Shoot the Damn Dog: A Memoir of Depression

(Paperback)

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Description

'This brave and moving memoir challenges all the clichs about mental illness ... All who know the pain of depression will find the book immensely useful, and so will their friends and relations' Sunday Times Shoot the Damn Dog blasts the stigma of depression as a character flaw and confronts the illness Winston Churchill called the black dog', a condition that humiliates, punishes and isolates its sufferers. It is a personal account of a journey through severe depression as well as being a practical book, suggesting ideas about what might help. With its raw, understated eloquence, it will speak volumes to anyone whose life has been haunted by depression, as well as offering help and understanding to those whose loved ones suffer from this difficult illness. This updated edition includes a beautiful and moving afterword by Sally Brampton's daughter, Molly Powell, following her mother's death in 2016.

Reviews

Down-to-earth, honest, sometimes painful, often moving ... What stands out is the book's tone: its honesty, its wisdom and its courage * Daily Telegraph *
Brave and honest ... It must have been terribly painful to write it. But, golly, am I glad that Sally Brampton did * Independent *
She writes of her despair with such fluidity and lyricism * Observer *
Brampton's obsessively honest, angry account ... aims to explode the myth that depression happens only to losers ... This brave and moving memoir challenges all the clichs about mental illness ... All who know the pain of depression will find the book immensely useful, and so will their friends and relations * Sunday Times *

Author Bio

Sally Brampton began her career at Vogue before moving to the Observer as fashion editor. She launched Elle in the UK, which she edited for five years before leaving to write full time. She wrote a television documentary and a screenplay, published four novels and wrote extensively for all the major national newspapers and magazines, including a weekly column on emotional issues for the Sunday Times. She died in 2016.