'The Valedictorian of Being Dead' By Heather B. Armstrong

The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live by Heather B. Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. I was mesmerized and couldn't put this book down. It was also a bit difficult to read such a revealing look at major depression.

I think what most amazed me the most was how (SPOILER ALERT), from the vantage point of being recovered, Heather Armstrong was able to re-inhabit her depressed self. In finest story-telling fashion, she shows us rather than tells us, what her experience was. She also unfolds her experience like a plot. I should have guessed that the experimental treatments worked, but I still had to race to find out.

Conveying such a heavy topic with lightness and humor is a magic trick - how did she do it? She also manages to be loving toward everyone in her family, even though it is clear that her father's temper, her parents' divorce, leaving the Mormon faith, and her own failed marriage all played parts in her psychological difficulties.

Perhaps readers familiar with Armstrong's blog (https://dooce.com/) won't be so surprised she pulled off this memoir with such aplomb. Her aim is to share the experience of major depression in the hopes of helping others to recognize the illness and seek treatment. I believe she will accomplish that goal. I think it is noteworthy to show an experimental treatment from the inside. I have not read anything else quite like it, but to be fair, I have only heard about clinical trials from news reports.

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