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In the Jaws of the Black Dogs: A Memoir of Depression
by: John Bentley Mays

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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.85270092
EAN: 9780060192884
ISBN: 0060192887
Label: HarperCollins
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: July 01, 1999
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: June 23, 1999
Sales Rank: 1154194
Studio: HarperCollins

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
In this courageous memoir, John Bentley Mays gives us a riveting account of what it is to live in the shadow of debilitating depression.

Weaving intimate recollections with excerpts from the diaries he kept for thirty years, Mays illuminates the struggle that leads to breakdown and the uneasy truce achieved through psychotherapy. Along the way, he offers provocative commentary on the allure of cure, the cultural scripts of normality, and the distorting mirror of clinical language.

A literary tour de force that began with an award winning essay, In the Jaws of the Black Dogs is not an objective analysis composed from the safety of hindsight. It is a writer's attempt to evoke the silent and distorting malignancy--as well as the moments of reprieve--of the only life he has ever known. Above all, he offers readers hope: Although the black dogs cannot be entirely avoided, humor and the love and understanding of family and friends can keep the dogs at bay.

From In The Jaws of the Black Dogs

'This book is a life with the black dogs of depression. I have written it in a clearing bounded by thickets roamed by the killing dogs, sometimes wondering, in the writing, whether I would complete it before they returned on silent paws to snatch the text and me away. For the depressed can never be sure we can finish anything we begin, or indeed certain of anything, except the black dogs' eventual return, and their terrible circling of the clearing's edge.

'There are a great many books about depression. This is not one of them. It is pain written, not observed; a depressive writer's writing, a testament transcribed from wounded flesh to paper in the clearing, before the black dogs' inevitable return.'

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- From a Painfully Depressed Mind Comes a Warm & Honest Book!
I related to so many areas of John Bentley's life. As I read this book I was touched and inspired, and reminded that I am not alone in my perpetual existential crisis. A more refreshing look at depression has not come along in many years. A truly beautiful book that could save lives!

Rating:

- Too well written?
It's obvious from reading the first few pages that Mays is an extraordinary writing talent. This is not just another story from someone who suffers depression. It is so eloquently written that I had problems understanding what some of the words meant. His story is told in such vivid detail, with amazing use of the English language. A wonderful book, and very helpful to readers struggling with their own black dogs.

Rating:

- Okay, but not great.
I wasn't impressed with this book. There were definitely a few comments that really struck home, but they were few and far between.

Rating:

- good
Average Reader Review: Number of Reviews: 1

1. In the Jaws of the Black Dogs By: Waleska from Alberta As a psychology major, I was fascinated by this account of one man's life-long struggle with depression. While I do not necessarily think his experience is representative of depressives in general, I appreciated the way in which May displayed them, with all the vulnerability and courage that entails. I also found relief in the fact that he did not offer a quick fix, as so many psychology authors attempt to do. If you are interested in more literature dealing with mental disorders, I strong recommend a short story by Charlotte Gilman, called The Yellow Wallpaper.

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