The Nature of Melancholy

"Philosophy practitioners will be delighted with The Nature of Melancholy. The book will both corroborate and deepen our current ways of addressing depression. Our work is not just aimed at helping clients suppress their bleak moods, but perhaps even more it is about helping them avoid becoming stuck in that mood, and thus unable to experience--or even acknowledge--that other moods exist, and that melancholy is merely one emotion among many. The book offers an overabundance of morsels of wisdom that can be directly applied in our work with clients. Among them are helping them deepen their attention and focus, especially on their soul; this in turn will make their inner life and their relationships with others richer."--Svetlana Correa, Philosophical Practice "Lyrical language abounds in [this] compendium of historic and contemporary writings....Hildegard of Bingen conjectures that melancholy descends genetically from Adam, while, more recently, the post-Freudian linguist Julia Kristeva offers a modern theory that suggests an updated version of black bile."--The New Yorker "Radden's invaluable anthology...scrupulously presents the key texts.... The Nature of Melancholy does an excellent job of tracing the history of efforts to find a language capable of sheltering humanity from that storm [in the mind]."--Times Literary Supplement "With skill, Radden brings together in a single volume a marvelous collection of essays, excerpts, and writings on what is now usually called 'depression'. [Melancholy] will likely remain central to the human condition, and this book may be the best medicine for it....Radden has written a penetrating and lengthy introduction....Handsome illustrations complement this serious yet inviting work of scholarship."--Virginia Quarterly Review "...for those who want to investigate the history of our concept of depression and relate it to wider medical and cultural themes, this collection is an excellent resource."--Metapsychology "Melancholy's simultaneous links with creative energy and with idleness.The Nature of Melancholy is to be commended for its attempt to bring wide and generous frames of reference to bear upon a subject that holds interest for many readers. Its immense chronological sweep invites scholars.-- Bryn Mawr Review of Comparative Literature "Lyrical language abounds in [this] compendium of historic and contemporary writings....Hildegard of Bingen conjectures that melancholy descends genetically from Adam, while, more recently, the post-Freudian linguist Julia Kristeva offers a modern theory that suggests an updated version of black bile."--The New Yorker "...for those who want to investigate the history of our concept of depression and relate it to wider medical and cultural themes, this collection is an excellent resource."--Metapsychology "Radden's invaluable anthology...scrupulously presents the key texts.... The Nature of Melancholy does an excellent job of tracing the history of efforts to find a language capable of sheltering humanity from that storm [in the mind]."--Times Literary Supplement "With skill, Radden brings together in a single volume a marvelous collection of essays, excerpts, and writings on what is now usually called 'depression'. [Melancholy] will likely remain central to the human condition, and this book may be the best medicine for it.... Radden has written a penetrating and lengthy introduction....Handsome illustrations complement this serious yet inviting work of scholarship."--Virginia Quarterly Review