Sorrow's Web : Overcoming the Legacy of Maternal Depression (Hardcover)

by Anne Sheffield (Author) "An eminent child psychologist once observed that all children need at least one adult who is irrationally enthusiastic about them..." (more)
Key Phrases: depression fallout, dyadic dance, laundry mother, Martha Manning, Yale Study, Professor Hammen (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In her second book, Sheffield (How You Can Survive When They're Depressed) zeroes in on the particular ravages of clinical depression combined with motherhood. Sandwiched between two generations of depressed women in her own family, she supplements interviews and expert findings (university studies that, she claims, never reach a general audience) with her intimate perspective on the disease. Often misdiagnosed or dismissed as "normal," depressionAwhether it takes the form of teenage angst, baby blues or elderly sadness due to the deaths of contemporariesAstrikes one in four women. It affects everyone around its primary victim, including husbands (there's a chapter just for them) and, most detrimentally, children, who manifest its effects through anxiety, low self-esteem and poor school performance. Lauding medication as the first line of defense, the author recommends psychotherapy and family counseling only after the right drug or dosage has been established. While the cause of maternal depression is still far from certain, Sheffield points to heredity as the most likely suspect, with female sex hormones as a possible contributing factor, and offers hope that more answers will soon be forthcoming.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Sheffield is the daughter of a depressed mother and admits to having been a depressed mother herself. She writes from experience about the impact of a mother's debilitating depression on the emotional well-being of her children. Sheffield profiles people like herself who grew up with depressed mothers and cites research showing the negative effect of maternal depression on children's emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Children of depressed mothers are more likely to develop behavioral problems and learning disorders and to suffer depression themselves as they mature. Sheffield's writing is accessible and nontechnical as she defines depression, outlines symptoms, and examines treatment alternatives. She explores the range of contributing factors, from congenital predisposition to postpartum depression. Sheffield examines why women are more susceptible to depression than men; and how mothers, fathers, and other caregivers can avoid the negative impact on children of depressed mothers. Sheffield, the author of How You Can Survive When They're Depressed (1998), also provides a helpful guide to Web sites, books, and agencies. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (October 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684870851
• ISBN-13: 978-0684870854
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #690,666 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Book I Needed to Read Decades Ago, November 6, 2000

By A Customer

Sorrow's Web -- the book I've needed to read for decades. Ms. Sheffield deals with the subject of growing up with a depressive mother in such an insightful, intelligent, and honest way! I found recognition, understanding and comfort from her combination of the personal and the more "scientific" information. I urge mothers, daughters, sons -- and, yes -- fathers, to read this book. It has the potential profoundly affect your life and the life of those you love most.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enormously helpful, January 28, 2001

By A Customer

Sheffield's biggest contribution may offering an answer to those who have struggled with chronic depression: "Why have I always felt so strange? Where did this all come from?" In other words, the fallout from living with a mother who is depressed -- even someone who has never been identified as "depressed" -- can have lifelong consequences. The book will probably convince those who have been reluctant to get treatment to do so. Much of the rest is a standard round-up of recent literature and the usual advice on what to do when you are depressed --take medication, find a therapist - maybe. Despite its failings and its occasionally cutesy writing, it's probably the book about depression that has been the most personally helpful. I'd give this five stars for the idea and three for the execution.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Light on a shadowed subject, October 19, 2000

By A Customer

This balanced, frank, and insightful account will make a difference in a lot of lives. Thoroughly explores and illustrates the many aspects and consequences of maternal depression in detail, is packed with valuable observations and information - no wasted words here. Devoted to straight talk. Sheffield offers knowledgeable support to her reader, does not flinch from using her own experiences to illustrate her points, and provides clear, practical advice on therapy choices with no waffling on any of the challenges we will meet in seeking the right treatment for ourselves or others close to us. Provides lists of resources for information, newsletters, local support groups. An illuminating and much needed book.