New Releases by Andrew Solomon

This timely issue of the Bulletin brings together fourteen voices from across curatorial departments and Met Trustees to consider how artists and cultures throughout history have explored the nature of leadership, interrogated the workings of society, and redefined the ideals of freedom and democracy. The essays in this issue center around one of three different themes: the ways societies are formed through collective collaboration, the symbols of leadership and civilization, and the images of leaders that commemorate, mythologize, or even obscure those who govern. By expanding worldviews and building bridges among disparate experiences, The Met plays a vital part in considering the definition of leadership and what it means to build a society. This volume asserts museums’ roles as keepers of histories and places of reflection and learning. As stewards of five thousand years of art from around the globe, The Met is privileged to preserve, share, and reevaluate the countless stories told by the objects in its collection while connecting them to the present day.

Traditional Chinese edition of Far and Away: How Travel Can Change the World

It is vitally important for medical students and junior doctors to grasp an understanding of ‘real-life medicine’. This innovative book of cases shows how a particular presentation may progress, and the different complications that may arise and emerge over time, which may be missed by the ‘snapshot in time' approach taken by many problem-based volumes. The content reflects the average length of stay for a patient in hospital, in which their situation can change in a multitude of ways, and the management of chronic conditions may also need to be adapted as complications arise. Demonstrates the real bedside experiences that medical students can expect, in whichever simple or complex way that they may present Cases selected from a range of sub-specialties for comprehensive coverage across the curriculum Illustrates the complicated, progressive problems that will be seen while practicing as a doctor with detailed diagrams and diagnostic imagery to aid understanding Shows, with timepoints, how differential diagnoses may change as more information becomes available and new symptoms arise Describes a typical initial hospital stay, and subsequent presentations to the general practitioner and hospital readmission The Authors Andrew Solomon, BM BCH MA(Hons) DM FRCP, is a Consultant Physician, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Stevenage, UK. Julia Anstey, BSc (Hons) MBBS, is a Foundation Doctor, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Taunton, UK. Liora Wittner, MBBS BSc, is a Resident in Internal Medicine, Shamir Medical Centre, Be'er Ya'akov, Israel. With contributions from Priti Dutta, MBBS BSc FRCR, Consultant Radiologist, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.

This special issue of the Bulletin reflects on some of the crises gripping our world in the present moment, including the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing tragedy of racial injustice. Voices from The Metropolitan Museum of Art present their personal perspectives on issues and challenges facing us all while connecting these difficult times to art, artists, and the Museum’s history. Conceived and written during the Museum’s unprecedented closure, this compelling publication reflects on art’s power to inspire, comfort, and heal.

《背離親緣》作者的憂鬱症經典 憂鬱症的反面不是快樂，而是活力 「寫書探討憂鬱症時，要避免將憂鬱症美化或妖魔化都很不容易，從某個角度而言，我兩種錯誤都犯了。」但也許這樣的寫法才是最誠實的寫法。與其說我對憂鬱症的感覺介於感激和恐懼之間，毋寧說，我以很極端的方式感受到兩者。」 母親離世三年後，安德魯．所羅門第一次憂鬱症發作——在生活、事業、感情一片順遂，連自己也想不出任何理由得憂鬱症的時候。重度憂鬱症奪走他生活自理的能力，讓他體內長出一個陌生人。在最絕望的時期，他設法染上HIV病毒，只為了有合理的藉口自殺。他最終未能如願，但也從此接受自己將永遠與憂鬱症為伴，並展開對憂鬱症的終身研究。 多年後，他完成了《正午惡魔》這本巨著。同時具備病患、文學作家、臨床心理學家、精神病學家等多重視野、經驗及人脈的他，結合了驚心動魄的親身經歴和淵博的知識挖掘，以十二個面向解剖憂鬱症，從一般人對憂鬱症最常見的困惑——是由外在刺激還是內在性格所引發、是生理問題還是心理問題、採藥物治療還是心理動力治療、只是不快樂還是罹患了憂鬱症？到更宏觀、結構性的面向——憂鬱症在演化上的意義、政治如何決定憂鬱症的描述及治療，乃至性別、年齡、族群文化、貧窮、自殺與憂鬱症的關係，對憂鬱症這種公認難以理解的疾病展開反覆辯證。 他採訪了大量病患、醫生、科學家、藥物研發者，介紹各種療法為何有效或無效，從藥物治療、談話治療、電痙攣療法等正規治療，到還在實驗階段但被寄予重望的幾種電力藥學、啟靈藥。他還大膽親身投入十多種另類治療，從公認具有成效的運動、飲食控制，到可以認真看待的重複穿顱磁刺激術、生存課程、EMDR、團體治療等等，甚至包括看似荒誕不經卻帶來相當啟發的塞內加爾泛靈儀式。 憂鬱症是最受誤解、汙名化最嚴重的精神疾病，同時也是最難以定義的疾病——哪些是罹病的反應，是憂鬱症寄生在病人身上所長出的生命？哪些是病人性格結構的一部分？治療改變了什麼？經過治療的人，是變得正常了，還是不正常？本書的價值，不僅在於作者完成了不可能的任務：統合社會心理及精神藥學的理解，力求全面、精確地描述這種疾病的本質及樣貌；在於作者以一貫的坦率戳破種種失靈的想法、無益的治療、挾憂鬱症以自利的企圖，以及人類自我欺騙的傾向；在於作者以文學家的敏銳和同情，透過生動的比????刻畫難以表述的罹病境況及無從穿透的孤獨感；更在於作者從自身及無數受訪者的苦難中，挖掘出受苦的意義及救贖，讓我們看到這種疾病的悲劇性及其帶來的美麗洞察，也讓我們——不論是病患、治療者還是陪伴者，都還能懷抱希望。 正如作者所說：「探索非個別性的人類普遍心理是大眾心理學書籍的通病。然而當我們看到還有這麼多人類韌性、堅強和想像力的各種樣貌等待我們發掘，我們不但能理解憂鬱症的恐怖，也體會到人類生命力的複雜性。」 作者簡介 安德魯．所羅門Andrew Solomon 2001年，他在經歷了長年憂鬱症之後，寫出《正午惡魔》這本憂鬱症專書，獲得美國國家圖書獎。隔年，他為了治療自己身為同志而在成長過程中承受的傷害，展開為期十年的訪查和研究，針對三百個擁有異常孩子的家庭進行深入拜訪，寫成了《背離親緣》一書，一出版便震驚世界。本書並獲得美國國家書評獎。 他的演講被《Wired》雜誌列入十大必看TED演講，他也成了《紐約時報》年度暢銷作家、《紐約時報》與美國圖書館協會年度百大好書作家。他獲獎無數，包括美國國家多發性節結硬化症協會「美好人生書獎」、全國精神疾病聯盟紐約分會的肯書獎、年度心理類書選、浪達文學獎，以及優質紙本書俱樂部新視野獎等十數獎項。 所羅門積極投入多項倡權運動，關注主題包含跨性別者的權益、精神健康、教育與藝術等。他四處演講，並擔任哥倫比亞大學臨床心理學教授、美國筆會中心理事會主席、康乃爾大學威爾醫學院精神病學講師、耶魯大學貝克萊學院講師，同時也是耶魯大學精神病學系跨性別精神健康特別顧問、密西根大學憂鬱症中心主任以及冷泉港實驗室主任。他還是哥倫比亞大學醫學院訪視委員會、憂鬱症與雙極情感疾患支援聯盟、紐約人類學院及美國外交關係協會的成員。他獲頒生物精神醫學學會的人道獎，以及大腦與行為研究機構的生命貢獻獎。 所羅門擁有雙國籍，現與丈夫、兒子定居於紐約與倫敦兩地。 專業審校 黃天豪 臺灣大學心理學研究所臨床心理學組碩士、實踐大學管理學院創意產業博士班博士候選人。於新田／初色心理治療所擔任首席顧問臨床心理師。深耕專業，為災難與創傷、性侵害犯罪加害人、催眠治療、情緒教育等領域之專家委員；廣及大眾，常任各公務機構、醫院、學校、學協會之專業講座，著有《認真的你，有好好休息嗎？》 譯者簡介 齊若蘭 台灣大學外文系畢業，美國北卡羅萊納大學教堂山校區新聞碩士。譯作包括《我悲觀但我成功》、《從A到A＋》、 《真希望我20歲就懂的事》、《誰說人是誠實的!》、《情緒靈敏力》、《擁抱B選項》、《第二曲線》 等。

The old adage says that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, meaning that children usually resemble their parents. But what happens when the apples fall somewhere else -- sometimes a couple of orchards away, sometimes on the other side of the world? In this young adult edition, Andrew Solomon profiles how families accommodate children who have a variety of differences: families of people who are deaf, who are dwarfs, who have Down syndrome, who have autism, who have schizophrenia, who have multiple severe disabilities, who are prodigies, who commit crimes, and more.

From the winner of the National Book Award and the National Books Critics’ Circle Award—and one of the most original thinkers of our time—“Andrew Solomon’s magisterial Far and Away collects a quarter-century of soul-shaking essays” (Vanity Fair). Far and Away chronicles Andrew Solomon’s writings about places undergoing seismic shifts—political, cultural, and spiritual. From his stint on the barricades in Moscow in 1991, when he joined artists in resisting the coup whose failure ended the Soviet Union, his 2002 account of the rebirth of culture in Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban, his insightful appraisal of a Myanmar seeped in contradictions as it slowly, fitfully pushes toward freedom, and many other stories of profound upheaval, this book provides a unique window onto the very idea of social change. With his signature brilliance and compassion, Solomon demonstrates both how history is altered by individuals, and how personal identities are altered when governments alter. A journalist and essayist of remarkable perception and prescience, Solomon captures the essence of these cultures. Ranging across seven continents and twenty-five years, these “meaty dispatches…are brilliant geopolitical travelogues that also comprise a very personal and reflective resume of the National Book Award winner’s globe-trotting adventures” (Elle). Far and Away takes a magnificent journey into the heart of extraordinarily diverse experiences: “You will not only know the world better after having seen it through Solomon’s eyes, you will also care about it more” (Elizabeth Gilbert).

"In celebration of the 50th anniversary of World Monuments Fund."

I fantasmi della mente - angosce, ansie, paure - ci assalgono di solito nel buio della notte e sono messi in fuga dalla luce del sole. Non così il demone di mezzogiorno, la depressione: si può conoscerlo, identificarne cause e sintomi, ma faticare a sconfiggerlo e a trovare sollievo alla sofferenza che ci infligge. Lo scrittore Andrew Solomon, dopo averci raccontato come è emerso dall'abisso della depressione, riporta le testimonianze di altre persone passate attraverso la sua stessa esperienza, analizza il loro dolore e cerca di dare risposta ai loro interrogativi più intimi. Mette in luce le implicazioni storiche, sociali, biologiche, chimiche e mediche di una malattia che può colpirci così nel profondo da renderci del tutto inadatti alla vita. Ma per Solomon esaminare la depressione e gli stati d'animo che l'accompagnano equivale soprattutto a scoprire che cosa significhi avere un sé, che cosa significhi essere uomini. Toccante, intelligente, costruttivo, sempre arguto, Il demone di mezzogiorno è il testo essenziale sulla depressione, sullo stress e sul modo di vivere del nuovo millennio.

Partindo de sua própria batalha contra a depressão, Andrew Solomon constrói um retrato monumental da doença que assola nossos tempos. Com epílogo inédito à reedição brasileira. Lançado em 2000, O demônio do meio-dia continua sendo uma referência sobre a depressão, para leigos e especialistas. Com rara humanidade, sabedoria e erudição, o premiado autor Andrew Solomon convida o leitor a uma jornada sem precedentes pelos meandros de um dos temas mais espinhosos e complexos de nossos dias. Entremeando o relato de sua própria batalha contra a doença com o depoimento de vítimas da depressão e a opinião de especialistas, Solomon desconstrói mitos, explora questões éticas e morais, descreve as medicações disponíveis, a eficácia de tratamentos alternativos e o impacto que a depressão tem nas várias populações demográficas (sejam crianças, homossexuais ou os habitantes da Groenlândia). No epílogo inédito escrito exclusivamente para a reedição brasileira, conhecemos o que aconteceu com Solomon, com os entrevistados e com os tratamentos da depressão desde a publicação de O demônio do meio-dia. A inteligência, a curiosidade e a empatia do autor nos permitem conhecer não só as doenças mentais, mas a profundidade da experiência humana. Uma obra monumental.

Volum finalist la Premiul Pulitzer, câştigător al National Book Awards şi inclus în lista The Times a celor mai bune o sută de cărţi ale deceniului „Ni se vorbise despre Andrew Solomon ca despre o legendă: privindu-l, încercam să-i ascult povestea, alcătuită nu din cuvinte mai întâi, ci din tonuri de lumină şi din mici străluciri ale canavalei pe care era pictat. Nu ştiam atunci – a trebuit să-i citesc cartea ca să aflu – că aveam în faţă un om care încercase de toate, căruia nimic omenesc nu-i era străin, care supravieţuise Africii negre şi pustiurilor de gheaţă de dincolo de Cercul Polar, care cunoscuse toate formele de amor şi toate nuanţele suferinţei umane, care-şi dereglase voit, asemenea lui Rimbaud, toate simţurile, care citise, asemenea lui Mallarmé, toate cărţile, care cartografiase, asemenea lui Lautréamont, toate iadurile minţii... Fiziologia, chimia, sociologia, etnologia, tratamentul şi istoricul depresiei sunt comprehensiv presărate de-a lungul întregii scrieri, dar fără-ndoială că aspectul cărţii care rămâne cel mai puternic în amintire este cel de autobiografie spirituală a autorului, povestea vieţii lui întreţesute indiscernabil cu tema depresiei. Această privire retrospectivă asupra vieţii unui personaj de o extremă complexitate morală nu e doar o confesiune, adevăratul termen ce trebuie folosit e spovedanie. M-am simţit îmbogăţit interior parcurgând, pasionat, cartea lui Andrew Solomon. Mai mult decât ştiinţă şi mai mult decât literatură, ea este o mărturie despre suferinţă, o meditaţie despre scandalul etern al faptului că o conştiinţă trebuie să simtă durere şi să moară. Traducerea în limba română a acestei opere, nominalizată în anul publicării ei la Premiul Pulitzer, trebuie privită drept ceea ce este cu adevărat: un eveniment.“ (Mircea CĂRTĂRESCU) „O călătorie de o sinceritate sfâşietoare printr-una dintre cele mai sumbre încăperi ale sufletului omenesc." (Daniel GOLEMAN) „O imagine caleidoscopică şi fascinantă a depresiei." (James Dewey WATSON, Premiul Nobel pentru medicină, descoperitorul ADN-ului) Demonul amiezii explorează, cu imagini grăitoare şi până în străfunduri, fenomenul melancoliei şi al spaimei. E o mărturie cuprinzătoare, în toate sensurile – personal, ştiinţific, istoric şi politic –, asupra depresiei clinice, a originilor ei, a modalităţilor de manifestare şi a tratamentului necesar. O lucrare importantă care vorbeşte despre suferinţă, dar şi – chiar într-o mai mare măsură – despre speranţă.“ (Kay Redfield JAMISON, profesor de psihiatrie, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine) „Puţine cărţi sunt atât de puternice, de polemice şi, pe alocuri, de un asemenea umor straniu... O carte clasică a epocii noastre, un text esenţial pentru o generaţie bântuitã de depresie.“ (Mail on Sunday) „O carte fascinantă şi empatică... Captivantă, de largă respiraţie, lipsită de prejudecăţi, utilă, o mărturie a forţei de care poate da dovadă mintea omenească în confruntarea cu provocările cele mai cumplite, o carte care ne aduce tuturor o rază de speranţă.“ (Erica WAGNER, The Times)

First published in The New Yorker, “Solomon tells the story of Peter Lanza, the father of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooter. Read it—it’s moving, brave and just profoundly human and sad....There aren’t any answers. And that’s what makes this all so impossible, and Solomon’s journalism so essential” (Salon.com). “Both parents loved Adam. Neither parent imagined or wanted their child’s horrific end. This is why what Peter Lanza did by sharing his story with Andrew Solomon is so important. Lanza’s story fills important gaps in our understanding of how a beloved child became a killer—and reminds us as a society that we have an obligation to help families and children before they find themselves on irreversible paths of violence” (Time).

Un clásico contemporáneo sobre las relaciones entre padres e hijos, una lección de vida. Lejos del árbol es un libro esencial sobre las relaciones entre padres e hijos y sus diferencias. A lo largo de diez años, Andrew Solomon, ganador del National Book Award por El demonio de la depresión, ha realizado un estudio con más de trescientas familias que han aprendido a convivir con la sordera, el enanismo, el síndrome de Down, el autismo, la esquizofrenia, la discapacidad, los niños prodigio, hijos delincuentes, transexuales o hijos que son fruto de una violación. Solomon sostiene que la normalidad no existe, que todos somos «imperfectos y extraños» y que es la diferencia lo que nos une. Afirma que todos tenemos discapacidades o traumas en mayor o menor grado, y reivindica la discapacidad no como enfermedad susceptible de curarse sino como rasgo de identidad. Su extraordinario trabajo de investigación consigue desarticular este arraigado prejuicio social, un estigma que ha hecho y sigue haciendo mucho daño. Lejos del árbol no es un libro de parenting, no es un libro de psicología ni de crítica social. Es un libro necesario y hermoso que plantea un nuevo horizonte de comprensión hacia nosotros mismos y hacia los demás. Reseñas: «La cima de la no ficción. Una lectura obligatoria para psicólogos, maestros y padres en general. Una llamada a reconsiderar aquello que nos hace diferentes los unos de los otros.» USA Today «Una obra maestra.» The New York Times «Un libro bello y valiente que nos hace más humanos.» People «Uno de los libros más extraordinarios que he leído en los últimos tiempos. Valiente, compasivo y asombrosamente humano. Solomon trata una de las preguntas clásicas: ¿cuánto hay de innato y cuánto de adquirido en cada uno de nosotros? A través de sus historias, contadas con una delicadeza y una lucidez fuera de lo común, aprendemos cuán diferentes somos y cuán dolorosamente parecidos. No podía dejar de leer.» Siddhartha Mukherjee, ganador del Premio Pulitzer por El emperador de todos los males «Que los seres humanos somos fuertes para sobrellevar circunstancias extremas, que tenemos una capacidad notable para adaptarnos y que recurrimos al poder del amor para superar situaciones sobrecogedoras son verdades universales que cobran vida en estas historias recogidas por Solomon.» New York Review of Books «Solomon cruza fronteras nacionales, étnicas y religiosas para hablar a los padres sobre sus hijos y, por el camino, aprende qué es lo que nos hace humanos.» Newsweek «Extraordinario. Un pedazo de inteligencia concentrada.» The Observer «Un libro que todo el mundo debería leer. Quien lo haga se convertirá en un padre -y un ser humano- más imaginativo y comprensivo.» The New York Times Book Review «Una cuidadosa, sutil y sorprendente exploración de las diferencias que le dan forma a la vida familiar.» New Yorker «Un estudio emotivo del amor paternal frente a la adversidad.» Telegraph

Secondo un noto adagio, la mela non cade mai lontano dall'albero, ossia un figlio assomiglia sempre ai suoi genitori. Ma i bambini descritti in questo libro sono mele cadute altrove, in un altro frutteto, a volte in un altro mondo. Sono sordi o nani, affetti da sindrome di Down, autismo, schizofrenia o molteplici gravi disabilità; sono bambini prodigio, bambini concepiti in uno stupro o che commettono reati, sono transgender. Eppure, le loro famiglie, spesso accomunate da un profondo senso di isolamento, imparano a tollerare, accogliere e infine a essere orgogliose di figli tanto diversi. Giorno dopo giorno, questi genitori cercano di rispondere a una domanda cruciale: fino a che punto è possibile accettare i figli per quello che sono, aiutandoli, magari anche contro le proprie aspettative e i propri desideri, a trovare la loro autentica identità? Attingendo a quarantamila pagine di trascrizioni di interviste condotte con oltre trecento famiglie, Andrew Solomon esplora l'universo della diversità e della sofferenza, in un racconto corale in cui si intrecciano le molteplici esperienze di persone normali poste di fronte a sfide eccezionali. Che si tratti di impianti cocleari per sordi, di allungamento degli arti per bambini affetti da nanismo, di interventi chirurgici di riassegnazione del sesso, l'approdo finale di questo viaggio nella differenza è la conquista della compassione. Per molte famiglie, infatti, prendersi cura di un figlio difficile è un'esperienza che unisce e trasforma; la maggior parte di esse trova appoggio in comunità di persone che condividono le medesime difficoltà; alcune scoprono una ragione per scegliere l'attivismo e rivendicare così una condizione originariamente temuta. Tutte, infine, si ritrovano arricchite in modi che non avrebbero mai immaginato. Perché la diversità rinsalda i legami, e l'intimità con il dolore favorisce l'accoglienza, insegna il linguaggio dell'identità e porta ad amare al di là della differenza. Dirompente e personalissimo, Lontano dall'albero indaga a fondo i temi della generosità, dell'accettazione e della tolleranza, gettando uno sguardo nuovo sul mondo della diversità.

The debut novel, first published over twenty years ago, from the National Book Award–winning author of The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression and Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity—a luminous and moving evocation of the love between a son and his mother, sexuality, the startling changes wrought by grief, loss, and self-discovery. Harry, an internationally celebrated young concert pianist, decides it's time to travel to Paris to confront his glamorous and formidable mother about her dismay at his homosexuality. But before he can give voice to his hurt and anger, he discovers that she is terminally ill. In an attempt to escape his feelings of guilt and despair over the prospect of her death, he embarks on several intense affairs—one with a longtime female friend—that force him to question his capacity for love, and finally to rediscover it. Part eulogy, part confession, and part soliloquy on forgiveness, A Stone Boat is a luminous evocation of the destructive and regenerative, all-encompassing love between a son and his mother, by America’s foremost chronicler of personal and familial resilience.

Som forelder ønsker du gjerne to ulike ting for barna dine. På den ene siden vil du at barnet skal videreføre en del av din egen identitet, inkludert dine verdier og erfaringer. På den andre siden ønsker du at barnet skal utvikle seg til å bli en fri og uavhengig person med en helt egen identitet. Forfatter Andrew Solomon ønsket å undersøke denne motsetningsfylte oppfattelsen av arv, og dybdeintervjuet derfor mer enn 300 familier i løpet av en tiårsperiode. Disse familiene hadde alle spesielle utfordringer: noen hadde et barn med Downs syndrom eller autisme, andre hadde barn unnfanget i voldtekt eller som selv hadde blitt kriminelle. Boken handler om foreldreskap og familieliv, annerledeshet og forsoning.

Solomon tells the stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children but also find profound meaning in doing so.

The Noonday Demon is Andrew Solomon’s National Book Award-winning, bestselling, and transformative masterpiece on depression—“the book for a generation, elegantly written, meticulously researched, empathetic, and enlightening” (Time)—now with a major new chapter covering recently introduced and novel treatments, suicide and anti-depressants, pregnancy and depression, and much more. The Noonday Demon examines depression in personal, cultural, and scientific terms. Drawing on his own struggles with the illness and interviews with fellow sufferers, doctors and scientists, policy makers and politicians, drug designers, and philosophers, Andrew Solomon reveals the subtle complexities and sheer agony of the disease as well as the reasons for hope. He confronts the challenge of defining the illness and describes the vast range of available medications and treatments, and the impact the malady has on various demographic populations—around the world and throughout history. He also explores the thorny patch of moral and ethical questions posed by biological explanations for mental illness. With uncommon humanity, candor, wit and erudition, award-winning author Solomon takes readers on a journey of incomparable range and resonance into the most pervasive of family secrets. His contribution to our understanding not only of mental illness but also of the human condition is truly stunning.

" J'aime ma dépression. J'aime l'homme qu'elle a fait de moi. C'est elle qui m'a permis de connaître l'étendue de mon âme... Avec ce livre dont le sujet nous concerne tous, Andrew Solomon ajoute au témoignage de son expérience personnelle la richesse de son érudition. Synthèse historique, sociologique, psychiatrique, médicale, cette somme extrêmement bien documentée s'attaque avec une profonde sincérité aux démons destructeurs de ce mal qu'Emily Dickinson appelait " l'enterrement de l'esprit ". Ce livre sur la souffrance intérieure, qui fait déjà autorité sur la question, est surtout un témoignage d'espoir, émouvant et sensible, invitant à découvrir, au fond du trou noir où chacun peut un jour se trouver, des forces positives et salvatrices insoupçonnées. " Un essai captivant, d'une stupéfiante richesse. Un ouvrage indispensable sur la dépression. " William Styron " Andrew Solomon consacra à la dépression un essai provocant et souvent touchant. Une indéniable réussite. " Joyce Carol Oates

Jerusalem, the last and most fully developed version of Blake's personal myth, is recognised as an important part of our cultural heritage, apparently full of deep meaning. But exactly what that meaning is has been little understood. At first sight Blake's poem lacks narrative continuity, presents no clear argument and shows little structural cohesion, while his illustrations, beautiful though they are, are often difficult to relate to the text. Yet underlying its baffling surface there is a coherent and relatively simple pattern, and this reveals in a unique way the psychological and spiritual processes that shape our lives and give them direction. Blake wrote of Man's "Fall into Division and his Resurrection to Unity". The pattern symbolised by the Fall occurs inevitably in every human life and it accounts for all that is evil and destructive in human behaviour and all the inner conflicts by which we are torn. While we cannot avoid it, it is open to us as individuals eventually to rise above it, to become free of those conflicts and of the compulsive behaviour associated with them. This is not just another academic interpretation. Blake's myth is considered here in a way that explains our conflicts and their origins in the delusions that we cling to. It leads to the point of letting go of the central delusion, that concerning one's own identity, or 'ego', which is a supremely challenging act of self-liberation -- Blake calls it the 'annihilation of the selfhood' -- leading to the 'Resurrection to Unity'. Blake's art and poetry help to evoke disruptive forces active within us which we prefer to keep hidden, but which we need to face intelligently if we are to become free of them. Not surprisingly, many people find this disturbing; but it can be immeasurably rewarding. Nowadays there is considerable interest in Eastern teachings which have a similar purpose; but our typical Western starting point, conditioned by centuries of Judaeo-Christian teaching of an external law-giving God, is different from that of, say, Buddhists or Hindus, for whom the supreme authority is to be found within. Blake's myth reflects Western conditioning and the particular patterns that result from it, which we may be able to recognise in ourselves; but its end-point, freedom from all conditioning, is universal. Illustrations include a complete reproduction of one of Blake's black and white copies of Jerusalem.