Black Men and Depression: Saving our Lives, Healing our Families and Friends [Paperback]

John Head (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2005

In mainstream society depression and mental illness are still somewhat taboo subjects; in the black community they are topics that are almost completely shrouded in secrecy. As a result, millions of black men are suffering in silence or getting treatment only in extreme circumstances–in emergency rooms, homeless shelters, and prisons. The neglect of emotional disorders among men in the black community is nothing less than racial suicide. In this groundbreaking book, veteran journalist and award-winning author John Head argues that the problem can be traced back to the time of slavery, when it was believed that blacks were unable to feel inner pain because they had no psyche. This myth has damaged generations of African American men and their families, creating a society that blames black men for being violent and aggressive without considering that depression might be a root cause. Black Men and Depression challenges the African American community and the psychiatric community to end the suffering of black men, and address what can be done by loved ones to help those who need it most.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A call to action shedding light on the issue of depression in black men and the barriers that prevent too many from seeking and receiving car."

—Rosalynn Carter, Former U.S. First Lady, and Chairperson, The Carter Center Mental Health Task Force

"Standing in the Shadows is a brave, unblinking look at what it is like to be an African American man with depression.  John Head's insightful analysis of the connection between racism and this illness should be required  reading for everyone who cares that African American men are often absent from their families, are in jails and prisons in disproportionate numbers, and die at an alarming rates from suicide.”

—Cynthia Wainscott, Chair, National Mental Health Association

"John Head deftly takes us on a personal and cultural journey into the nature of depression and the social stigmas that surround it. Standing in the Shadows is an insightful, compelling, and practical guide."

—Lawrence Kutner, Ph.D., co-director, Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health and Media.

"This book does not haggle with statistics and scientific discoveries . . . .it literally keeps the topic of depression and black men honest by taking us through a progressive journey that helps us understand the real hurdles. Before you delve into any medical journal . . . read this book first so that you will have a deeper understanding of the topic and develop a good foundation."

-- Donna Holland Barnes, Ph.D, resident and co-founder of the National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide and assistant professor in
the department of psychiatry at Howard University.

"Neither a polemic nor a weepy tell-all, Standing in the Shadows is a sobering look at what the world's most common mental illness is doing to a big chunk of our population—with well-researched words of hope and help for those men and the people who love them."

—Tracy Thompson, author of The Beast: A Reckoning with Depression

“John Head's Standing in the Shadows is a "must read" for the black man suffering from the lingering, tormenting blues and for anyone who knows him. Head makes the experience of depression real in heartfelt, well-crafted vignettes that give substance to his demand that we acknowledge, name, understand, and do something to ease the psychic pain that many black men suffer in relative silence.”

—Sandra C. Walker, MD, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst

About the Author

JOHN HEAD is a former mental health reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a former reporter for USA TODAY and the Detroit Free Press. His first book, We Are the Land’s: The Biography of a Homeplace, was named best memoir by the Georgia Writers Association in 1999.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (August 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076791354X
• ISBN-13: 978-0767913546
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #542,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars good subject, but preaching to choir?, September 11, 2005

By 

Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Black Men and Depression: Saving our Lives, Healing our Families and Friends (Paperback)

The author recounts how a prominent civil rights figure foolishly stated, "No black committed suicide until integration." The supposed leader then goes on to name at least three brothers whom he knew that did kill themselves. Head protects this person's privacy, but I wish he had named the person who could have made such a stupid comment. That's just as ridiculous and uninformed as homophobes who say, "No blacks are gay." Head provides this strong anecdote to convince black men to seek therapy for depression, an illness of which he suffers himself.

Unfortunately, I think the people who will pick up this book are the ones that would already agree that mental illness in the black community needs to be seriously addressed. In that way, it's a shame that one has to read 200 pages of preaching to the choir. For those who complain about supposed "race cards," this book will really frustrate them. Though the author speaks of the microaggressions that black men face consistently, neither the author himself nor the others he describes can point to one racist act that tipped them into depression. I agree with the brother that racism is burden which negatively affects the mental health of black men, but I think many readers skeptical of that supposition will not be convinced here.

The author says little about masculinity and rigid male gender roles. Thus, this book applies to black women almost as much as it does to black men. Concerns about gun violence, disproportionate prison populations, and stereotypes of the angry black man are gendered, but his discussion of racism and the need to have adequate mental health care was not. One can only ask if he excluded women because he thought it would lure in more black male readers or if this tactic would get black wives and other female relatives to pick this up for the men in their lives. (The author never states his wife's race; this makes me think she is white because I think he would have spelled out how his illness affected a black wife if that were his individual situation.) Still, the end of the book does talk about how black women can convince their male loved ones to seek counseling.

The book has deceptive chapter titles. One of the best chapters, "If You're Black Go Around Back," sounds like it would be another chapter on racism, but instead it spoke of imprisoned brothers and those who are homeless. The author focuses on medicine as the cure and says little on counseling. This is a problem: Americans of all races and genders just want to pop a pill to cure their ills instead of seriously thinking about prevention, especially that in the long-term. Because men, including black men, don't seek counseling enough, this was a huge, problematic missing piece of the book.

This book speaks of (in)famous black men and their mental concerns, for example, Mike Tyson, Jayson Blair, and Dr. King. The author said his psychotherapist was white and mentions Former First Lady R. Carter and gay Yalie Andrew Solomon in his book, so white professionals in the mental health field will probably fill very comfortable with this book and may recommend it to many others.

Readers may want to read this alongside Ellis Cose's "Rage of a Privileged Class" or see the film "The Hours" at the same time because the depression and anger in all of these seems to come from nowhere. Though the author fails to mention it, movies such as "The Brothers" and books like E. Lynn Harris' autobiography cover black men seeking mental therapy as well.