Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness [Hardcover]

David A. Karp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 1996 | ISBN-10: 0195094867 | ISBN-13: 978-0195094862

"Even though depression has periodically made me feel that my life was not worth living, has created havoc in my family, and sometimes made the work of teaching and writing seem impossible," writes David Karp, "by some standards, I have been fortunate." Indeed, depression can be devastating, leading to family breakups, loss of employment, even suicide. And it is a national problem, with some ten to fifteen million Americans suffering from it, and the number is growing. In Speaking of Sadness, Karp captures the human face of this widespread affliction, as he illuminates his experience and that of others in a candid, searching work.
Combining a scholar's care and thoroughness with searing personal insight, Karp brings the private experience of depression into sharp relief, drawing on a remarkable series of intimate interviews with fifty depressed men and women. By turns poignant, disturbing, mordantly funny, and wise, Karp's interviews cause us to marvel at the courage of depressed people in dealing with extraordinary and debilitating pain. We hear what depression feels like, what it means to receive an "official" clinical diagnosis, and what depressed persons think of the battalion of mental health experts--doctors, nurses, social workers, sociologists, psychologists, and therapists--employed to help them. We learn the personal significance that patients attach to beginning a prescribed daily drug regimen, and their ongoing struggle to make sense of biochemical explanations and metaphors of depression as a disease. Ranging in age from their early twenties to their mid-sixties, the people Karp profiles reflect on their working lives and career aspirations, and confide strategies for overcoming paralyzing episodes of hopelessness. They reveal how depression affects their intimate relationships, and, in a separate chapter, spouses, children, parents, and friends provide their own often-overlooked point of view. Throughout, Karp probes the myriad ways society contributes to widespread alienation and emotional exhaustion.
Speaking of Sadness is an important book that pierces through the terrifying isolation of depression to uncover the connections linking the depressed as they undertake their personal journeys through this very private hell. It will bring new understanding to professionals seeking to see the world as their clients do, and provide vivid insights and renewed empathy to anyone who cares for someone living with the cruel unpredictability of depression.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This sociological consideration of illness and disease in contemporary America comes from a professor (Boston Coll.) who uses his own suffering, treatment, and theory along with reports of 50 others who volunteered to talk with him about their major depressive episodes. Karp writes well, addressing psychological, chemical, and cultural perspectives, with much credit to C. Wright Mills, Erving Goffman, and Arthur Kleinman. Many psychiatrists would agree that too little attention is paid to the nature of the pain and the impact of social context on our definitions of normality and treatment. "Self-help" comes under fire, too, as shallow ideology in a time of advancing anomie. A careful, honest writer, Karp has produced a classic equal to William Styron's Darkness Visible (LJ 8/90) and Clifford Beers's A Mind That Found Itself (1908). Highly recommended for sufferers, would-be healers, and anyone interested in the effects of depression.
E. James Lieberman, George Washington Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"An extraordinarily thoughtful book about depression.... [The] palpable, personal familiarity with false turns in the labyrinth of depression makes Speaking of Sadness a distinctive contribution to the literature of the field."--The Chicago Tribune

"An incredibly moving book that not only gives voice to the depressed but also uncomfortably requires readers to listen with their hearts. A major contribution to the understanding of an epidemic affliction of our times."--Karen Bettez Halnon, University of Vermont

"The millions of people who suffer hard and long with excruciating depressions will recognize themselves in these pages.... Speaking of Sadness provides an open challenge to wrestle with the difficult questions."--Martha Manning, The New York Times Book Review

"A careful, honest writer, Karp has produced a classic equal to William Styron's Darkness Visible and Clifford Beers' A Mind That Found Itself. Highly recommended for sufferers, would-be healers, and anyone interested in the effects of depression."--Library Journal

"Finally a book from the inside, poignant in its choice of the word 'suffering' in its very title, by a scholar who admits to knowing this aspect of the human condition in his own person and has seen beyond the superstition of the 'medical model,' expressed in the lived experience of real and beautifully articulate people who, like himself, have been there."--Kate Millett, author of The Loony Bin Trip

"Karp's provocative insights flash a beam of light on the dark canyon of depression."--Carolyn Ellis

"David Karp has written a wise and perceptive book about the most pervasive mental health problem in our society. Intelligently integrating his own experience with 50 interviews, Karp sheds new light on the darkness of depression. This accessible and well-written book resonates with rich voices and personal honesty, providing a rare insider's view of the social reality of depression."--Peter Conrad, Harry Coplan Professor of Social Sciences, Brandeis University

"A milestone in the area. It not only adroitly informs us of the clinical side of depression, but adds immeasurably to our knowledge by conveying depression's ordinary, experiential contours. Drawing on a remarkable series of interviews with fifty depressed men and women, Karp tells us how depression is actually lived. From poignant accounts of illness and identity to everyday concerns with the meaning of medication and the impact on family and friends, Speaking of Sadness insightfully communicates the personal side of illness and thus speaks to us all."--Jay Gubrium, University of Florida

"Destined to become a classic. Eloquently written, carefully documented, richly described, and analytically sound, this book fits all of the criteria of what ethnography is supposed to do. Literally providing a 'portrait of the people' that it describes, the book is moving and deep, while it analytically provides fodder for theoretical development. Perhaps a book such as this could not have been written a decade ago, but today, with the introduction of the postmodern 'impulse' in ethnography, we are permitted greater liberty in using ourselves, subjectively, as characters in our own science. Speaking of Sadness not only allows the author's voice to speak loudly, but authoritatively permits the voices of other sufferers of depression to articulate their views."--Patricia Adler, University of Colorado, Boulder and Peter Adler, University of Denver

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 4, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195094867
• ISBN-13: 978-0195094862
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,057,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most helpful book on depression I have ever read, June 16, 2004

By 

Seehorse72 (Danbury, Connecticut United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness (Paperback)

I borrowed this book from my local library before purchasing it to be sure it wasn't just another one of those preachy books encouraging those of us who struggle with depression to just get over it, that it will eventually subside. David Karp is honest about depression as an illness, which is totally on-point considering he suffers from it himself. The words he has written echo through my head each day, and have helped me in a tremendous way. He analogizes depression as a sort of mental arthritis, something we will just have to learn to live with. He doesn't make false promises of overcoming the problems associated with the illness. He is honest, and describes his own experience in ways that I related to immediately. One of the hardest things about depression is a feeling of isolation because not everyone in our immediate circle of friends can understand it if they've never experienced it. The narratives in this book have helped me more than I can put into words here in the mere fact of knowing I am not the only person to feel this way. I highly recommend this book to anyone who suffers with depression.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for the "intelligent" depressive, July 10, 2001

By 

Susan C. Slepski (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness (Hardcover)

While not offering neat/sappy cures for depression (a do this, do that approach), Karp does provide relief merely in his description of experiences someone suffering with depression has...profound insights that ring true for the commonality in dealing with this illness/condition.

As an individual suffering from periodic bouts of major depression, I found his insights mindblowing as I had never attributed these "traits" as part of the depression itself, but as part of my "unusual history." While hard to explain to the "average" and "normal", someone who has undergone the misery of depression would surely find resonance and comfort in Karp's remarkable work.

Lastly, I would recommend not digesting this book DURING a visit to the abyss as it is a bit heady (and usually concentration is a HUGE ISSUE at those times), but definitely read it after the bright lights turn on again.

53 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THANKFULLY, NOT ANOTHER TWELVE-STEP PROGRAM!, September 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection, and the Meanings of Illness (Paperback)

I FOUND THIS BOOK TO BE NOT ONLY REFRESHING IN THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE EMPTY PROMISES, BUT ALSO UNUSUALLY SENSITIVE IN THAT IT CONVEYS TO BOTH THE DEPRESSED AND THEIR LOVED ONES THE SENTIMENTS OF AN "ALTERED REALITY" THAT ONLY A DEPRESSION SUFFERER CAN KNOW. THIS BOOK WAS EXTRAORDINARILY HUMANISTIC, WHICH UNFORTUNATELY SEEMS TO BE THE EXCEPTION IN AN ALL-TOO CARELESS SOCIETY. (KARP UNDERSTANDS THIS TO BE THE CASE AS HE SO SKILLFULLY DEMONSTRATES THROUGH HIS WRITING.) I AM GRATEFUL TO SUCH AN AUTHOR THAT RE-ESTABLISHES A PERSON'S HUMANITY AS A PRIORITY, REGARDLESS OF OVERSIMPLIFIED LABELING THAT OFTEN EVEN FURTHER DIMISHES A DEPRESSED PERSON'S GENERAL CREDIBILITY (NOT TO MENTION THE VALIDITY OF THEIR ANGUISH) WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND EVEN MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. I ESPECIALLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WHO IS SICK TO DEATH OF CASUALLY BEING ASKED THE CLUELESS QUESTION "SO, WHY ARE YOU DEPRESSED?" HAND THEM THIS BOOK SO THEY CAN BE FURTHER EDUCATED NOT JUST ABOUT THE COMPLEXITY OF DEPRESSION AND ITS "CAUSES", BUT OF THE HUMAN CONDITION IN ITS ENTIRITY.