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My Latest Book
Living Better (Paperback)
How I Learned To Survive Depression
by
Alastair Campbell
"Superbly readable, supremely useful. This book could save lives."
– Stephen Fry
LIVING BETTER is Alastair Campbell’s honest, moving and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression. It is an autobiographical, psychological and psychiatric study, which explores his own childhood, family and other relationships, and examines the impact of his professional and political life on himself and those around him. But it also lays bare his relentless quest to understand depression not just through his own life but through different treatments. Every bit as direct and driven, clever and candid as he is, this is a book filled with pain, but also hope - he examines how his successes have been in part because of rather than despite his mental health problems - and love. His partner of forty years, Fiona Millar, writes a moving afterword on how she too has learned to live with his depression.
Depression is the predominant mental health problem worldwide - it is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem and major depression is thought to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide. LIVING BETTER is a call to arms and an extraordinary memoir in one compelling and inspiring narrative. This is a book that really could save lives.
Alastair Campbell says: ‘We all know someone with depression. There is barely a family untouched by it. We may be talking about it more than we did, back in the era of 'boys don't cry' - they did you know - and when a brave face or a stiff upper lip or a best foot forward was seen as the only way to go. But we still don't talk about it enough. There is still stigma, and shame, and taboo. There is still the feeling that admitting to being sad or anxious makes us weak. It took me years, decades even to get to this point, but I passionately believe that the reverse is true and that speaking honestly about our feelings and experiences (whether as a depressive or as the friend or relative of a depressive) is the first and best step on the road to recovery.’
Well done not just for the award but for continuing to speak out about this. I am a psychiatric nurse and I know it makes a difference to service users when there are role models they can identify with
Good article in the Times yesterday about footballers, including Lou Macari. Did not know his son had committed suicide or that Macari also had depression. There is so much more of this than people realise. Good blog on Coulson and Cameron and bullying. I wonder if Coulson was also behind the attack on the so called terrorist school which seems to have backfired
Well done for speaking out about a subject that people sweep under the carpet.
What was the fish-shagging joke? Seemed to go down well. More seriously, totally agree on the way the media keep linking violence and mental illness when as you say the mentally ill are often victims of violence.
Keep banging the drum … this is changing but if take the foot off the gas, it will go backward quickly