Darkness Visible
A memoir of Madness. William Styron. (1990).
He said he found the repose, assuagement of the tempest in his brain only after being hospitalized. Anonymity free from occupation in a startling solitude and a feeling of disconnectedness may bring one sanity back. Then, I wonder whether my long-term travels actually kept my sanity on track for the past few years. Didn't I feel so fresh among strangers who were unlikely to come to the edge of my life? And yet, I pay more attention to this episode: the author found the problem with his tranquilizer by accident before being admitted to the hospital. After changing it, his reoccurring suicidal obsession disappeared. It was that simple! He actually warns people of what they take for their mental health and slightly scorns habitual irresponsible tasks given by doctors. He also mentions his childhood with a memory of loss of his mother when he was thirteen. So-called, "incomplete morning" may preoccupy certain people especially a subsequent similar event follows. Surprisingly he entered this delirium at the age of sixty, so he asked himself whether the consciousness of his own mortality depressed him, or his sudden decision of stopping the consumption of alcohol removed a shield that protected his vulnerability. Whatever reasons there could be, he argues that depression is a fatal, like a cancer, but curable disease, but because those who suffer from this disease cannot articulate how they feel, it has not been explored enough. One comparison made in this book is that Columbus's arrival in the Burmuda on the way to his India.
I grabbed this book to read an example of autobiographical writing for academic work. It is well written and touching in its content. It is very intimate and exploratory, which should require certain amount of courage. And it could be written only because he survived after all, I would say. In terms of the method and style he used, it has a personal tone, but the content goes beyond his own experience in the beginning. He certainly situated himself in line with others who suffered and chose their own extinction one way or another to support the seriousness of depression. Also he traces the term, depression, historically although it is very brief. He also suggests possible origins of depression in the end, thus leaving quite a few things to talk about.
He said he found the repose, assuagement of the tempest in his brain only after being hospitalized. Anonymity free from occupation in a startling solitude and a feeling of disconnectedness may bring one sanity back. Then, I wonder whether my long-term travels actually kept my sanity on track for the past few years. Didn't I feel so fresh among strangers who were unlikely to come to the edge of my life? And yet, I pay more attention to this episode: the author found the problem with his tranquilizer by accident before being admitted to the hospital. After changing it, his reoccurring suicidal obsession disappeared. It was that simple! He actually warns people of what they take for their mental health and slightly scorns habitual irresponsible tasks given by doctors. He also mentions his childhood with a memory of loss of his mother when he was thirteen. So-called, "incomplete morning" may preoccupy certain people especially a subsequent similar event follows. Surprisingly he entered this delirium at the age of sixty, so he asked himself whether the consciousness of his own mortality depressed him, or his sudden decision of stopping the consumption of alcohol removed a shield that protected his vulnerability. Whatever reasons there could be, he argues that depression is a fatal, like a cancer, but curable disease, but because those who suffer from this disease cannot articulate how they feel, it has not been explored enough. One comparison made in this book is that Columbus's arrival in the Burmuda on the way to his India.
I grabbed this book to read an example of autobiographical writing for academic work. It is well written and touching in its content. It is very intimate and exploratory, which should require certain amount of courage. And it could be written only because he survived after all, I would say. In terms of the method and style he used, it has a personal tone, but the content goes beyond his own experience in the beginning. He certainly situated himself in line with others who suffered and chose their own extinction one way or another to support the seriousness of depression. Also he traces the term, depression, historically although it is very brief. He also suggests possible origins of depression in the end, thus leaving quite a few things to talk about.
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