Finding Hope in the Age of Melancholy [Hardcover]

David S. Awbrey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

At the moment of his greatest professional success, vetteran newspaperman & author of this book was struck by a crippling depression. Neither psychotherapy nor Prozac helped him, & it wasn't until he began a painful probe of his life & an investigation into depression's larger issues that he saw a way out. Not a depression memoir, Finding Hope in the Age of Melancholy uses the author's personal experience to launch a profound & inspiring exploration of the depression epidemic in our society. Weaving literature, philosophy, economics, religion, & medicine into a discussion about the roots of our barren culture, the author comes to provocative conclusions. He shows how the nature of our society is often as much to blame for depression as brain chemistry is, how depression can be a positive goad to creativity & deeper self-understanding, & why religious belief & community involvement are often more potent therapies than drugs & the analyst's couch. This is a deeply helpful & illuminating book for all who are looking for meaning in their lives

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In response to a Prozac-dependent nation, journalist David Awbrey provides a smooth reading and contemplative examination of why we are a nation plagued by an epidemic of depression. Among Awbrey's controversial yet entirely plausible conclusions is the assertion that depression is not limited to biological or psychological imbalances. Pointing to a national loss of spiritual values and cultural integrity, along with our sincerely depressing emphasis on consumerism, Awbrey builds a solid case for why we take on the symptoms of depression--feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, and persistent grief. What makes this hopeful book so impressive are Awbrey's honest self-revelations (including his own descent into depression, his back-stabbing ambitions, and his ultimate "free-will commitment to God"), which play against his outstanding research on the history and spiritual teachings on melancholy. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly

Awbrey's thoughtful and engaging book is partly a narrative of his own depression and how he emerged from it. But the nature of his view of depression goads him to write much more than a confessional, purely subjective account. Resisting what he terms "the medicalization of melancholy," Awbrey offers a wide-ranging and intelligent appraisal of the social and cultural forces that can, without warning, bring debilitating depression down on accomplished, thriving people like himself. "Few Americans," Awbrey contends, "see melancholy as a spiritual or moral crisis." Like many moderate-to-conservative cultural critics, he laments the "spiritual wasteland" of modernism and postmodernism, blaming them for our estrangement from "a core of values" and for creating a culture marked by "randomness, relativism, nihilism, marginality." But unlike many coroners of 20th-century culture, Awbrey doesn't wag his finger at the wholesale decadence of the country. The weakest part of his book is its historical specificity, which leads Awbrey to imply a distinction between melancholy on the edge of the millennium and melancholy throughout history. When, really, has there not been more than ample cultural dislocation and reason for melancholy? Still, it's difficult to counter his assertion that "human reason and scientific enquiry" have become "the primary standards for truth" and that, by themselves, they provide insufficient nourishment for the spirit. And Awbrey's exhortation to readers to cultivate their spiritual lives is buttressed by the fact that, in these sensitive pages, he makes a reader respect the depth and sensitivity of his own spirituality.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316038113
• ISBN-13: 978-0316038119
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.8 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,981,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a professional journalist who has worked for newspapers around the country, mainly as an opinion writer. I have written two books, "Finding Hope in the Age of Melancholy," which deals with my struggle with mid-life depression; and "A Journalist's Education in the Classroom," which centers on a career change I made from journalism to teaching social studies in a low-income middle school in Springfield, MO., and my discovery that much of the national debate on schools has little to do with the realities of a typical classroom.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful analysis of the current state of American souls, March 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Finding Hope in the Age of Melancholy (Hardcover)

This is a book well worth reading if one is concerned about the health of today's American Culture. After a slow start, Mr. Awbrey zeros in on the value and meaning. He shows that self has become the lead cultural actor of our time displacing community and country in the process while Post-Modern philosophy tells us there is no hope of discovering meaning beyond the self. Mr. Awbery shows how Modernism has brought us to this point and Post-Modernism has stranded us there. But Mr. Awbery is not satisfied with this condition and calls on great thinkers of the past and present to brought peace and social harmony through science and technology, but massive destruction, bloodshed and millions of atomized, disinherited individuals who deny any allegiance to universal moral ideals or spiritual beliefs."

"... the self ... has been divorced from tradition, community, and morality. All those character forming forces are replaced by a fashionable appearance - a public-relations self."

"... many Americans ... perceive life ... as a quest for the 'self,' an almost mythological creature defined according to the latest therapeutic model of mental health or trendy psychological theory of consciousness that promises control over life while brushing aside moral anxieties that have burdened people for countless generations."

I highly recommend this book for those who seek meaning in human life. Mr. Awbrey has answered that question for himself and shares the answer with his reader

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book about mid-life crisis., February 17, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Sunny California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Hope in the Age of Melancholy (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely brilliant book. The description of it gives no idea as to how indepth, intelligent and profound it really is. It is not just about depression - it is about dealing with a mid-life crisis, or depression, or Dark Night of the Soul, or a spiritual awakening -- all synonymous terms these days. I have read many self-help books and researched this area and only this book, along with Carolyn Myss' "Spiritual Madness" offer any real help. Awbrey's use of classical literature references is very clever and provides foundations to his insights. If he had read book 3 of Walsh's "Conversations with God" he would probably have come out with a different interpretation of human being's sins - he would be able to articulate how we beings are actually dualities.

Read Awbrey's book. It is truly amazing with it insights and conclusions. Most self-help books focus on the inner self. Awbrey goes way beyond the typical new age thinking, by addressing social responsibility and the importance of connecting to community. He is way ahead of society's thinking these days. He shows, via historical reference, how a society in depression is actually the prelude to incredible change and renaissance. So, I found his book very uplifting because it convinced me many, many good things are going to happen soon. There is an exciting future. Even it you don't agree with anything he says, the beauty of his writing and the intelligent use of classical literature, makes this book a philosophical gem.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reclaiming the American Soul, March 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Finding Hope in the Age of Melancholy (Hardcover)

This is a book well worth reading if one is concerned about the health of today's American Culture. After a slow start, Mr. Awbrey zeros in on the core of values and meaning in late 20th Century America: self as the only value and meaning. The self has become the lead cultural actor of our time displacing community and country in the process while Post Modern philosophy tells us there is no hope of discovering meaning beyond the self. Mr. Awbery shows how Modernism has brought us to this point and Post Modernism has stranded us there. But Mr. Awbery is not satisified with this condition and calls on great thinkers of the past and present to rescue us.

A few of my favorite quotes:

"The 20th Century has not brought peace and social harmony through science and technology, but massive destruction, bloodshed and millions of atomized, disinherited individuals who deny any alligece to universal moral ideals or spritual beliefs."

"... the self ... has been devorsed from tradition, community, and morality. All those character forming forces are replaced by a fashionable appearance - a public-relations self."

"... many Americans ... perceive life ... as a quest for the 'self,' an almost mythological creature defined according to the latest therapeutic model of mental health or trendy psychological theory of consciousness that promises control over life while brushing aside ath moral anxieties that have burdened people for countless ginerations."