Can I Get a Witness?: Black Women and Depression [Mass Market Paperback]

Julia A. Boyd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

With the intimacy, insight and wisdom that have won her a loyal following, psychotherapist Julia A. Boyd sounds a wake-up call about an issue of major importance: Black women and depression. Studies show that one in five women suffers from depression, but many don't recognize the signs and so don't report their symptoms to their doctors. With Can I Get a Witness?, Boyd gives witness to the tragedies that result, and to the fact that recovery from the "beast" is possible. Boyd draws from a wealth of experience--her own battles with depression and those cases in her "sister circle"--to take a hard and honest look at the signs and the options for healing. By relying on the voices of her sisters, Boyd lays bare a multiplicity of truths about the faces of depression--helplessness, dissatisfaction, illness, loss, addiction, anger--and offers strategies for tough times, exercises for recovery, and answers to the most often asked questions.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452280222
• ISBN-13: 978-0452280229
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,068,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a Witness.., May 13, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Can I Get a Witness?: Black Women and Depression (Mass Market Paperback)

A book worth reading...For any woman who thinks she's losing her mind, going crazy, or just can't figure out what's wrong, this is the book for you. Before reading "Can I Get A Witness", I thought I was the only woman living on DEPRESSION island. The author wrote of her own experience and that made me feel like I was sitting and talking with my girlfriends, instead of reading a book written by a therapist. The other women's stories were deeply personal and helpful. While reading, I felt like Dr. Boyd had put all my thoughts down on paper. Finally, someone knew what I was feeling....I had been planning on seeing a doctor but I was too embarrassed and ashamed. I know longer feel that way.

Rawbie

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Practical, July 31, 2000

By 

D. Germaine Bell (Harlem, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Can I Get a Witness? (Hardcover)

This book offered practical advice for women concerning depression, the symptoms, and the treatments, but I found it difficult to just sit down and read straight through this book. I was able to skim through it and pick out information, but I believe that Sisters of the Yam and Willow Weep for Me were easier to read and offered advice in a contextual form.