The Depression Book: Depression As an Opportunity for Spiritual Growth
Author: Cheri Huber, June Shiver
List Price: $12.00
Our Price: Click to see the latest and low price
ISBN: 096362556X
Publisher: Keep It Simple Books (October, 1999)
Sales Rank: 42,924
Average Customer Rating: 4.29 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Incredibly practical & helpful book!!
I was very frustrated by my depression. Hated that I went through it and could not find any helpful sources to manage it when it struck. This book gave me an arsenal of very practical things I could do and helped me to see that fighting against it was the least helpful. That was hard to get my mind around at first but once I grasped it - incredible!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Facing depression.
Depression is emptiness, exhaustion, and meaninglessness (p. 129). Zen teacher, Cheri Huber's 150-page book is not "an explanation of nor a cure for depression;" it is about facing depression with compassion. "The perspective of this book is that there is nothing more important than compassion," Huber writes, "everything else springs from that" (p. 143).Depression offers us an opportunity for spiritual growth. "Like everything else in life," Huber writes, "depression is an ally, a gift. It has something to teach us" (p. 98). "Depression brings me back to myself in a way much of life does not," she writes. "It gets my attention. It says, 'Stop! Pay attention!'"(p. 69). Depression allows us to see the cause of our suffering, to see who we are, to embrace ourself in compassion, and to let go and end the suffering (p. 1). Instead of "numbing ourselves to depression with food, drugs, alcohol, sex, talking" (p. 63), Huber recommends that we get to know our emotions; rest, eat well, and exercise regularly; and take up an awareness practice that enables us to let go of false beliefs and assumptions about how we and the world should be (p. 146).
I arrived at this book through a friend who encouraged me to read Cheri Huber. Since this is the second Huber book I've read this week, I guess I'm hooked on Huber. Her book is equal parts Zen, inspiration, and self-help, and printed in a handwritten format, "to slow the reader down so that awareness can touch the heart as well as the head." It is engaging and insightful. Huber teaches us that, depressed or not, "your life reflects your attitude of mind; your attitude of mind does not reflect your life" (p. 96). I recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing themself better, or following their heart. I also recommend Pema Chodron's book, WHEN THINGS FALL APART (1997) for those readers interested in this genre.
G. Merritt
Rating: 2 out of 5
Not very helpful
I found this book insulting to people experiencing deep depression. The book's advice of embracing the depression by renting a movie or baking a black cake and throwing yourself a pity party is trivializing of a very devasting experience. I would be truly shocked if the writers of this book have experienced the overwhelming pain of depression. If you are looking for an interesting approach for combatting feeling down after a bad day, this is your book. It is cute if you are not searching for a solution to the crippling affects of clinical depression.
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