Review by Choice Review
Whybrow, an eminent psychiatrist, director of the Neuropsychiatric Institute at UCLA, former chair of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Mood Disorders (1984) and The Hibernation Response (1988), has written this highly readable work in the medical/literary/philosophical style of Oliver Sacks (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, 1985) and Lewis Thomas (The Medusa and the Snail, CH, Oct'79). A thorough appendix details all current medications for mood disorders by generic and trade names, dosages, mode of action, and side effects. Teaching "Notes" at the end cover 70 pages and include references. Well-known reviewers have praised this comprehensive treatment of the illness of depression. William Styron calls this work "brilliant" and "eloquent" and "thoroughly engrossing." Judith Rapoport (The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing, 1989) rates it "compassionate ... effective teaching." Peter Kramer (Listening to Prozac, CH, Nov'93) calls Whybrow "one of the world's experts." This reviewer can add little but to recommend the book highly to all readers. L. Gillikin; College of William and Mary
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Psychiatrist Whybrow examines mania and depression generally but thoroughly, describing several individual cases to bring the generalities to life. Although many patients can have a specific disease, each individual's symptoms, developments, and responses are unique; that, it becomes obvious, is one reason why psychiatry appeals to Whybrow. Drawing on both the medical literature and works of fine literature, the author guides us through the evolutionary growth of both the so-called lizard, ancient mammal and the new mammal brains within the human brain, then examines areas of behavior, types of diseases, precipitating causes of disease, and treatments. Most mental diseases require both psychotherapy and drugs, he says. Probably several genetic variations, rather than just one, will be found to be the physiological causes that, together with experiential difficulties, produce these diseases. --William Beatty
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Seldom has the inner emotional landscape of melancholic depression, mania and manic-depressive illness been mapped with so much clarity, empathy and sensitivity. Chairman of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, Whybrow draws on his experiences in treating mood disorders. He recommends a combination of psychotherapy, self-education and pharmacologic drugs to improve the emotional brain's self-regulating functions. According to his theory, grief, severe stress, genetic predisposition, distorted childhood attachments and weak social support networks may interact to disrupt the brain's system of "emotional homeostasis," which promotes the individual's equilibrium within his or her ever-changing circumstances; the result is a debilitating mood disorder. Whybrow weaves observations on shyness, temperament, suicide, the melatonin fad, brain research and seasonal effects on mood into a series of open-ended, exploratory case histories that comprise the book's core. Including an appendix listing common medications with dose ranges and side effects, his illuminating study will be useful to those who suffer from mood disorders and people close to them. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The most thorough and wide-ranging discussion for lay readers about the interplay of the physical and emotional elements of depression and manic-depression. The popular and controversial antidepressant Prozac has made serotonin and other mood-related neurotransmitters in the brain familiar to many. But Whybrow (coauthor, The Hibernation Response, 1988), chairman of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, shows how these messenger chemicals fit into the larger structure of the brain, and in particular of the limbic alliance, which includes the amygdala and the thalamus, and which governs our emotions. Whybrow defines mood disorders as a disruption of the limbic alliance's homeostasis--its self-regulating power--which in turn disrupts three areas of activity: thinking (such as memory), feeling (which becomes dominated by negativity), and ``housekeeping'' (such as sleeping and eating patterns). Sometimes the highly detailed scientific discussion becomes a little convoluted, a little redundant, and a little too full of gee-whizzing about the wonders of the human brain. But overall his presentation is illuminating, and the case histories demonstrate his sensitivity and skill as a clinician. In particular, the story of John Moorehead, a Jesuit academic with a generally optimistic and intellectually curious nature who suddenly plunged into a profound depression, illustrates the tortured and complex nature of manic-depression. His case also demonstrates one of Whybrow's most emphatic points: that experence, especially human attachment, is as important as biology in causing mood disorders. Thus, while Moorehead had a genetic predisposition to his illness, it flared up only after the breakup of a profound friendship. Whybrow therefore stresses that however effective drugs such as Prozac may be, they must be combined with psychotherapy. Because of its emphasis on complicated neurobiology, this is not the place to begin learning about mood disorders. But for those already familiar with the subject, Whybrow's presentation offers a deeper understanding of, along with a humane and wise approach to, these very troubling illnesses.
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