What if depression were a blessing as well as a curse? This is a book about how depression can have benefits as well as costs, and how to reap those benefits while making yourself feel better—better, in fact, than ever before.

Semi-finalist, the BookLife Prize

You have, in some sense, embarked on the hero's journey. Despite being ill-fated, despite starting out as a victim and underdog, the hero is able to rise up to life and experience it in its horror and fullness, rather than merely suffer or survive it and occasionally drink its dregs like so many of us do.

In myth, the aspirant has to travel through hell, or deep into the forest or labyrinth, before slaying the monster and re-emerging as a hero.

If your depression is the journey through the Inferno, then let this book be your guiding Virgil.

If your depression is the descent into the Cretan labyrinth, then let this book be Ariadne's ball of red thread.

A comprehensive, sympathetic, and thought-provoking guide for those who want to explore their depression in more depth.
—The British Journal of Psychiatry

Neel is an incredibly insightful and elegant writer, with a deep knowledge of all he surveys.
—Dr James Davies, psychotherapist, author of Cracked

I've read many Neel Burton books. He's a wonderful writer and able to immerse you lightly in pretty heavy stuff.
—Adrian Bailey, Vine Voice

About the author

Dr Neel Burton FRSA is a psychiatrist, philosopher, and wine-lover who lives and teaches in Oxford, England. He is a Fellow of Green-Templeton College in the University of Oxford, and the winner of several book prizes. His work features regularly in the likes of Aeon and Psychology Today and has been translated into several languages. When he is not reading or writing, or imbibing, he enjoys cooking, gardening, skiing, learning languages, visiting museums and gardens, and travelling, especially to sunny wine regions.

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