Daralyse Lyons reviews From Depression to Contentment

I just finished reading From Depression to Contentment by Bob Rich, PhD. “Reading” is probably a misnomer. From Depression to Contentment is a practical guidebook to revamping our behaviors as a means of changing our inner life. It is not only engaging; it is meant to be engaged with.

I received the book roughly a week ago after a string of back-and-forth emails with the author inspired me to want to experience his work. I loved the book! It’s not perfect. One thing I find problematic about it is that I do believe that, in a small number of cases, depression requires medical intervention and the book seems to present all depression as a repetitive loop of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. But, that said, this strikes me as incredibly helpful for anyone who wants to feel better about their experience of life. It takes complex concepts and synthesizes them down to actionable items, bolstered by memorable anecdotes. I’d have devoured it in less than a week except that, as mentioned, there are to-do exercises that I want to say “slowed me down” but that actually speed up the path of my emotional uplift.

The practices in Bob Rich, PhD’s short but substantial book, are something that I hope to integrate into my life on an ongoing basis and I highly recommend this book as a resource for anyone struggling with depression. Or not! This book can help even those of us who feel pretty good about life. Some of its practices are intuitive and others aren’t, but intentionally incorporating more joy into our lives seems to me to be something that can and will benefit anyone!

Compassion, Michigan [PB]

978-1-61599-527-1
$19.95
The Ironwood Stories
In stock
1
Product Details
UPC: 978-1-61599-527-1
Brand: Modern History Press
Binding: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Author: Raymond Luczak
Pages: 198
Publication Date: 09/01/2020

Encompassing some 130 years in Ironwood's history, Compassion, Michigan illuminates characters struggling to adapt to their circumstances starting in the present day, with its subsequent stories rolling back in time to when Ironwood was first founded. What does it mean to live in a small town--so laden with its glory day reminiscences--against the stark economic realities of today? Doesn't history matter anymore? Could we still have compassion for others who don't share our views?

A Deaf woman, born into a large, hearing family, looks back on her turbulent relationship with her younger, hearing sister. A gas station clerk reflects on Stella Draper, the woman who ran an ice cream parlor only to kill herself on her 33rd birthday. A devout mother has a crisis of faith when her son admits that their priest molested him. A bank teller, married to a soldier convicted of treason during the Korean War, gradually falls for a cafeteria worker. A young transgender man, with a knack for tailoring menswear, escapes his wealthy Detroit background for a chance to live truly as himself in Ironwood. When a handsome single man is attracted to her, a popular schoolteacher enters into a marriage of convenience only to wonder if she's made the right decision.

RAYMOND LUCZAK, a Yooper native, is the author and editor of 24 books, including Flannelwood. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"These are stories of extremely real women, mostly disappointed by life, living meagerly in a depleted town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Sound depressing? Not at all. Luczak has tracked their hopes, their repressed desires, and their ambitions with the elegance and precision of one of those silhouette artists who used to snip out perfect likenesses in black paper; people 'comforted by the familiarity of loneliness,' as he writes."ť --EDMUND WHITE, author of A Saint in Texas

Learn more at www.raymondluczak.com

From Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com

Save this product for later

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *