Willow Weep For Me A Black Woman S Journey Through Depression

Author : Nana-Ama Danquah
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 174 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2023-10-03
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781324074823

Get Book

Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression by Nana-Ama Danquah Pdf

The first book to focus on Black women and depression, through the author’s “absorbing and inspirational” (Washington Post) personal journey. When Nana-Ama Danquah, a twenty-two-year-old single mother, began to suffer from a variety of depressive symptoms after giving birth to her daughter, she thought she was going crazy. Determined to portray strength in a world that often undervalues Black women’s lives, she shrouded her debilitating despair in silence and denial. But when she befriends other Black women who suffer with depression, she finds the support she needs to confront the traumatic childhood events that lie beneath her grief. Twenty-five years after its initial publication, as best-selling author Andrew Solomon writes in an illuminating foreword, Willow Weep for Me “remains a brave book . . . but at the time of its writing it was humblingly audacious.” Also including an afterword from the author, this groundbreaking classic is a powerful meditation on courage and a litany for survival. “An important and moving memoir. [Danquah] describes beautifully her experiences with depression.” —Kay Redfield Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind

Author : Meri Nana-Ama Danquah
Publisher : W. W. Norton
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 1998-02
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 039334875X

Get Book

Willow Weep for Me by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah Pdf

Author : Meri Nana-Ama Danquah
Publisher : W. W. Norton
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 1998
Category : African American women
ISBN : UOM:39015066445035

Get Book

Willow Weep for Me by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah Pdf

The first book to focus on black women and depression, "Willow Weep for Me" recounts the author's personal descent into despair. More than simply a memoir about depression, this pioneering work presents a powerful meditation on courage and a litany for survival.

Author : Nana-Ama Danquah
Publisher : National Geographic Books
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2023-02-14
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781324050612

Get Book

Willow Weep for Me by Nana-Ama Danquah Pdf

The first book to focus on black women and depression, seen through the personal journey of a young black woman's descent into despair. Meri Danquah, a "working-class broke," twenty-two-year-old single mother, began to suffer from a variety of depressive symptoms after she gave birth to her daughter, which led her to suspect that she might be going crazy. Understanding the importance of strength in a world that often undervalues black women's lives, she shrouded herself and her illness in silence and denial. "Black women are supposed to be strong—caretakers, nurturers, healers of other people—any of the twelve dozen variations of Mammy," writes Danquah. But eventually, she could no longer deny the debilitating sadness that interfered with her ability to care for her daughter, to pursue her career as a writer, and to engage in personal relationships. "This is how the world feels to me when I am depressed," she writes. "Everything is blurry, out of focus, fading like a photograph; people seem incapable of change; living feels like a waste of time and effort." She moves back to the city of her childhood where she befriends two black women who are also suffering from depression. With their support she confronts the traumatic childhood events—sexual abuse, neglect, and loss—that lie beneath her grief. This is not simply a memoir about depression, it is a powerful meditation on courage and a litany for survival.

Author : Monica A. Coleman
Publisher : Broadleaf Books
Page : 375 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2022-02-08
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781506487106

Get Book

Bipolar Faith by Monica A. Coleman Pdf

Overcome with mental anguish, Monica A. Coleman's great-grandfather had his two young sons pull the chair out from beneath him when he hanged himself. That noose remained tied to a rafter in the shed, where it hung above the heads of his eight children who played there for years to come. As it had for generations before her, a heaviness hung over Monica throughout her young life. As an adult, this rising star in the academy saw career successes often fueled by the modulated highs of undiagnosed Bipolar II Disorder, as she hid deep depression that even her doctors skimmed past in disbelief. Serendipitous encounters with Black intellectuals like Henry Louis Gates Jr., Angela Davis, and Renita Weems were countered by long nights of stark loneliness. Only as Coleman began to face her illness was she able to live honestly and faithfully in the world. And in the process, she discovered a new and liberating vision of God. Written in crackling prose, Monica's spiritual autobiography examines her long dance with trauma, depression, and the threat of death in light of the legacies of slavery, war, sharecropping, poverty, and alcoholism that masked her family history of mental illness for generations.

Author : Gayathri Ramprasad
Publisher : Random House India
Page : 287 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2014-10-13
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 9788184006537

Get Book

Shadows in the Sun by Gayathri Ramprasad Pdf

As a young girl in Bangalore, Gayathri was surrounded by the fragrance of jasmine and flickering oil lamps, her family protected by gods and goddesses. But as she grew older, demons came forth from dark corners of her idyllic kingdom—with the scariest creatures lurking within her tortured mind. Shadows in the Sun traces Gayathri’s courageous battle with debilitating depression that consumed her from adolescence through marriage and a move to the United States. Her inspiring memoir provides a first-of-its-kind cross-cultural view of mental illness—how it is regarded in India and in America, and how she drew on both her rich Hindu heritage and Western medicine to find healing.

Author : Lisa Appignanesi
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 550 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2009-08-31
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780393335439

Get Book

Mad, Bad, and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors by Lisa Appignanesi Pdf

An intellectual history of the relationship between women and mental illness throughout the two past centuries examines the disorders of famous women, traces the evolution of psychotherapy as it pertains to the female gender, and considers the influence of trendy illnesses and treatments. Reprint.

Author : Angela Neal-Barnett
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2010-06-15
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781451603637

Get Book

Soothe Your Nerves by Angela Neal-Barnett Pdf

Do you or someone you love suffer from "bad nerves"? •Denise is constantly on edge. She's convinced something bad is going to happen. •Ruth will drive an hour out of her way to avoid driving over a bridge. When she has to do it, her chest thumps, her heart starts racing, and she breaks out in a sweat. She's beginning to think she shouldn't leave her house. •Bernice hasn't slept in two months for fear that the witch is going to ride her again. What do these women have in common? They are struggling with crippling anxiety disorders. Thousands of Black women suffer from anxiety. What's worse is that many of us have been raised to believe we are Strong Black Women and that seeking help shows weakness. So we often turn to dangerous quick fixes that only exacerbate the problem -- like overeating and drug and alcohol abuse -- or we deny that we have problems at all. In Soothe Your Nerves, Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett explains which factors can contribute to anxiety, panic, and fear in Black women and offers a range of healing methods that will help you or a loved one reclaim your life. Here finally is a blueprint for understanding and overcoming anxiety from a psychological, spiritual, and Black perspective.

Author : Panashe Chigumazi
Publisher : Blackbird Books
Page : 151 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2017-04-20
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9781928337140

Get Book

Sweet Medicine by Panashe Chigumazi Pdf

Sweet Medicine takes place in Harare at the height of Zimbabwe's economic woes in 2008. Tsitsi, a young woman, raised by her strict, devout Catholic mother, believes that hard work, prayer and an education will ensure a prosperous and happy future. She does well at her mission boarding school, and goes on to obtain a scholarship to attend university, but the change in the economic situation in Zimbabwe destroys the old system where hard work and a degree guaranteed a good life. Out of university, Tsitsi finds herself in a position much lower than she had set her sights on, working as a clerk in the office of the local politician, Zvobgo. With a salary that barely provides her a means to survive, she finds herself increasingly compromising her Christian values to negotiate ways to get ahead. Panashe Chigumadzi is a young and upcoming media executive passionate about creating new narratives that work to redefine and reaffirm African identity. She is the founder and editor of Vanguard Magazine, a platform which aims to speak to the life of young black women coming of age in post-apartheid South Africa. She has previously worked as a TV journalist for CNBC Africa, a columnist for Forbes Woman Africa and a contributor to Forbes Africa. She has been invited to speak at a number of local and international events. In 2013 she became a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers community, a network of young people who strive to make an impact in their communities. Panashe is a 2015 Ruth First Fellow at Wits University.

Author : Emily Bernard
Publisher : Knopf
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780451493026

Get Book

Black is the Body by Emily Bernard Pdf

"A collection of essays on race"--Provided by publisher.

Author : Emily Mann
Publisher : ReadHowYouWant.com
Page : 162 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2010-10-19
Category : Drama
ISBN : 9781458781352

Get Book

Mrs Packard by Emily Mann Pdf

Emily Mann is one of our most urgently engaging, provocative and significant American playwrights.'' - Joyce Carol Oates ''Elizabeth Packard emerges as a vibrant, passionate force of nature.'' - The New York Times Illinois, 1861; Without proof of insanity, Elizabeth Packard is committed by her husband to an asylum. Based on historical events, Emily Mann's play tells of one woman's struggle to right a system gone wrong in this winner of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award. Emily Mann is a playwright and director, now in her nineteenth season as artistic director of McCarter Theatre. Her award-winning plays have been produced throughout the world.

Author : Jonathan Rottenberg
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2014-02-11
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780465069736

Get Book

The Depths by Jonathan Rottenberg Pdf

Nearly every depressed person is assured by doctors, well-meaning friends and family, the media, and ubiquitous advertisements that the underlying problem is a chemical imbalance. Such a simple defect should be fixable, yet despite all of the resources that have been devoted to finding a pharmacological solution, depression remains stubbornly widespread. Why are we losing this fight? In this humane and illuminating challenge to defect models of depression, psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg argues that depression is a particularly severe outgrowth of our natural capacity for emotion. In other words, it is a low mood gone haywire. Drawing on recent developments in the science of mood—and his own harrowing depressive experience as a young adult—Rottenberg explains depression in evolutionary terms, showing how its dark pull arises from adaptations that evolved to help our ancestors ensure their survival. Moods, high and low, evolved to compel us to more efficiently pursue rewards. While this worked for our ancestors, our modern environment—in which daily survival is no longer a sole focus—makes it all too easy for low mood to slide into severe, long-lasting depression. Weaving together experimental and epidemiological research, clinical observations, and the voices of individuals who have struggled with depression, The Depths offers a bold new account of why depression endures—and makes a strong case for de-stigmatizing this increasingly common condition. In so doing, Rottenberg offers hope in the form of his own and other patients’ recovery, and points the way towards new paths for treatment.

Author : Stephanie Covington Armstrong
Publisher : Chicago Review Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2009-08
Category : Self-Help
ISBN : 9781569763209

Get Book

Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat by Stephanie Covington Armstrong Pdf

Describing her struggle as a black woman with an eating disorder that is consistently portrayed as a white woman's problem, this insightful and moving narrative traces the background and factors that caused her bulimia. Moving coast to coast, she tries to escape her self-hatred and obsession by never slowing down, unaware that she is caught in downward spiral emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Finally she can no longer deny that she will die if she doesn't get help, overcome her shame, and conquer her addiction. But seeking help only reinforces her negative self-image, and she discovers her race makes her an oddity in the all-white programs for eating disorders. This memoir of her experiences answers many questions about why black women often do not seek traditional therapy for emotional problems.

Author : Darlene Mininni
Publisher : St. Martin's Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2006-01-24
Category : Self-Help
ISBN : 9781429907224

Get Book

The Emotional Toolkit by Darlene Mininni Pdf

Have you ever been stuck in a bad mood? Are you often helpless to stop your mind's negative thinking? Can you find peace when you're feeling overwhelmed? Imagine what life would be like if you had an emotional toolkit. When confused or upset, you'd have powerful tools at your fingertips to help you understand your emotions and master your troubling feelings. With The Emotional Toolkit, help has arrived. Meticulously researched, The Emotional Toolkit is a remarkable guide based on a highly successful course Dr. Darlene Mininni developed and taught to undergraduate women at UCLA. Now she's offering this essential information to women of all ages. Written with warmth and intelligence, Dr. Mininni teaches you the messages your emotions are trying to send you. She offers seven concrete, easy-to-follow "power-tools" scientifically proven to boost your emotional well-being. With an emotional toolkit, you will harness the power of your mind and body to reduce your distress. Scientists confirm that women using the strategies from The Emotional Toolkit have less anxiety and sadness and are happier and more optimistic than before. And you can be, too. Filled with helpful tips, quizzes, resources and insightful case studies, The Emotional Toolkit is an inspiring lesson on how to take charge of your emotions and create more happiness in your life. Finally, here is the emotional education you never received.

Author : Pede Hollist,Onipede A. Hollist
Publisher : African Books Collective
Page : 296 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9789956727377

Get Book

So the Path Does Not Die by Pede Hollist,Onipede A. Hollist Pdf

Protagonist Fina's search for happiness and belonging begins on the night of her aborted circumcision and continues through her teenage years in Freetown, Sierra Leone's capital; her twenties in the Washington Metropolitan Area; and ends with her return to Sierra Leone to work as an advocate for war-traumatized children. The novel explores the problems she encounters in each setting against the backdrop of the tensions, ambiguities, and fragmentation of the stranger/immigrant condition and the characters' struggles to clarify their ideas about "home" and "abroad." Fina's circumcision gets significant, though not sensational, play in the different attitudes toward the practice between her and her fiance Cammy, a Trinidadian urologist. The differences complicate their relationship at a time when skeletons from their pasts threaten their impending marriage. The stories of Fina's friend, African-American Aman and her fiance, Nigerian Bayo; of Edna (Fina's foster sister) and her husband Kizzy; and of Mawaf, a war-traumatized teen, unfold in subplots that merge with the main plot and overarching theme of belonging as characters straddle "home" and "abroad" places."