Thanks to Postpartum Support International's (PSI) fabulous Wendy Davis for sending this announcement:

Past-PSI president and mental health practitioner Diana Lynn Barnes will be interviewed on the CBS Early Show
Monday morning, June 11

Diana will be discussing issues addressed in her new book, The Journey to Parenthood: Myths, Reality, & What Really Matters, by Diana Lynn Barnes, Psy.D, and Leigh Balber, Radcliffe Publishing, 2007.

Again, CBS leads the way in positively addressing perinatal mood disorders research and treatment!

Posted by Sarah M. at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This week I received a review copy of a new novel published by Random House whose protagonist, Eve, becomes increasingly mired in postpartum depression (PPD).

The novel is Parallel Play by Thomas Rayfiel, Brooklyn father of two. And I'm adding it to my reading list. Will be interesting to see how the subject matter is handled, and I look forward to reviewing the book on this blog. Your comments are welcome, too!

I was encouraged to read the following in a letter from the Random House publicist:
"Because it offers an unvarnished view of this common but not commonly-reported problem, the author has asked that we send advance copies to postpartum depression counselors and therapists throughout the country, in the hopes that it could prove useful as a starting point for discussions. Fiction can often touch and give insight in a way that manuals and self-help guides, however well-intended, cannot."

If you lead a book club or support group that would like to speak with this author or get more information about the book, contact Jennifer Jones, Random House Publishing Group, at jmjones (at) randomhouse (dot) com.

Posted by Sarah M. at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Mother and PPD survivor Carolyn Brink has co-authored with Carol Harcarik a new book sharing her story, Mommies Cry, Too: A Painful & Triumphant Story of Postpartum Depression.

Carolyn's experience was also recently the subject of a feature story in Virginia newspaper The Richmond Times-Dispatch: ""A Beginning to Forget."

Carolyn's story contributes to the ongoing dialogue among professionals and advocates about the use of ECT for treating postpartum mood disorders (PPMDs). This form of treatment is more common in particular geographic regions, and the debate continues about when and how to use it. We also continue to look at the risk and incidence of permanent memory loss suffered by some who undergo ECT, as well as potential long-term impact on attachment and infant mental health whem moms are treated with ECT. This form of treatment can be a source of additional trauma for some women suffering from emotional difficulties, and it's not a decision that is taken lightly. Yet, many are grateful for ECT. Many women and many healthcare providers have been witness to highly effective, minimal-side-effect application of ECT for PPMDs. So, like a good many areas of psychiatric medical practice.... more research is needed!

Posted by Sarah M. at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I recently blogged about mother, journalist, and author Tracy Thompson and her new book, The Ghost in the House. USA Today just published a brief Q&A with Thompson on maternal depression. To check it out, click here.

Personally, I appreciated Thompson's ability to define "maternal depression" concisely for a general audience of readers:

It's depression that is seen in the context of motherhood. It's depression that's created or exacerbated by the stresses of being a mother these days. And it can be transmitted from mother to child, either by genes, environment or learned behavior or, most probably, some combination of those three if the depression is untreated and chronic.

And I really, really appreciated this insight. At the close of the interview, the reporter asks Thompson, "Some women suffering from depression may question whether they should have children, or more children. What do you say to that?"

A: "Would you say that to a mom with diabetes, or would you say that to a mother with multiple sclerosis or hypertension? When other women with challenges have children, we say, 'What a courageous thing that is to do.' The only reason you might not say the same thing about a woman with depression is the lingering stigma of mental illness."

Amen, sister!

Posted by Sarah M. at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

There's a new nonfiction book about maternal depression on the scene, written by a colleague who is practically my neighbor (she lives and works in the Washington, DC area)!

Former Washington Post reporter, freelance journalist, and author Tracy Thompson's The Ghost in the House: Motherhood, Raising Children, and Struggling with Depression deals with longer-term depression that goes well beyond PPD, and how it affects our families and our experience of mothering. It was released by HarperCollins earlier this month, so the book is hot off the press.

My friend and fellow author Devra Renner says this in her review of The Ghost in the House:

"As a clinical social worker who has worked with hundreds of mothers, this is a book I recommend to clients, as well as mental health professionals. Thompson's ability to explain complicated medical/physiological/pharmacological information while simultaneously using commonly understood language - without watering down the information one iota - is a true gift. The stories Thompson shares from her own experience as a mother struggling with depression, in adddition to the compelling interviews she has conducted with hundreds of mothers (all backed by excellent research relating what is happening currently in the field of depression) set this book apart."

Also check out Thompson's previous book, The Beast: A Journey Through Depression and her website, TracyThompson.com.

Posted by Sarah M. at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (3)

Anybody had a chance to read Adrienne Martini's new book, "Hillbilly Gothic: A Memoir of Madness and Motherhood"?

The book, which was released in late June, has been described as "a Girl, Interrupted for the new-mother set." And I was interested to read author Marion Winik's (love her!) review:
"Adrienne Martini has had a tough time as both a daughter and a mother, yet she brings back from the wretched edge of the maternal endeavor a book of liveliness and companionability, full of the wit and the will and even the anger that got her through the experience. This post-hillbilly madwoman knows how it is. She slips around your defenses and whispers her jokes and stories in your ear until you can't help but feel less isolated. I found her very good company."

Martini is a journalist, college professor, mother, and now nonfiction author who shares her first-hand account of postpartum depression, and how it ultimately led her to revisit and heal the skeletons in her family closet - including her own mother's depression.

Adrienne Martini currently blogs at www.martinimade.com (where she chronicles, among other things, my beloved former home of 10+ years, Austin, Texas! For the recent Austin American-Statesman's piece on former hometown gal Martini and her book, click here.)

I'm anxious to read this memoir, and I'd love to hear from those of you who already have. Hit the "comments" link below this entry, people - don't be shy! Or send me an email: smasterson (at) perinatalproject (dot) com.

Posted by Sarah M. at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (4)