Encyclopedias

Unholy Ghost brings vivid expression to an elusive illness suffered by more than one in six Americans today. Unlike any single memoir of depression, this book has many voices and offers a uniquely complete portrait of the condition. The collection also includes an illuminating series of companion pieces: Russell Banks's and Chase Twitchell's essays represent a husband-and-wife colloquy on depression; Rose Styron's contribution about her husband's struggle with melancholy is paired with an excerpt from William Styron's Darkness Visible; and the book's editor, Nell Casey, places her own essay about seeing her sister through depression alongside Maud Casey's account of her struggle.

Among the many extraordinary contributions are essays by Susanna Kaysen, who contemplates the advantages of depression; Lauren Slater, who reflects on the perilous experience or taking antidepressants while pregnant; and Larry McMurtry, who recounts the despair that followed his quadruple-bypass surgery. Unholy Ghost allows for the bewildering experience of depression to be honestly and beautifully rendered.