A graceful and penetrating memoir interweaving the author's descent into depression with a medical and cultural history of this illness. When her first-born child died two days after birth, Cregan was plunged into suicidal despair. Decades later, sustained by her work, a second marriage, and a son, Cregan reflects on this pivotal experience and attempts to make sense of it. She weaves together literature and research while considering her life as part of the larger history of our understanding of depression. Weighing the benefits of shock treatment against its terrifying pop culture depictions, Cregan also explores the controversy around antidepressants and how little we know about them, and sifts through the history of the hospital where her recovery began. -- adapted from jacket.

Preface -- What happened -- What happened next -- How to save a life -- The paradise of bedlams -- Where do the dead go? -- Early blues -- The promise of prozac -- No feeling is final.