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Jonathan O'Neill's Reviews > Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness
Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness
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4.5 �
“There is a region in the experience of pain where the certainty of alleviation often permits superhuman endurance�. In depression this faith in deliverance, in ultimate restoration, is absent.�
Darkness Visible is a very personal and candid account of William Styron’s own experience with depression. I found exactly what I was looking for in this book. William has the talent as a writer to give proper expression to depression, an experience that has been, inherently, very hard for victims to convey to their loved ones. For this reason, as well as the potential for a degree of solace, I actually believe this book would be a beneficial read for sufferers of depression. For non-sufferers, it may relieve some of the helplessness that comes from the knowledge that someone you are close to is hurting and there’s seemingly nothing you can do to help.
”Loss in all of its manifestations is the touchstone of depression.�
I had a depression of sorts during my High School years. I can definitely look back and see that now. It manifested itself in a lack of confidence, low self-esteem and a lack of conviction in choices that I made as well as bouts of self-hate and intense emotional pain. It was nowhere close to the debilitating level that Styron writes about throughout this memoir but the signs were there. My old man passed away in �95 when I was just 7 and an Aunty was only just recently recounting the days thereafter. I had become withdrawn and quiet, she tells me, my usual hyperactive and jovial disposition was gone, the spark of a carefree youth had faded ever so slightly from my eyes. I think I subconsciously sought out replacement male role-models, my older brother, an uncle, a teacher, a sports coach, just to watch and observe. Luckily for me, these were all very positive but I don’t wish to place an inordinate amount of credit on these individuals who passively and unknowingly guided me off a path that very well could have led to serious depression. Ultimately, it’s my mother that has always offered unwavering love and support and who made me the man I am today.
There is a defensive wall that family and friends erect upon being given the news that their loved one has committed suicide. They argue, “He wouldn’t have done that, he seemed fine!�, “She was stronger than that.� While meaning well and wanting to protect that person’s image it is actually doing the opposite because there should be nothing to protect. The stigma of suicide and the negative connotations regarding the victim are an insinuation of weakness when, in reality, when the darkness reaches its greatest depths, there’s little that the individual can do without hospitalisation and dogged support from family and friends. In a way I feel that the arguments are more a defence for themselves. To accept that you knew something was wrong is to accept that maybe, just maybe, you could’ve done more to help.
At one stage, Styron concludes that the “efficacy of psychotherapy� at the advanced stage I was in has to be virtually nil.� My first reaction to this was, well if a professional is of no help, what good can an untrained friend or relative do. Alas, as I read further, William mentioned several times that the support of his wife and friends were an absolute necessity in his eventual recovery. Simply reading this, took a portion of the weight of helplessness off my own shoulders.
”Not for an instant could I let out of my sight the endlessly patient soul who had become nanny, mommy, comforter, priestess, and, most importantly, confidante � a counsellor of rock-like centrality to my existence and whose wisdom far exceeded that of Dr.Gold.�
Ultimately, hospitalisation was Styron’s healer, Seclusion and time, though he acknowledges that every case is different and what worked for him may not be the answer for another. He attributes the escalation of his illness, at least partially, to bad medical advice or poorly handled psychotherapy. Whilst not devaluing the results that others have achieved, he surmises that his experience was not great. His psychiatrist had him taking 3 times the recommended dosage of Halcion for sleep and when William first brought up the option of being hospitalised, the doctor warned him off it due to the stigma of mental health. That is, to a degree, a sign of the times, as this book was written in 1990 but, nevertheless, a concerning look at the potential for negligence in the field of psychotherapy.
Though possibly outdated in some of the medical terminology and diagnoses, I really valued this book for the insight that it offered. I highly recommend it to any who suffer from depression or know of someone who does. It doesn’t hold the ever-elusive answer to what is the cure for depression but it may help in your understanding of what sufferers are going through.
”A tough job, this; calling “Chin up!� from the safety of the shore to a drowning person is tantamount to insult, but it has been shown over and over again that if the encouragement is dogged enough � and the support equally committed and passionate � the endangered one can nearly always be saved.�
“There is a region in the experience of pain where the certainty of alleviation often permits superhuman endurance�. In depression this faith in deliverance, in ultimate restoration, is absent.�
Darkness Visible is a very personal and candid account of William Styron’s own experience with depression. I found exactly what I was looking for in this book. William has the talent as a writer to give proper expression to depression, an experience that has been, inherently, very hard for victims to convey to their loved ones. For this reason, as well as the potential for a degree of solace, I actually believe this book would be a beneficial read for sufferers of depression. For non-sufferers, it may relieve some of the helplessness that comes from the knowledge that someone you are close to is hurting and there’s seemingly nothing you can do to help.
”Loss in all of its manifestations is the touchstone of depression.�
I had a depression of sorts during my High School years. I can definitely look back and see that now. It manifested itself in a lack of confidence, low self-esteem and a lack of conviction in choices that I made as well as bouts of self-hate and intense emotional pain. It was nowhere close to the debilitating level that Styron writes about throughout this memoir but the signs were there. My old man passed away in �95 when I was just 7 and an Aunty was only just recently recounting the days thereafter. I had become withdrawn and quiet, she tells me, my usual hyperactive and jovial disposition was gone, the spark of a carefree youth had faded ever so slightly from my eyes. I think I subconsciously sought out replacement male role-models, my older brother, an uncle, a teacher, a sports coach, just to watch and observe. Luckily for me, these were all very positive but I don’t wish to place an inordinate amount of credit on these individuals who passively and unknowingly guided me off a path that very well could have led to serious depression. Ultimately, it’s my mother that has always offered unwavering love and support and who made me the man I am today.
There is a defensive wall that family and friends erect upon being given the news that their loved one has committed suicide. They argue, “He wouldn’t have done that, he seemed fine!�, “She was stronger than that.� While meaning well and wanting to protect that person’s image it is actually doing the opposite because there should be nothing to protect. The stigma of suicide and the negative connotations regarding the victim are an insinuation of weakness when, in reality, when the darkness reaches its greatest depths, there’s little that the individual can do without hospitalisation and dogged support from family and friends. In a way I feel that the arguments are more a defence for themselves. To accept that you knew something was wrong is to accept that maybe, just maybe, you could’ve done more to help.
At one stage, Styron concludes that the “efficacy of psychotherapy� at the advanced stage I was in has to be virtually nil.� My first reaction to this was, well if a professional is of no help, what good can an untrained friend or relative do. Alas, as I read further, William mentioned several times that the support of his wife and friends were an absolute necessity in his eventual recovery. Simply reading this, took a portion of the weight of helplessness off my own shoulders.
”Not for an instant could I let out of my sight the endlessly patient soul who had become nanny, mommy, comforter, priestess, and, most importantly, confidante � a counsellor of rock-like centrality to my existence and whose wisdom far exceeded that of Dr.Gold.�
Ultimately, hospitalisation was Styron’s healer, Seclusion and time, though he acknowledges that every case is different and what worked for him may not be the answer for another. He attributes the escalation of his illness, at least partially, to bad medical advice or poorly handled psychotherapy. Whilst not devaluing the results that others have achieved, he surmises that his experience was not great. His psychiatrist had him taking 3 times the recommended dosage of Halcion for sleep and when William first brought up the option of being hospitalised, the doctor warned him off it due to the stigma of mental health. That is, to a degree, a sign of the times, as this book was written in 1990 but, nevertheless, a concerning look at the potential for negligence in the field of psychotherapy.
Though possibly outdated in some of the medical terminology and diagnoses, I really valued this book for the insight that it offered. I highly recommend it to any who suffer from depression or know of someone who does. It doesn’t hold the ever-elusive answer to what is the cure for depression but it may help in your understanding of what sufferers are going through.
”A tough job, this; calling “Chin up!� from the safety of the shore to a drowning person is tantamount to insult, but it has been shown over and over again that if the encouragement is dogged enough � and the support equally committed and passionate � the endangered one can nearly always be saved.�
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December 14, 2020
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December 14, 2020
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December 18, 2020
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Jo (The Book Geek)
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rated it 4 stars
Dec 18, 2020 03:57PM
Excellent review, Jonathan!
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~Bookishly wrote: "Excellent review, Jonathan!"Thanks Bookish. Styron is able to convey his experience so vividly in his writing. I will have to check out some of his fictional work as well, I think. :)
Beautiful review Jonathan. That last quote is spot-on and reminds me of a similarly powerful analogy from David Foster Wallace (who was obviously tragically familiar with depression and suicidal ideation himself), in which he compared a deeply depressed individual who takes their own life to a person in the upper floor of a burning building. They’re just as terrified to jump out of that window as anybody would be, but the fear of being engulfed by the flames is so much stronger and more immediate that they choose to jump anyway rather than burn. I’ve often found that analogy to be the only way to truly express the unimaginable pain and desperation it takes to attempt suicide to someone who has never experienced depression.Thank you for sharing your personal experiences with depression as well. It’s a beast of a disease which seems impossible to best when you’re in its throes. I very much look forward to reading this book.
Jonathan this is a great review. Thanks for sharing your own familiarity with the severity of depression. I am glad this was helpful for you to read and that the author’s words were able to resonate to give clarity to your past and even your present. This is not a book I would have been drawn to if it were not for your review so I appreciate you taking the time to write this and give personal details to why it was even more meaningful.
Kevin Lopez wrote: "Beautiful review Jonathan. That last quote is spot-on and reminds me of a similarly powerful analogy from David Foster Wallace (who was obviously tragically familiar with depression and suicidal id..."Thank you Kevin! I do want to clarify that I'm self-diagnosing with the benefit of perspective and a basic knowledge of some of the common symptoms of depression. I would never liken my own experience to what William went through. He reached a far darker place than I ever did. I would actually say the number of high school kids who silently suffer differing levels of depression at some stage would be enormous.
That's a great analogy. At one stage Styron describes despair in an eerily similar way:
"despair... comes to resemble the diabolical discomfort of being imprisoned in a fiercely over-heated room. And because no breeze stirs this cauldron, because there is no escape from this smothering confinement, it is entirely natural that the victim begins to think ceaselessly of oblivion."
Katie wrote: "Jonathan this is a great review. Thanks for sharing your own familiarity with the severity of depression. I am glad this was helpful for you to read and that the author’s words were able to resonat..."Thank you Katie, as I mentioned to Kevin, I don't mean to suggest that I had any form of crippling depression like William but from my understanding, I definitely had early signs of the disease. I decided to read this book because I have an older workmate who suffers quite badly and I just wanted an idea of what he might be feeling. I also find myself feeling quite helpless when someone I know is clearly suffering and I don't have the ability to help them. This book doesn't hold the answers but it does give hope that your efforts aren't in vain. :)
Swaroop Kanti wrote: "Jonathan,This is a brilliant review of an important book - thank you for reading it and for this review!"
Than you Swaroop, that's kind of you to say! :)
Fantastic review dear! I wish I still liked to write proper reviews 😃. But I’ll leave that to you and others 😉
Thanks so much Melissa! You've been on ŷ a lot longer than I have, a pillar of the community 😉 I'll likely grow tired of it eventually. I've been using them lately as a way to piece together all my thoughts on a book, more for myself than anything. I find I better understand a work if I take a few notes and then give it some thought when I'm finished. I do struggle to keep them short though 😅
What a compelling review! This is so introspective and wonderfully written. I struggled with depression as a teenager, and your review has motivated me to try this!
Amrita wrote: "What a compelling review! This is so introspective and wonderfully written. I struggled with depression as a teenager, and your review has motivated me to try this!"Thank you Amrita! :) I hope you get something from it. Styron is a fantastic writer and has an amazing ability to express exactly how it feels for people suffering with depression.
