The Art of Conversation Through Serious Illness: Lessons for Caregivers Review

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(More customer reviews)For someone who is in her twenties who has not had much experience with death, Richard McQuellon's book, " The Art of Conversation Through Serious Illness" has deeply moved me and the words of wisdom that he has shared has opened my eyes. When I lost my grandfather back when I was a teen, I knew nothing of this sense of time that we are given on this Earth. I only felt the sense of urgency that death brings that Dr.McQuellon speaks of. Even after all this time, this book really resonated with that particular event in my past. It allowed me to see and understand human behavior, how my reaction to death was similar or different from other members in my family. Even though "death" may be a heavy subject to talk about and it may be that we as a society only bring up death when it's right there in front of us-- Dr.McQuellon allows us to see that in this world we should be honest and compassionate human beings and that even in our most trying times that we should always be here for one another with open arms. I have learned a lot from this book, it was an easy read with great and very real personal experiences that Dr.McQuellon and his co-author Dr. Cowan shares with their audience. It is a book that not only taught me how to cope with a very difficult but "universal experience" but also how to just be a better friend.

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Every day, thousands of people receive a diagnosis of serious, life-threatening illness, and their families and friends suddenly become caregivers. Despite the best of intentions it is not always easy to communicate well under these circumstances, or find deep empathy for something one has never before experienced. When is it best to speak, and when to be silent? How can someone provide real comfort, and how can relationships with loved ones facing serious illness be enhanced in this most difficult time? This book is about how to be an encouraging caregiver and friend under the most difficult circumstances, when the possibility of death is all too real The authors believe that open dialogue must not be avoided until the last minute when opportunities will be limited, but that caregivers and loved ones can embrace this time, mortal time, honestly as a way to sensitively and compassionately engage with those for whom a central fact of life is realized--that all of our lives are time-limited. In The Art of Conversation Through Serious Illness, the authors consider how to best listen to and speak with one facing life-threatening illness, with lessons on being a primary conversation partner, becoming properly empathic and receiving empathy, maintaining everyday conversation, using platitudes appropriately, understanding healthy denial, and talking about dying. Offering bedside guidance usually only available to professionals and peppered with insightful anecdotes from the authors' own experiences, this gentle, succinct book is appropriate for anyone going through this uniquely difficult yet universal life experience.

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The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder Review

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(More customer reviews)To say I enjoyed this book might be a stretch. There were parts that were laborious because it was like reading a very long journal article on the topic. My effort to get through the book were paid off by how I conceptualize two things - the role of context in classification and the art of criticism without destructive criticism. I will detail both below.
Context: The authors make it clear from the beginning that depression is inappropriately diagnosed these days. Typical behavioral responses to sadness are probably misconstrued as depression. I found that part of the thesis quite compelling. Even more compelling was the fact that the evidence seems to favor their perspective. The point is driven home by anecdotes, data, and theory. I liked the combination because it kept the reader (me) thinking throughout the book.
Criticism: Where I think the authors deserve the most praise is for their delicate and precise criticism of the DSM. They do a remarkable job of detailing the merits of clinical diagnosis while also describing the warts. Unlike most DSM critics who want to throw all classification out, they recognize the importance of mental illness types. I was reminded of Paul Meehl's critique of the antinosological critics (in "Why I don't attend case conferences") while reading this book. These authors did not fall into Meehl's trap. Instead, they offered both sides of the situation and made it clear that their omission of context did nothing to denigrate the DSM specifically. Perhaps they were cautious of the criteria and the application of DSM diagnostic criteria without considering the context and history of the patient.
If you find either point worth reading then buy this book. I plan to make all my graduate students read parts of this book for both points above.


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Depression has become the single most commonly treated mental disorder, amid claims that one out of ten Americans suffer from this disorder every year and 25% succumb at some point in their lives. Warnings that depressive disorder is a leading cause of worldwide disability have been accompanied by a massive upsurge in the consumption of antidepressant medication, widespread screening for depression in clinics and schools,and a push to diagnose depression early, on the basis of just a few symptoms, in order to prevent more severe conditions from developing. In The Loss of Sadness, Allan V. Horwitz and Jerome C. Wakefield argue that, while depressive disorder certainly exists and can be a devastating condition warranting medical attention, the apparent epidemic in fact reflects the way the psychiatric profession has understood and reclassified normal human sadness as largely an abnormal experience. With the 1980 publication of the landmark third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), mental health professionals began diagnosing depression based on symptoms--such as depressed mood, loss of appetite, and fatigue--that lasted for at least two weeks. This system is fundamentally flawed, the authors maintain, because it fails to take into account the context in which the symptoms occur. They stress the importance of distinguishing between abnormal reactions due to internal dysfunction and normal sadness brought on by external circumstances. Under the current DSM classification system, however, this distinction is impossible to make, so the expected emotional distress caused by upsetting events-for example, the loss of a job or the end of a relationship- could lead to a mistaken diagnosis of depressive disorder. Indeed, it is this very mistake that lies at the root of the presumed epidemic of major depression in our midst. In telling the story behind this phenomenon, the authors draw on the 2,500-year history of writing about depression, including studies in both the medical and social sciences, to demonstrate why the DSM's diagnosis is so flawed.They also explore why it has achieved almost unshakable currency despite its limitations. Framed within an evolutionary account of human health and disease, The Loss of Sadness presents a fascinating dissection of depression as both a normal and disordered human emotion and a sweeping critique of current psychiatric diagnostic practices. The result is a potent challenge to the diagnostic revolution that began almost thirty years ago in psychiatry and a provocative analysis of one of the most significant mental health issues today.

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