About this title: The novelist William Styron realized during the summer of 1984, when he was 60 years old, that the joylessness, insomnia, and suicidal thoughts he had been experiencing were not simply part of an episode of harmless melancholy, but the marks of a severe and terrifying depression (he calls it "madness") that had become debilitating. As he ...
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Description: Fine. Almost in new condition. Book shows only very slight signs of use. Cover and binding are undamaged and pages show minimal use. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780679736394ISBN:0679736395
Description: Very Good. In 1985 William Styron fell victim to a crippling and almost suicidal depression. That Styron survived his descent into madness is something of a miracle. That he manages to convey its tortuous progression and his eventual recovery with such candor and precision makes Darkness Visible a rare feat of literature. Softcover, 84 pp. Shallow scratch on front cover, no spine creases, names or gift notes, clean text, tight binding. read more
""Darkness Visible" is an 85 page essay about Mr. Styron's experience with depression, a condition that nearly killed him, as it has so many writers and artists and others. His little book is stark and pragmatic, deeply informed and feeling, without a hint of self pity, and indeed, with no small measure of hope. As someone who's felt this particular woe, I found the topic resonant and grievous, and a call to arms, to recognise depression as serious a disease as any other, one that we cannot always explain or treat, and most of all, to stop treating suicide as shameful blameful acts."
"Although I, and most of my family, have suffered from depression for years, I had never read this memoir. I suppose I was afraid to (ditto for NOONDAY DEMON) The good news is that Styron's case had been far worse than mine. The second bit of good news is that the illness struck a man who was honest and poetic enough to put his ordeal into words with clarity and artistry. (Suicide, per Bill, claims 20% of artists who suffer from depression). The first thing Styron says is that nobody, not doctors, psychiatrists, philosophers, can tell you definitely what depression is. Of course it's chemical, which has been proven, but it also has emotional and, perhaps physical, triggers. I am bowled over by how much insight, history, and candor Bill could squeeze into 80 or so pages."
"Do it! Only 84 pages long, you can read this in a couple of hours. No one has been able to describe clinical depression well to the layman, but since everyone knows someone who is or has suffered from it, we need to keep searching for understanding. As a professional writer and depression sufferer, William Styron does a good job of explaining his illness. While he acknowledges that others have diverse experiences and he wrote this memoir back in 1990, he still makes many important, universal observations that could be enlightening to the general public today. The ending is encouraging."
"As he wrote: it really is hard to try to understand what it's like to fall into a deep depression. And because I've never, luckily, been in that dark place, I really can't imagine it. So Styron's descriptions sound almost absurd, but no doubt they are real. I have to agree with him, when it comes to art: melancholy truly can lead to masterpieces when it comes to literature or music, for example. It's so terrible that someone must go through such a torture to bring it all to life.
This was inpiring and interesting piece of work. Admirable how Styron sacrificed some of his private life and thoughts to inform people about this mysterous desease we call depression. Of course it would have been impossible to be any more objective and I found some ideas of his a bit, well, black and white. Still it was a good read."
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