On the Edge of Darkness: America's Most Celebrated Actors, Journalists and Politicians Chronicle Their Most Arduous Journey [Paperback]

Kathy Cronkite (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1995

"I was ashamed.  It was a confession of weakness.  For years, depression meant the crazy house.  As I look back at it, [my shame] just seems damned foolishness, which is one reason I talk about it now."
--Mike Wallace

"Toward the end I couldn't get up. I just physically couldn't."
--Kitty Dukakis

They have made the impossible climb into the spotlight and attained their brightest dreams.  But for Mike Wallace, Kitty Dukakis, William Styron, Joan Rivers, and countless other people struggling against the debilitating effects of depression, life's most challenging battle is waged not in the public eye, but in the darkest recesses of the mind.  In her brilliant new work, Kathy Cronkite gives voice to dozens of celebrated professionals who have endured--and conquered--the hopelessness of chronic depression.  Most of all, this courageous book brings a ray of hope to the 24 million Americans who live in the shadows of this misunderstood disease, yet bravely seek a path toward the light.  You will learn:

What to do when the sadness won't go away.
Why women are most vulnerable to unipolar disorder.
How substance abuse can mask the symptoms of depression.
The latest therapeutic options for children who are affected by their own--or a parent's--illness.
Which effective new treatments can lift the burden of depression--for up to 90 percent of people who suffer from it!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cronkite's central message is that long-term depression is a real disease and is treatable, though finding the treatment best suited to a particular individual can be a lengthy trial-and-error process. Herself a sufferer from clinical depression since childhood, she interweaves her own experience and interviews with medical experts as well as first-person accounts by celebrities who have overcome the debilitating effects of depression. Testimonies by Joan Rivers, Mike Wallace, Kitty Dukakis, John Kenneth Galbraith, Rona Barrett, William Styron, Dick Clark and others are organized around specific themes such as substance abuse, suicidal impulses and overcoming stigma and shame. Although Cronkite ( On the Edge of the Spotlight ) leans toward a biochemical approach, she does not neglect psychological treatments like cognitive therapy, and her inspirational survey, despite its patchwork quality, will serve as a life raft to many.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this passionate, riveting book, Cronkite deepens our understanding of an increasingly recognized malady, clinical depression. The feeling of hopelessness, lack of self-esteem, and other symptoms that are its hallmarks are frequently accepted as "normal" and so are left untreated. By interviewing famous personalities such as Joan Rivers, Rod Steiger, and Jules Fieffer--all of whom reveal their intimate battles with depression--Cronkite helps remove the stigma associated with this ailment. She touches on every aspect of depression, including denial, feelings of guilt and shame, links with creativity, genetic influences, the rejection of help from loved ones, effects on family members, and incidence in young people and the elderly. Her interviews with medical professionals provide important pointers in understanding and identifying depressive illness. This outstanding, uplifting resource is recommended for most collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/93.
- Carol R. Glatt, VA Medical Ctr. Lib., Philadelphia
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Delta (July 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385314264
• ISBN-13: 978-0385314268
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for anyone who feels alone in depression, August 4, 1997

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On the Edge of Darkness: America's Most Celebrated Actors, Journalists and Politicians Chronicle Their Most Arduous Journey (Paperback)

I wish I had read this book 3 years ago when I was first diagnosed. Hard as I tried to confide in family and friends; and hard as I tried to explain, there was really no one who understood. Ms. Cronkite's book is the first I've read - and I've read many - that truly made me feel as if I was not alone in my world of depression. It is honest, sometimes more so than I really wanted to admit. But it is also tremendously comforting and, most of all, it inspires hope. Anyone who has, or knows someone who has, depression, can benefit greatly from this book. I know it is a source I will turn to again and again

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for those close to someone w/ depression, March 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: On the Edge of Darkness: America's Most Celebrated Actors, Journalists and Politicians Chronicle Their Most Arduous Journey (Paperback)

This book was the best I have read on getting into the mind of people who suffer from depression. I used it to explain to my family how I had been suffering for 20 years! I highlighted everything that struck a (painful)resonant note with me. Also, I understood that many other successful people have the illness and have survived.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Alone..., July 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: On the Edge of Darkness: America's Most Celebrated Actors, Journalists and Politicians Chronicle Their Most Arduous Journey (Paperback)

As others before me stated, this book makes great strides toward letting sufferers truly realize they are not alone in their suffering. This may sound strange to those lucky enough to have never been afflicted, but the seemingly irrational thought that "I am the only person in the world who just cannot feel good about myself or happy about the world around me" races through your mind almost non-stop. A book like Ms. Cronkite's lets victims learn about some well-known people who have had (or still have) the illness and how they've coped (all these years) while having to be consistently "on" in the public's eye. It gives hope -- and that's the most you can ask for from a book on depression. Thanks Kathy.