The New Black: Mourning, Melancholia and Depression

Description

'Persuasive and hearting . . . essential reading. A valuable contribution to our thinking about the life of the mind' Daily Telegraph Why is modern medicine wrong about depression? What lies beyond its surface symptoms? How do we deal with the experience of loss? In The New Black, Darian Leader argues that mourning an melancholia lie at the heart of what we call depression, but that we neither fully understand nor appreciate the influence of either on our inner lives. By looking more deeply at how we respond to experiences of loss, he seeks to free us from the grip of feelings that, if we let them, may destroy us. 'Leader's analysis of the work of mourning is exemplary. A fine writer who can untangle the complexities of the great psychoanalytic thinkers. The New Black is a book that might actually help' Independent 'An important and timely investigation into contemporary ideas about depression, the mourning process and loss' London Review of Books 'Provocative and controversial . . . a fascinating view of a global issue that may provide new answers to those who have loved and lost' Daily Record 'Rigorous and engaging . . . audacious, rich, cogently argued' Irish Times

Darian Leader is a British psychoanalyst and the author of Introducing Lacan, Why do Women Write More Letters Than They Post?, Promises Lovers Make When It Gets Late, Freud's Footnotes, Stealing the Mona Lisa, Why do People Get Ill, co-written with David Corfield, The New Black, What Is Madness, and Strictly Bipolar. He practises psychoanalysis in London, and he is a member of the College of Psychoanalysts and a founding member of the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research. His new book, Hands, will be published by Hamish Hamilton in July 2016.

Compelling and important ... An engrossing and wise book Hanif Kureishi Rigorous and engaging ... a rich, cogently argued and very timely book Irish Times Weekend Review His orthodox, psychoanalytical approach, produces an unpredictable, occasionally brilliant book. The New Black is a mixture of Freudian text, clinical assessments and Leader's own brand of gentle wisdom Herald