Book Review: Leslie Hawke talks about “The Noon Day Demon”

Newsroom 12/06/2014 | 09:19

The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, published by Scribner and available from Anthony Frost

by Leslie Hawke

[restrict]

People don’t talk much about depression in Romania. Maybe that’s why it took 12 years for the most renowned and frequently quoted book on the subject to be translated into Romanian. In April, Humanitas published The Noonday Demon under the title “Demonul amiezii” and it is already a bestseller in Romania.

The author, Andrew Solomon, will be in Bucharest on Friday, June 13 at 17:00 to speak and autograph copies of the book, in both English and Romanian, at the Humanitas bookstore on Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta near Cismigiu Garden. This is a fantastic opportunity to hear and meet one of the most acclaimed American writers of the 21st century – and to be exposed to his perspective on depression, a subject that touches practically everyone, either directly or indirectly, at some point in their life, even if they don’t necessarily name it as such.

Andrew Solomon happens to be a long-time personal friend and a board member of the Alex Fund, the US non-profit that raises about a fifth of Asociatia OvidiuRo’s annual budget. The reason I am so excited about his appearance in Bucharest on June 13 is three-fold. The first is highly personal. Depression seems to run in my family. Major mood swings, episodes requiring hospitalization, medication and treatment options, suicide – these are topics with which I have considerable lifelong familiarity – and consequently a deep sympathy for those afflicted by the disease and for their families, who are also afflicted by it.

Secondly, my work with poor families in Romania has led me to suspect that one of the most common reasons that poor parents often make “stupid” choices and are easily labeled “lazy” is because of severe but completely undiagnosed depression.

“Depression cuts across class boundaries… but most people who are poor and depressed stay poor and depressed… Poverty is depressing and depression is impoverishing, leading as it does to dysfunction and isolation. Poverty’s humility is a passive relationship to fate… The poor depressed perceive themselves to be supremely helpless. The rest of the world dissociates from the poor depressed, and they dissociate themselves: they lose that most human quality of free will.”

Thus begins the chapter on poverty, which, like the others, ranges from touching personal narrative to a summary of the scientific research and implications for policy.

Thirdly, I believe more open discussion on the subject of depression and anxiety could have positive implications in the Romanian workplace. I suspect these conditions are as prevalent in Bucharest and Timisoara as in the average American city – but information and access to treatment options, for anything less than a complete psychotic break, are practically unheard of. Treatment, whether through talking therapy, pharmaceutical means or a combination of the two, can make all the difference in the world to a person’s sense of wellbeing – and directly affects one’s productivity and relationships.

The Noonday Demon seamlessly combines intimate personal stories with the perspective of scientists, doctors, therapists, politicians and even philosophers. Winner of the National Book Award and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2002, The Noonday Demon has been translated into 35 languages. My bilingual friends tell me the Romanian translation by Dana Ligia Ilin is excellent.

[/restrict]

BR Magazine | Latest Issue

Download PDF: Business Review Magazine March (II) 2024 Issue

The March (II) 2024 issue of Business Review Magazine is now available in digital format, featuring the main cover story titled “BAT DBS Romania Hub: A Vibrant New Office For An Employee-Centric
Newsroom | 27/03/2024 | 17:32
Advertisement Advertisement
Close ×

We use cookies for keeping our website reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our website is used.

Accept & continue