Available:*
Material Type | Library | Call Number | Suggested Age | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Searching... Cabell County Public Library | 616.8527 MOE | Adult | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Guyandotte Public Library | 616.8527 MOE | Adult | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Hamlin Public Library | 616.8527 MOE | Adult | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
One of Today's Ten Best Inspirational Books, 2020
By the creator and host of the acclaimed mental health podcast Depresh Mode with John Moe
"[A] path to deeper understanding and openness, by way of laughter in the dark" ― The New York Times Book Review
"Filled with heart, humor and hope." ― People
"A funny, honest book." ―Neil Gaiman
"Candid and funny and intimate." ―Susan Orlean
For years John Moe, critically-acclaimed public radio personality and host of The Hilarious World of Depression podcast, struggled with depression; it plagued his family and claimed the life of his brother in 2007. As Moe came to terms with his own illness, he began to see similar patterns of behavior and coping mechanisms surfacing in conversations with others, including high-profile comedians who'd struggled with the disease. Moe saw that there was tremendous comfort and community in open dialogue about these shared experiences and that humor had a unique power. Thus was born the podcast The Hilarious World of Depression .
Inspired by the immediate success of the podcast, Moe has written a remarkable investigation of the disease, part memoir of his own journey, part treasure trove of laugh-out-loud stories and insights drawn from years of interviews with some of the most brilliant minds facing similar challenges. Throughout the course of this powerful narrative, depression's universal themes come to light, among them, struggles with identity, lack of understanding of the symptoms, the challenges of work-life, self-medicating, the fallout of the disease in the lives of our loved ones, the tragedy of suicide, and the hereditary aspects of the disease.
The Hilarious World of Depression illuminates depression in an entirely fresh and inspiring way.
Author Notes
John Moe is the creator and host of the acclaimed mental health podcast Depresh Mode with John Moe; he has served as host of national public radio broadcasts such as Weekend America, The Hilarious World of Depression and Wits. His writing and reporting has been heard on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Marketplace, Day to Day, and more. He's the author of four books and his writing appears in humor anthologies, The New York Times Magazine , McSweeney's , and The Seattle Times . He's a much in-demand public speaker.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Moe (Conservatize Me), host of The Hilarious World of Depression podcast, wryly reflects on life as a "saddie" in this stirring memoir. Moe discusses depressive thoughts and experiences, including addiction in his family, his brother's suicide in 2007, and moments of acute professional stress. He explains that as he grew up, married, and raised his children, he felt a need (increasingly prompted by his wife) to treat his low-key desire "not so much to die as simply not be alive anymore." Despite his suicidal ideation and his struggle to move past his guilt after his brother's suicide, Moe's story is not bleak. While he does not come out on the mythical other side, he learns--with the help of medication, dogs, listening to music, and therapy--to break the "habit of converting stress into bleak, goth-eyeliner-wearing despair." Such side-eye commentary separates Moe's story from the "trite '70s self-help" he loathes, as does the inclusion of quotes from podcast guests Maria Bamford, Patton Oswalt, and others. Moe's edifying, enjoyable take on the realities of living with depression will uplift any reader. (May)
Kirkus Review
The creator and host of the titular podcast recounts his lifelong struggles with depression. With the increasing success of his podcast, Moe, a longtime radio personality and author whose books include The Deleted E-Mails of Hillary Clinton: A Parody (2015), was encouraged to open up further about his own battles with depression and delve deeper into characteristics of the disease itself. Moe writes about how he has struggled with depression throughout his life, and he recounts similar experiences from the various people he has interviewed in the past, many of whom are high-profile entertainers and writers--e.g. Dick Cavett and Andy Richter, novelist John Green. The narrative unfolds in a fairly linear fashion, and the author relates his family's long history with depression and substance abuse. His father was an alcoholic, and one of his brothers was a drug addict. Moe tracks how he came to recognize his own signs of depression while in middle school, as he experienced the travails of OCD and social anxiety. These early chapters alternate with brief thematic "According to THWoD" sections that expand on his experiences, providing relevant anecdotal stories from some of his podcast guests. In this early section of the book, the author sometimes rambles. Though his experiences as an adolescent are accessible, he provides too many long examples, overstating his message, and some of the humor feels forced. What may sound naturally breezy in his podcast interviews doesn't always strike the same note on the written page. The narrative gains considerable momentum when Moe shifts into his adult years and the challenges of balancing family and career while also confronting the devastating loss of his brother from suicide. As he grieved, he writes, his depression caused him to experience "a salad of regret, anger, confusion, and horror." Here, the author focuses more attention on the origins and evolution of his series, stories that prove compelling as well. The book would have benefited from a tighter structure, but it's inspiring and relatable for readers with depression. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
On his podcast, The Hilarious World of Depression, Moe talks to comedians about coping with mental illness. In his latest book, he gives himself the THWoD treatment, with the same combination of heart-wrenching honesty and silliness. It works, creating a warm relatability that normalizes the many insidious aspects of living with depression. Moe's combined family history of depression and denial left him without the tools to handle uncontrollable adolescent crying jags or adult-onset, virulent road rage. In hindsight, he understands that things that are easy for "normies" feel insurmountable for "saddies" like himself. He describes seeking help in fits and starts (like most saddies), sprinkling in memorable and relevant conversations from his podcast with the likes of Peter Sagal, Maria Bamford, Dick Cavett, and fellow school-crier Jeff Tweedy. An annual Twitter thread honoring his brother Rick, who died by suicide, nets so much grateful feedback that it eventually gives birth to THWoD the podcast, and by the end of the book, readers will be convinced that Moe is exactly the right person to give an attentive, irreverent voice to those suffering with depression.
Library Journal Review
Moe, creator of the podcast The Hilarious World of Depression, has found absurd humor in dealing with, as he says, a disease that's trying to kill him. Through his own experience and interviews with comedians, musicians, and writers who deal with clinical depression, he found that comedy offers hope and the slim possibility that it's not the person who's broken, but the world. This offers great comfort. Comedians can talk about complex things in a way that allows audience members to see that others feel the same way they do and to laugh with an exhalation of relief. Essentially, Moe takes the stigma out of discussing mental illness and offers camaraderie to those who suffer from depression. VERDICT Although primarily a memoir, Moe's words should supply help, hope, and humor to many readers.
Table of Contents
| The Big Sexy Celebrity Laser Fight: A Preface | p. xi |
| 1 In Which I Finally Get Better | p. 1 |
| 2 Junior High School and Depression Being Somehow Connected | p. 9 |
| According to ThWoD: Junior High Is a Time People Get Ka-whompoed | p. 25 |
| 3 Carol Burnett as Coping Mechanism | p. 29 |
| According to THWoD: Comedy Is a Helpful Tool | p. 41 |
| 4 Imagined Snapshots of Key Moments | p. 47 |
| 5 My Dot-Corn Bubble Bursts | p. 59 |
| According to THWoD: You Can't Solve Mental Illness by Not Dealing with It | p. 85 |
| 6 Bridges, Troubles, Waters | p. 90 |
| According to THWoD: The Worst Idea Is Always Nearby | p. 95 |
| 7 In Which I Am Told That Yeah, There's Something Wrong | p. 101 |
| According to THWoD: Other People Already Know You Are Depressed | p. 119 |
| 8 Seeing the World with Clear Eyes | p. 124 |
| According to THWoD: Pills May or May Not Help, but Let's Not Get All Spooky About Them | p. 136 |
| 9 In Which Everything Changes | p. 140 |
| 10 Trying to Move On Without a Clear Idea How | p. 155 |
| According to THWoD: Some Pain Doesn't Go Away, It Evolves | p. 163 |
| 11 I Choose Noise over Silence | p. 167 |
| According to THWoD: Good Things Happen When You Talk | p. 183 |
| 12 The Hell with This, I'm Moving to Minnesota | p. 187 |
| According to THWoD: Therapy Is Neither Good nor Bad, It's an Adventure | p. 199 |
| 13 Things That Make Me Stronger | p. 203 |
| 14 A Treatment I Still Don't Fully Understand but Do Appreciate | p. 220 |
| 15 In Which I Posit That Depression Is, Perhaps, Hilarious | p. 231 |
| 16 A Potentially Hilarious World of Potential Depression | p. 242 |
| 17 Scouring the Nordic Countryside for Trauma Fossils | p. 254 |
| 18 Getting Better Before I Die | p. 260 |
| According to THWoD (the Podcast), THWoD (the Book), and THWoD (the World)-Nine Things I've Learned | p. 268 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 283 |
