Called to Hope

A friend of mine has just published his first book, Called to Hope: Overcoming Depression.

Most of us probably feel the same way about reading a book on depression that we feel about reading a book on broken legs: if ours isn't broken, why bother; but if it -- or the leg of someone dear to us -- is, then give us the book, quickly.

Of course, this attitude is silly for lots of reasons. First, if the incidence of broken legs is high, and getting higher, it's worth knowing why this might be so and how to treat said sore legs. (According to the book's blurb, 1 in 10 will suffer depression in their lifetime, i.e. about 4 people out of those on a full Transperth bus. And, for those who revel in being Gen X or Gen Y, my hunch is the statistical likelihood is higher.)

Second, as anyone who has had a broken limb, or, for that matter, a garden variety flu or cold, knows, prevention usually would have been far better than cure. How much more for the person who is carrying around a numb mind, a glum heart and a mangled psyche.

Yes, I think psychological health is important. Elusive, but nonetheless important.

Anyhow, this post is sounding rant-like, so I'll stop. Do check out the book: from what I've read, it is clearly written, informative and entertaining -- far more helpful than my ranting. You can read some of the first chapter at the above link.