This intimate journey through long-term depression is by turns tender, funny, poignant, and uplifting. Swados' charming words and frenzied drawings bring home the experience of severe depression, from the black cloud forming on the horizon to feelings of self-loathing and loss of self-confidence; from contemplating suicide, which Swados describes as wandering off into the Sahara desert (discounting the buzzards and the scorpions), to actively seeking out methods for fighting depression—including psychics, diet, and repression therapy—to experimenting with antidepressants that make you snippy, sleepy, or judgmental. My Depression is an engaging and heartening memoir of an illness that has been stigmatized for too long and on how it is possible to survive, one little challenge at a time, with medication and the occasional tasty, messy slice of pizza; with dancing to a boombox on the street and thanking the mailman for the newest catalogue, then proceeding to read it cover to cover!  "A startling, honest ... surprisingly charming, funny, and poignant illustrated memoir." —Time Out New York 

"You wouldn't think a memoir about clinical depression would be inspiring—but Swados, a musician and theater director, relates her battle against her demons with such candor and simplicity, and with such winsome illustrations, that it's empowering. Swados lifts the stigma to help the reader find solutions, and hope." —Reader's Digest

“Elizabeth Swados is blessed with ferocious intelligence, artistic vision, and courage in this insightful book. She deploys these gifts to take us on a highly original journey of understanding.” –Jane Pauley