Cracked Teacups

Book excerpt: Cracked Teacups is a breath of fresh air that gives a candid, humorous and thought-provoking account of one woman's struggle with depression. Donna was a middle-aged woman who came from a dysfunctional background and suffered silently from depression for most of her life. Feeling shame about her inability to "snap out of it," Donna never sought professional help. Everyone has to reach bottom before truly seeing the light, and Donna reached hers when she tried to take her own life. This moving narration is the story of a woman's experience with depression, the mental illness that many are ashamed to admit they have. "Three West" is the psychiatric ward that Donna is in and out of after her suicide attempt and the reader is given an intimate view of what that place is really like-funny, frustrating, painful-but necessary. From the absurd actions of her fellow patients, the rigid yet caring attention of the staff, the aloof persona of psychiatrists, and the strange world of psychiatric medicine, Donna works her way through the system and through her depression with lighthearted insight and sincere devotion to healing herself. Cracked Teacups is a poignant, amusing, and brutally honest narration that will resonate with anyone who has experienced the isolation of depression. It gives voice to the thousands of people suffering from the illness and pays homage to those who are actively participating in their own healing.