she learns something about herself that readers can take away as a valuable lesson.

To end this some what lengthy review: "Really, Truly Ruthie" is a great edition to the American Girl series and adds a whole new level to the Kit series in general. It's an engaging read and touches on the issue of the Great Depression, how to help friends and family in need without wounding their pride and demonstrates the way that the nation rallied together when the Depression struck.

For anyone who wants to understand the origins and nature of the world's current financial crisis, Mr. Krugman does an excellent job explaining it all. From dissecting the anatomy of modern day currency crises, to revealing the alchemy of CDO's, you don't have to be an economist to understand what has happened here, as Paul does a masterful job revealing our unfortunate situation. This book reads like a true life suspense novel that we realize will impact us for years to come...

Krugman has written a number of accessible and important books that are well worth reading, (for example: The Accidental Theorist and Other Dispatches from the Dismal Science ) but this book is so well timed, so well written, and so important that it is hard to overstate its impact.

It would be easy to dismiss this book as "cashing in" on the current crisis were it not for the fact that he originally wrote the book in response to the Asian financial crisis nine years ago, and this is just a new updated edition. The difference is that now folks are listening.

Whatever your politics, it is hard to dismiss Krugman's credentials or his reasoning and if you are serious about understanding the current economic situation this book is required reading.