Friday Forever. Memoirs of Madness

Description

Postnatal depression, a recognised and sometimes severe disorder, is estimated to affect approximately 10-15% of new mothers. While both antidepressants and lifestyle changes can reduce the severity of symptoms, many sufferers find themselves too busy or inexperienced to seek timely help, while still others struggle to find long-term, effective treatment.

With astonishing honesty and wry humour this memoir documents one woman’s horrific experience of postnatal depression and the therapeutic process that followed. More than simply an account of illness and recovery, this book also asks important questions about the patient/practitioner relationship, and examines how love and marriage can survive parenting seriously ill children.

Candid and informative, this memoir is essential reading for clinicians, general practitioners, mental health professionals, nurses and midwives. It is also highly recommended for anyone affected by postnatal depression - patients and carers alike

Contents

What I didn’t know: Life in topsy-turvy land My first babies, and the historical claws of illness New babies, and the sickening punishment of genetics Love and other addictions Hunting home, chasing health The true shape of a pear

Susan Bradley Smith, Senior Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Foreword by Janette Turner Hospital, Carolina Distinguished Professor Emerita, Department of English, University of South Carolina