Product Description

I believe that we learn through stories. We learn that we are not alone. Sally Brampton is an optimist. The founding editor of Elle, a successful journalist and novelist, she loves gardening, friends and life. She is also a depressive. Shoot the Damn Dog is a memoir of her journey through depression. For four years her life stood still, mired in the tears, despair and desperate loneliness of mental illness. The brief joy of a stumbled recovery was cruelly, swiftly followed by a relapse into a deeper darkness, alcohol abuse and two suicide attempts. Hers is a story at once deeply personal and profoundly universal which, by way of shared experience, offers a connection to those who feel so terribly alone and ashamed. Unflinching and humble in its honesty, Shoot the Damn Dog blasts the stigma of depression as a character failing or moral flaw and confronts the terrifying illness Winston Churchill called the black dog, an illness that humiliates, punishes and isolates its sufferers. It is also a practical book, offering ideas about what might help. There are no promises, only suggestions: small steps towards understanding and managing this illness and slowly coming back into the light. With its raw, understated eloquence, this book will speak volumes to any person whose life has been haunted by depression , as well as offering help and understanding to those whose loved ones suffer from this debilitating condition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #164357 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

About the Author
Sally Brampton began her career on Vogue before moving to the Observer as fashion editor. She launched Elle in the UK, which she edited for five years, leaving to write full time. She has published several novels, a television documentary and a screenplay, and has written extensively for all the major national newspapers and magazines. She writes a weekly column on emotional issues for the Sunday Times. She lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Harrowing and brilliant
I have just finished sally's book and found it truely amazing. In fact i bawled my eyes out after reading the first few chapters when i realised her story was so like mine (and my family) and others who suffer from this truely terrifying disease. Like Sally herself, my brother had tried to kill himself recently. Thankfully, mercifully, i was never that ill.
The beauty with Sally's account is she just tells her story just as it is, and in total honesty, which is very brave. I commend her for standing up to the stigma, fear and ignornace that is out there about depression.
I love the way Sally offers some meaningfull tips and advice on how one can perhaps better cope with the disease on a day to day basis.She offers none of the usual patronising miracle cures which other so called 'experts' have often written about.

You must read this book if you know anybody who suffers from this 'black dog' or if you are a sufferer yourself. At first i was afraid to read it, but now i am so, so, glad that i did.
Truely immense.

Total brilliance
Finally a book I can relate to!

I do suffer from depression and find this book inspiring and useful to see there is a way to get through life!

Sally writes with honesty and factually about the illness and offers really useful personal advice, with a little light humour thrown in.

I am particually impressed that she writes through experience, which is what attracted me to the write up I saw in a magazine.

This is a book I would recommend to anyone suffering from any form of depression. Enjoy, learn and know you can do it!

What a fantastic read
This book is a must for anyone coping with depression, or living with someone who suffers from it.
Sally Brampton is painfully honest in her book, and you can really feel you get to know her warts and all.
I dont suffer from depression myself, but I have a huge interest in mental health and this read was both informative and enlightening.
I cannot recommend this book enough.
Get a copy I bet you will want to reread it.