After years of experiencing depression himself – during which was prescribed anti-depressants and underwent therapy – award-winning science writer Alex Riley began to question the effectiveness of the available treatments for what has become “one of the world’s most prevalent disorders”. In A Cure for Darkness, Riley tells his own story before delving into centuries of science and treatments, illuminating past and present methods, as well as new hopes, for the future of mental health. It's a fascinating look at the treatment of depression that blends popular science, narrative history, and memoir.
When scientist Alex Riley was diagnosed with depression after years of struggling with his mental health, he set out to learn more about his family's hidden history of mental illness. What he found, from symptoms to treatments, from stories of stigma to those of hope, brought even more questions: why and how are these the treatments available, what have they done for us, and what might the future hold for sufferers of this ubiquitous disease? In A Cure for Darkness, a very personal history of depression, he seeks the answers to these vital questions about the inner workings of our minds.
From the ancient Greeks to Freud, and from therapy rooms to the Prozac revolution, A Cure for Darkness takes us on a compelling journey packed with fascinating stories and deep insight. Leading us to new frontiers in deep brain stimulation and psychedelics, it also offers us extraordinary hope for the future of the illness.
