Book Review.

The Ghost in the House by Tracy Thompson
(Real mothers talk about maternal depression, raising children, and how they cope.)

This book was borrowed to me by someone who it was borrowed to.

This is the book I woulda/shoulda/coulda written if only I had done the research first.

The descriptions and anecdotes were so right on, I could feel them. And they brought back lots of memories and feelings- so strong that sometimes I had to put the book down. It did remind me that I've come a long way of late.

If you want to know you aren't alone, this is the book for you. If you want to know what your sister or friend who suffers from depression, this book is for you.

A little bit of the technical, scientific stuff made me glaze over, but mostly the research was very relevant and understandable.

Mostly, it is saying this: Depression is a condition in the brain, you don't bring it on yourself. And being a mother is particularly difficult when you are depressed (or vice versa?)

I was especially interested (and sometimes dismayed) in reading about the effects a mother's depression has on her children. It really underlines the importance of getting help- by both medication and talk therapy. (Personally, I believe strongly in both.)

I was looking for a section to quote here, but the book is so intertwined with the author's experiences and thoughts, research, and anecdotal evidence of other mothers, that it's difficult to find a passage that serves as a full example of the whole book.

Just read it for yourself.