Excellent!

In case the wordy title and less than titillating cover don't tip you off, this is a serious, truly fascinating, straightforward, well thought out, well researched summary of depression, its mechanisms of action and medical treatment, and evolving possibilities in the field of western medicine, and not a self-help book. That being said, if you suffer from depression and want to *understand* — THIS is a fantastic book.

To understand my perspective on this book, it might benefit you to know I've been depressed since I was a child, (clinically diagnosed as a teen), and I've read quite a bit on the subject. Therefore I was wholly comfortable with the scientific leaning and medical terminology used throughout.

One thing that stood out as a bit strange was fellow doctors and researchers are a bit oddly portrayed with what seems to be over the top lavish biographical praise? I wasn't sure what this apparent ego stroking was meant to accomplish.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for making this digital ARC available at no cost in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book so personally interesting, valuable and relevant that I ordered a hardcopy to add to my home library and to bring with me as reference to doctors appointments.

I loved this book. In particular, I loved the way Dr Gold brought psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy together. I also loved that Dr Gold emphasized that depression is a neurodegenerative disease. Overall, the plain-language writing was great, and the science was well-explained. I liked the case study style of the book and the biographical information. Thank you to Netgalley and Twelve Books for the digital review copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date:8/15/23

This book caught my eye as the subtitle described new research/treatments for depression. I'm interested in mental health issues, and after reading this book, felt very hopeful that many new treatments are in the pipeline or have just recently been approved. The author presents the information in a very approachable manner, and I thought the material was concise and interesting.

I'll definitely be following the author to see what future research/books he publishes on this topic. It's really amazing how many new treatments and modalities are being developed that go beyond the traditional SSRIs/etc.

Recommended for any reader interested in new and unique research on depression/bipolar treatments.