Where the Roots Reach for Water: A Personal and Natural History of Melancholia

by Jeffery Smith

Book Overview

Winner of the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir

Jeffery Smith was living in Missoula, Montana, working as a psychiatric case manager when his own clinical depression began. Eventually, all his prescribed antidepressant medications proved ineffective. Unlike so many personal accounts, Where the Roots Reach for Water tells the story of what happened to Smith after he decided to give them up. Trying to learn how...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 086547592X
• ISBN13: 9780865475922
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.9" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

My favorite book about depression

As a depressive who has been on antidepressants for four years, I felt it was time to begin researching about this condition. I read at least a half dozen books, such as William Styron's memoirs, Richard O'Connor's self-help book, Joseph Glenmullen's anti-drug "Prozac Backlash," Kathy Kronkite's collection of conversations with famous depressives, and Andrew Solomon's excellent and comprehensive work "Noonday Demon." Jeffery Smith's book, "Where the Roots Reach for Water," is by far my favorite.Weaving the history of melancholia with intimate personal narrative and rapturous nature writing, Smith constructs a rich landscape of depression. Fascinating even for those who do not suffer from the disease, the book is -- if you will excuse the word -- inspirational for those who do suffer from depression. Since antidepressant drugs do not work for Smith, he has to find a way to accomodate depression into his life. "What does your depression want from you?" his therapist asks. Your depression isn't going anywhere. Even if you are currently in remission, it's likely to recur. So what does it want from you -- what do you need to do in order to live with it?This question is profound, and Smith doesn't answer right away. Nor does he give a how-to list of steps to take to overcome depression. Indeed, the point of the book is that depression isn't something to be overcome, because that task may prove to be impossible. It is something you learn how to cope with, and even how to live your life fully and joyfully despite -- or perhaps in concert with -- your depression.Who would want to read this book? Nature lovers will delight in the beautiful and sometimes surprising descriptions of landscapes. Historians who are interested in the evolution of "melancholia" into "depression" will find a very readable and entertaining overview. And anyone looking for insight into the experience of depression will find both a historical and a personal, individual perspective on the condition.

Wayfaring Stranger in the Mountains of Melancholy

Reading Jeffery Smith's memoir on depression is like watching someone attempt to assemble a pitch-black jigsaw puzzle: how, one wonders, will he differentiate a jig from a jag? How will he ever have the patience to root around for the answer in a crowded sea of clues which all resemble one big blot? Thing is, Smith sees his topic with a particular set of eyes, eyes which can disern color and pattern with only shape for guidance.His astute, complex and compassionate understanding of melancholy reaches out to the reader in an effort to share information on a practical level, but ultimately his exploration will have you so engaged in his personal struggle that you may forget you're reading non-fiction. In the tradition of memoirs that read as compellingly as fiction (i.e., Tobias Wolff's "This Boy's Life"), Smith has created as ebullient a meditation as is possible on the subject. This is a roller coaster ride of sometimes absurdly heart-rending seeking. I finished it with a long sigh, and said out loud to myself, "Now, THAT'S a book!" Highly recommended for anyone struggling with depression, but also simply for readers who enjoy an intellectually stimulating read on a subject in a previously predictable genre.

One of the best books I have ever read on depression!

This book has changed my whole outlook on depression. Jeff used the word melancholia and explains its traditional meaning as one of four basic personality types. What I came to realize is the extent to which I had bought into the idea that I should not be who I am -- that I would be better off if I were whatever it is that anti-depressives can make me. Instead, Jeff presents an alternative perspective -- accepting that one has a melancholic personality and working with it rather than fighting my Self. In his book, Jeff instead talks about HOW TO LIVE AS A MELANCHOLIC and even lists positive characteristics of a melancholic personality with examples. So, now I have begun to approach my self differently -- with acceptance. I don't need to try to be gregarious and outgoing, instead I can accept my inwardness and focus on gardening, walking, art -- all practices for which the melancholic personality is well adapted. I highly recommend this book interested in an alternative take to the modern practice of "fixing" what, perhaps, "ain't broke" after all.