The Devil Within: A Memoir of Depression
Stephanie Merritt
The Devil Within: A Memoir of Depression
Stephanie Merritt has a career as a novelist and journalist, a beautiful son and a supportive family. Why then did she want to kill herself at the age of 29? Why could no one, neither the system of GPs and health professionals, nor her closest family and friends help her? Reading like a hybrid of Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation and Rachel Cusk's more sober A Life's Work, Stephanie's unflinchingly honest memoir explores areas of experience commonly associated with depression such as love, solitude and self-medication through the prism of her own experience.
4.5 out of 5 based on 2 reviews
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Omniscore:
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Classification |
Non-fiction |
Genre |
Psychology & Psychiatry, Health & Medical |
Format |
Hardback |
Pages |
272 |
RRP |
£15.99 |
Date of Publication |
April 2008 |
ISBN |
978-0091917456 |
Publisher |
Vermilion |
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Stephanie Merritt has a career as a novelist and journalist, a beautiful son and a supportive family. Why then did she want to kill herself at the age of 29? Why could no one, neither the system of GPs and health professionals, nor her closest family and friends help her? Reading like a hybrid of Elizabeth Wurtzel's Prozac Nation and Rachel Cusk's more sober A Life's Work, Stephanie's unflinchingly honest memoir explores areas of experience commonly associated with depression such as love, solitude and self-medication through the prism of her own experience.
Reviews
The Evening Standard
Jane Shilling
“Merritt is an elegant, stoical and informative observer of her own predicament, with an admirable line in grim comedy. She writes generously of her parents and of the evangelical faith in which she was raised and which she later while retaining some of its teaching. She is notably temperate in her of a mental healthcare that demands florid signs of before offering (sic). There are moments, particularly the passages describing her when her son was an when one wishes she was balanced, more furious.”
23/05/2008
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The Observer
Anushka Asthana
“This powerful memoir will surely speak to anyone who has suffered bipolar disorder or depression. ”
15/04/2009
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