Book Details: Book Title: Living with Depression by Deborah Serani Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 254 pages Genre: Self-Help, Psychology Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Release date: September 11, 2023 Content Rating: PG: Trigger issues like suicide and non suicidal self injury. Choice words used but rarely.
Book Description:
In the fully updated second edition of Living with Depression, Serani outlines the various forms of depression, describes the different treatments, and outlines methods for living with depression and getting the help you or a loved one needs. However, since the first edition was published, much has changed in the landscape of depression including diagnostic aspects, new disorders, treatments and research, and Deborah Serani covers it all. Tips on how to choose a good therapist, negotiate the labyrinth of healthcare, and minimize stigma are addressed, as is learning how to use biology and biography as tools of empowerment. There is no other book that offers what Living with Depression – giving readers a dual perspective of what it’s like to know depression as a clinician and as a patient.
Dr. Deborah Serani is a psychologist, professor and an award-winning author, writing about psychological issues. Serani has books published in several genres including non-fiction, self-help, children’s picture books and fiction.
I would love to welome Shannon to fundinmenal today.
What is
the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your book?
As I was
sharing my stories from my residents, I learned I was not truly as alone as I
made myself believe. I learned coping skills in counseling, there I learned I
did not have to carry the weight on my own, that there were people just like
me. (Clinically depressed, learning disability) I wanted to quit counseling
more than once, cause the personal work was intense and hard to process
sometimes. But I knew I needed help; or I was not going to make it. I kept
going, sometimes you surprise yourself and you do not know how strong you
really are until you are being pulled down in an strong undertow, about to go
under and no one is there to rescue you. You must do the work. Depression is
like that feeling, your body wants to kill you off while your spirit whispers
keep going. In the end, you only have yourself to save.
What was
the inspiration for the story?
There was a
lot of inspiration, first one, is I wanted to give the elderly a voice. I
wanted them to know I heard them, someone cared. The world is very noisy, and
they tend to be overlooked. I wanted them to know how much I appreciated their
help, trust and kindness. While I was trying to figure my life out.
As well as I wanted to share my story of being
looked at as an underdog. Like so many of the residents I took care of. I was born with a learning disability,
clinically depressed and living an unbalanced life for a long time. I wanted to share how much a little bit of
love can really help change someone’s life. Just that one extra minute you gave
to someone can really help them feel they mattered. We are more alike, then different,
regardless of age.
What do
you think of the book’s title? How does it relate to the book’s contents?
Finding My
Sunshine is about me being in the dark for some time; it was only after I learned
to accept myself was, I able to find my sunshine, and dance to life’s lessons.
I talk about my depression, suicidal and being born with a learning disability.
I felt defeated before I got out of bed in the morning. I tie that in with how
my residents felt; and at times they too felt defeated and not heard. Finding My Sunshine, reminds us we can all
dance in the sun regardless of our struggles.
Explain
“Dance to Life’s lessons” what does that mean?
To me, it
means, mistakes are not life sentences. I
had to learn to forgive myself and learn that it was okay to do that. I had to come to an understanding, that I may
never get an apology, or I may never have friendships recover from what I went
through. Part of self-healing is moving on and not being weighed down by
somebody else’s actions. They may think they did nothing wrong or hurtful.
What is a
moment when you were proud to be a nurse?
I have many.
But my most favorite memory, is when I took ayoung quadriplegic to a baseball game. Earlier in his life, he was
hit by an 18-wheeler/semi-truck. I do
not remember all the details of this horrific accident, but he survived.
He cannot talk due to having a tube in
his throat for airway; he is connected to an oxygen machine/device all the time;
and it has to be plugged in to work. I
felt he was still present, only he did not know how to communicate. I asked him
simple questions, and told him to blink once for yes, and blink twice for
no. He did. I was so excited to have
that connection with him. From what I
knew at that time, he had not been taken outside to enjoy the sunshine or hear
the birds. So I barrowed the maintenance extension cords, and took him
outside. A single tear came down his
face and a faint smile.
I asked his doctor if I could take him
to a baseball game. The doctor did not
understand why, when this resident was in a vegetable state. I was able to track down this resident POA
who agreed to go with us. The MD finally
agreed to let him go, but it was my license if anything happened to him while
he was in my care.
It was myself and another co -worker,
who helped me load him up the activity van, put in his portable oxygen machine,
brought extension cords, and took him to the game. He sat up in his wheelchair
and watched the entire game that night. He
healed my hand. His entire family came
out that night. For that one moment in time, I wanted him to feel human again. That is what nursing to me is all about.
Having people feel human again, feeling loved.
Join us for this tour from Nov 15 to Dec 3, 2021!
Book Details:
Book Title: Finding My Sunshine (A Memoir) Author: Shannon Leith McGuire. Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 198 pages Genre: Memoir Publisher: Sunshine Street Press Release date: March 2021 Tour dates: Nov 15 to Dec 3, 2021 Content Rating: PG+M for bad language, anger, and suicidal thoughts, clinical depression, and assault
Book Description:
“What if that someone was you?”
Shannon had been so quick to blame others for her anger. She knew she was drowning in darkness and pain; being born with a learning disability made her feel defeated by life. She tried drinking heavily in order to quiet the demons. After being kicked out of college, Shannon took a leap of faith and started working in a nursing home. That’s when her angels
appeared and the miracle began. The insight and wisdom she gained from those elderly new friends led her on an inspiring journey of discovery and self-acceptance. Each of us has our own path. Some of us just need angels to help us find it. This is her story.
Shannon was raised in a small town in Eastern Montana, where you leave your car keys in the ignition and your front door unlocked all the time. The kind of place where sunsets and sunrises can be seen for miles on the horizon. Where the spring crickets and frogs resting in the irrigation ditches helped transition the days into a calm resting night. Where the winters can get so cold, air can freeze.
It was only after she was academically suspended by the college she was attending, that she became a Certified Nurses Aide (CNA). She did her training in Billings, Montana and it was there she learned how to take care of others and bonded with the geriatric population.
For over five years, Shannon worked in the same nursing home where she received her training. The work was hard, but it grounded her and helped her find balance in what had become a deeply unbalanced life. It was not until she was a CNA, at one of the hospitals that she had a dream-three nights in a row-that she was going to become a nurse.
She currently resides in Tampa, Florida, where you may hear her laughing with her husband of over 10 years, scuba diving in the ocean, taking walks with their rescued pit-bull dog- Darby, or dancing together to life’s music.
I love the cover of this book and think it is excellent. The colors and subject jumped off the page. The title is great, too. Both are very descriptive of the story to be told.
Because of the subject matter and the way Emma dealt with it, I felt this book deserved a high rating. A perfect way to handle such a sensitive topic.
A short story. Fast read. Once I “turned the first page”, I couldn’t put it down. Raced through it. I thought it might be too dark and depressing, but Emma’s approach to the subject of depression and suicide was both tragic and uplifting. We always have choices.
Cassie, the main character, seems both tragic and wimpy, weak. But it took her three times to go for it, so she still had her doubts. I wonder how many people went through with it and realized too late they didn’t want to die. Others, you know they mean it. I know a girl who hung herself in her bedroom closet. Very obvious she wanted to die. All she had to do was stand up to stop it. How utterly bereft must someone be? So alone, with no hope.
A morbid subject, but one more talked about today than ever. Depression is actually treated, without a person becoming a pariah.
I liked the other characters, except for gross Syd. It wouldn’t be right if they were all easily likeable. We need a bad guy. Got to have someone to hate or dislike.
“Leap of faith.” Isn’t life just that?
ABOUT EMMA MEADE
Author of Nights Sighs, Under the Desert Moon and The Awakenings & Other Stories.