Sleepless Days: One Woman's Journey Through Postpartum Depression [Paperback]

Susan Kushner Resnick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2001

Sleepless Days is a brilliantly written, haunting memoir of one mother's encounter with postpartum depression. It is a story for the other 400,000 women who are afflicted with PPD each year and are desperate for reassurance that others have felt their despair and recovered. It is a compelling narrative for anyone who has ever watched helplessly as a vulnerable woman fought against the weight of this mysterious disease.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Those who have dismissed postpartum depression as a minor condition will think again after reading this articulate and harrowing account. Resnick, a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, was plunged into an abyss of insomnia, anxiety, depression and suicidal fantasies several months after her son was born, in stark contrast to the happiness and competence she felt after the birth of her daughter three years before. Although the cause of PPD remains unclear, the timing and course of the symptoms are unambiguous. However, Resnick, like many of the other women who suffer with this illness, was misdiagnosed by a physician who told her she simply needed a vacation. For months, she hid the severity of her insomnia and mood swings from her supportive husband. Finally, stressed and exhausted, Resnick began seeing a nurse psychotherapist who told her she had PPD and recommended antidepressants in addition to therapy. Resnick affectingly describes the guilt she felt over weaning her baby early so that she could take her medication without harming her child. She was also conflicted about her decision to turn over a good deal of the care for the children to her husband and babysitters so she would be able to recuperate. Slowly, she began to recover her stamina and pleasure in everyday family life. Grounded in vivid detail, Resnick's heartfelt memoir will reassure others who suffer from PPD that the condition, though serious, is treatable and temporary. Agent, Kim Witherspoon. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

After the birth of her second child, freelance journalist Resnick expected to resume her work and normal activities quickly. But within months, she found herself exhausted, anxious, unable to sleep, and plagued by loneliness and fears of harming her children. In the midst of this postpartum depression (PPD), she unsuccessfully sought out others who had survived a similar experience. "I wanted in on the whole story of a woman like me who was innocently conducting her job as a mother when she abruptly descended to hell." Doctors she consulted dismissed her fears. A support group was in summer recess. As a result, Resnick decided to chronicle her experience--the toll her PPD took on her family, her slow return to health, and her resistance to and eventual acceptance of antidepressants. "PPD," she says, "is not something that is obvious to anyone but experts in the field its symptoms weave themselves into the fabric of the normal stresses of early motherhood." And although it is temporary, it can lead to further depression if left untreated. Recommended for public libraries and consumer health collections.
-Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA
Copyright 2000 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: 208 pages
• Publisher: Golden Guides from St. Martin's Press; 2nd edition (February 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312272278
• ISBN-13: 978-0312272272
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #546,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Postpartum Depression

More About the Author

Susan Kushner Resnick has been a journalist for 25 years, writing for publications ranging from obscure alternative weeklies to the very mainstream The Providence Journal. She has freelanced for magazines, with her most impressive clip coming from The New York Times magazine. Her first book, Sleepless Days: One Woman's Journey Through Postpartum Depression (St. Martin's Press, 2001) was the first memoir of PPD by an American author. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two teenagers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, May 21, 2000

By 

Chrissy hepperlen (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sleepless Days: One Woman's Journey Through Postpartum Depression (Hardcover)

I read this book twice and cried both times. Anyone who has been through the hell (and it is hell)of postpartum depression understands how disturbing the condition is to not only the sufferer, but their family and friends. I went through this with my first child, only some with my second (because I was more aware that it could happen again). It was something I never dreamed would happen to me, although I had all the "conditions" for it. I applaud this author for her candid account. It must have been hard for her to "relive" all the awful moments. I am a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, and I talk with my pregnant patients about this condition, even though no one wants to hear about it, because we're not allowed to discuss it in our society. I flinch when women tell me their plans for returning to work in three weeks, starting to work out too quickly... we give mothers very few breaks in this country. I remember being scolded at the grocery store a few weeks after my daughter's birth for being out and doing the shopping so soon. Of course I had my daughter bundled up in her car seat... standard. The woman was from Mexico, and I thought, "well, that's not the way we do it is this country"! Now I understand the wisdom of taking care of yourself after delivering. As tough as it is for people to hear about, PPD is more prevalent than ever. A great, honest book.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sleepless Years, June 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sleepless Days: One Woman's Journey Through Postpartum Depression (Hardcover)

I was both horrified and relieved after reading this book. Her postpartum symptoms were different and the same as mine. I never had trouble eating. Except when I starved because I could no longer find the strength to make something for myself. But I wanted food.

I too could not sleep. I blamed everything on the lack of sleep. The family cockatiel kept me up with relentless squeals while the baby slept. I would have exchanged its life for 15 minutes sleep. But it, like my sanity was out of my grasp.

I was delusional. So was she. Her description of her delusions and the way they ran through her mind was so similar to my own that I felt relief. Chemical. It was chemical. Thank God. I knew that but never heard anyone else describe the ugly images--these beyond words images. Thank God somebody had the courage to confess them.

But there was something else in the book. Dysthymic. I mild depression running as a theme through one's life. Postpartum is more common in such people. But she had gone to therapists and I never had. Never would.

But as I read to the end I hear how she gets well. Through therapy and antidepressants. She not only survives postpartum depression but thrives as a result. From the drugs? No way.

I survived postpartum depression. I am convinced it took about three years. The most horrible part ended over many months but there was a lasting weakness in my body and mind for a very long time afterwards.

Had I read this book then I would have gotton help. I was scared to get help. A woman I talked to said the doctors gave her shock treatment.(She is in her 60's.) I felt the doctors did not understand it so I remained silient.

The book is well worth the short read. It is good if you think you are experiencing postpartum or if you had it. Or just to give hope to someone you think may be suffering from it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest and informative, February 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Sleepless Days: One Woman's Journey Through Postpartum Depression (Paperback)

I run a website for postpartum mood disorders and am constantly on the lookout for materials to share with the visitors of our site and forum. I was absolutely captured by this book and did not want to put it down. So many things the author describes, from feelings to manifestations of her illness, echo the lives and stories of other mothers who have lived with a postpartum mood disorder. I invite all women who are planning or expecting to have a baby to READ THIS BOOK. Ignorance of the subject will not, unfortunately, make you immune...