Life B: Overcoming Double Depression

by Bethanne Patrick

Overview

A bracing and fresh look at a lifelong struggle with depression and mental illness

Plagued by depression her entire life, it wasn’t until her early fifties that writer and book critic Bethanne Patrick, advocating for her own care, received a medical diagnosis that would set her on the path to wellness and stability.

Recognizing the intergenerational effects of trauma and mental health struggles, Patrick unearths the stories of her past in order to forge a better future for herself and her two daughters, dismantling the stigmas surrounding mental health challenges that can plague families into silence and resignation. Life B is an intimate portrait we haven’t yet seen—of a lifelong struggle with depression, of midlife diagnosis and newly found strength. Most important, it’s a life-affirming blueprint of how to accept and transcend the limitations of mental illness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781640091290
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	05/16/2023
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,105,160
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

BETHANNE PATRICK maintains a storied place in the publishing industry as a critic and as @TheBookMaven on Twitter, where she created the popular #FridayReads and regularly comments on books and literary ideas to over 200K followers. Her work appears frequently in the Los Angeles Times as well as at The Washington Post, NPR Books, and Literary Hub. She sits on the board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and has served on the board of the National Book Critics Circle. She is the host of the Missing Pages podcast.

Editorial Reviews

03/06/2023

Book critic and PW contributor Patrick (The Books That Changed My Life) turns a mirror on her lifelong struggles with mental illness in this bracing memoir. After grappling with depression for decades and coming to the cusp of self-harm multiple times (“On my best days, I was depressed... on my worst days, I considered ending my life”), Patrick finally received a diagnosis at age 52 that changed her life: double depression, a condition in which chronic depression spirals into major depressive episodes during times of great stress. As Patrick dug into her adolescence, she came to realize how the disease had driven her feelings of inadequacy and stalled her productivity: “Being depressed every day—and during high school and college I was not treated for the condition at all—means that every day you come up short. You’re not as good, not as worthy, not as savvy, not as talented, not as studious.” But with medication and therapy, Patrick began to brighten, and here provides a road map for others to do so as well. Riveting and remarkable in its portrayal of the author’s struggles, this will lend hope to others suffering from mental illness and those who love them. It’s a standout in a very crowded field. Agent: Jennie Dunham, Dunham Literary. (May)

Publishers Weekly

2023-02-16
A well-known book critic’s account of dealing with double depression and a family history plagued by mental illness.

For as long as she could remember, Patrick, author of The Books That Changed My Life, knew only “bad days, bad days, bad days, and some worse days.” Girlhood sadness gave way to a darker “permanent haze” in adolescence, which only increased her feelings of alienation. Despite her anguish, however, Patrick managed to lead an apparently successful life that included college, marriage to a caring man, and an editorial career. Even so, her mental health struggles intensified to the point that suicidal ideation became “normal.” It was not until her early 50s that she was correctly diagnosed with a combination of persistent depressive disorder and major depressive disorder. As she grappled with her past, Patrick came to understand that her depression was genetic (inherited from two mentally ill grandmothers) and perhaps also epigenetic (caused by inherited memories of transgenerational alcoholism and abuse). The author also realized that her suffering had been mitigated by the consistent presence of “genuine love and affection.” Yoga, the correct medication, and the courage to repair depression-damaged relationships with her daughters had also allowed her to find the wellness that eluded other family members. Her sister, for example, has lived with symptoms of bipolar syndrome and borderline personality disorder. This has made interactions difficult, but ultimately, a unique kind of love has prevailed. “That love may not look like love to someone who thinks all siblings should be close, or that all siblings should just leave each other alone save for holiday greeting cards,” writes the author. “It’s love nonetheless. It’s a bending, stretching kind of love, a love that adapts to circumstance and needs.” Though the prose is pedestrian and often repetitive, Patrick offers valuable insight into what it means to live with a debilitating mental illness.

A flawed yet candid and heartfelt memoir.

Kirkus Reviews

Zibby's Mag, A Most Anticipated Book of 2023

"A different kind of depression story . . . a positive road map of how to live with and transcend the limitations of mental illness.” —Jessica Ferri, Los Angeles Times

"Brave, clear-eyed and honest." —People

"A compassionate look back at her lifelong mental health issues and how she finally came to the other side, this memoir will help families and partners of anyone struggling—and anyone struggling themselves." —Zibby Owens, Good Morning America

"Brave and candid . . . Patrick covers a tremendous time span in this somewhat short memoir, including childhood, her genealogy as it pertains to mental illness, her marriage and the many geographical moves because of her husband's military career, motherhood, and her own career—over five decades of her life recounted through the lens of mental illness. This horizontal approach powerfully reveals the life-long challenge of depression, and how astonishing it is that Patrick fared as well as she has in her life . . . Through her own compelling personal story, Patrick's book will certainly illuminate an aspect of depression that is still little known and understood." —Maureen Stanton, New York Journal of Books

"Bracing . . . Riveting and remarkable in its portrayal of the author’s struggles, this will lend hope to others suffering from mental illness and those who love them . . . A standout." —Publishers Weekly

"Patrick offers valuable insight into what it means to live with a debilitating mental illness . . . Candid and heartfelt." —Kirkus Reviews

“It’s never too late to become who we want to be, to define ourselves on our own terms, as Bethanne Patrick shows us in this wise and beautiful memoir. Life B makes such a powerful and timely argument for finally dismantling our culture’s stigma around mental illness and disability.” —James Tate Hill, author of Blind Man’s Bluff

“Bethanne Patrick has long been a hero in the literary world—a tireless supporter of writers and writing. Now she has given us this brave, elegant work. It’s so good. Radical truth.” —Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The House of Broken Angels

"Insightful, honest, and ultimately life-affirming, Life B shines a light on a secret life many experience in shame and silence, and shows that it's never too late to take those first steps toward healing. Bethanne Patrick's perseverance in getting a correct diagnosis and treatment at midlife gives hope to everyone who has ever wondered if life will get better." ––Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk To Someone

“In Life B, Bethanne Patrick takes readers on a harrowing journey to the cliff edge of suicidal despair, so that they might stare into the abyss of depression and better understand this debilitating condition. Not since William Styron’s Darkness Visible has there been so enlightening a book on mental illness. Fearless, generous, fascinating.” ––Adrienne Brodeur, author of Wild Game

From the Publisher