The book’s author (a sociologist) shares his personal experience of depression & draws on in-depth interviews with 50 men & women (ages early 20s to mid 60s) who speak about how their lives, feelings, attitudes, & perspectives have been influenced by depression. Chapters: Living with Depression; Dialectics of Depression; Illness & Identity; Meanings of Medication; Coping & Adapting; Family & Friends; Sickness, Self & Society. Analysis in this book is informed by symbolic interaction theory.