Words to jog along to

Eat, Drink, Run
by Bryony Gordon

Pretty much hilarious account of Bryony Gordon's struggles with depression and Jared, the monster who lurks in the back of her mind and taunts her into self-loathing and doubt. Her naming of the monster within leads to a funny (and sad) interview with attendees of her first "mental health get together". They all have their Jared, whether it be a snake, a sloth or an evil elephant. Something is out to get you and hiding under the covers may be the only sensible way to cope with it.

Until it isn't. Which is where she found herself when she began to slowly crawl out from under. When she had the courage to admit publicly that she struggled with depression, she began to hear from the many million of other people with mental health issues, and she began to recover. Not that "recover" is a final state...my impression is that it's a sort of process that goes on for a lifetime. And that's not so bad--it's so much better than the alternative.

But even if you don't have a personal connection to the issue, this book is just plain funny. I highly recommend it to just about anyone.