Van Gogh in Peppers: a self-portrait of male depression

Meet Christopher Scott Downing, a thirty-three year-old grocery manager with a lot on his mind. He's up to his neck with a team of rascals, a second-in-command who'll do anything for his job, way too much debt, a girlfriend who can't wait for him to break up with her, and, it turns out, a brain that's begun shutting down just when he needs it most. As if that wasn't bad enough, his favorite baseball team is having the worst year ever.

Van Gogh in Pepperschronicles Christopher's misguided plans to deal with all this. Without the help of doctors, therapists, or meds, he decides to triumph entirely alone over everything, including his physical brain that's apparently out to get him. This plan turns out to be a very, very bad idea.

This memoir will begin your own discussion about Major Depressive Disorder by exploring these questions:

* Whatdo men experience under depression?

* Howdoes depression manifest in men uniquely?

* Whydo many men refuse help with this treatable disease?

This memoir won't give you a single piece of sound advice. Not for overcoming depression. So you can just forget about that.

Instead, you'll experience a level of honesty you often don't get from the men as they're going through it. Or from most men, really. Especially from those who "don't want to talk about it." Van Gogh in Pepperswill put you there in the moment, revealing more details of male depression than you might even know to ask.

Memoir with a purpose.

Van Gogh in Peppersnot only serves the man struggling to cope with his condition but also his loved ones trying to understand him. It can help identify the man who, rather than appearing depressed, is hell-bent on destroying everything around him. Identifying the possibility of Major Depressive Disorder is the difficult first step toward seeking the help he deserves. Depression is a wide-spread, secretive disease that needs to be discussed because men are hurting themselves. They are hurting their families. They are hurting those who care. And that needs to stop.

Veteran psychologist Steven J. Hanley, Ph.D. provides the wonderful, thought-provoking foreword.

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