Life B Overcoming Double Depression

A bracing and fresh look at a lifelong struggle with depression and mental illness

Plagued by depression her entire life, it wasn’t until her early fifties that writer and book critic Bethanne Patrick, advocating for her own care, received a medical diagnosis that would set her on the path to wellness and stability.

Recognizing the intergenerational effects of trauma and mental health struggles, Patrick unearths the stories of her past in order to forge a better future for herself and her two daughters, dismantling the stigmas surrounding mental health challenges that can plague families into silence and resignation. Life B is an intimate portrait we haven’t yet seen—of a lifelong struggle with depression, of midlife diagnosis and newly found strength. Most important, it’s a life-affirming blueprint of how to accept and transcend the limitations of mental illness.

Bethanne Patrick has maintained a storied place in the publishing industry for decades. She comments about books and literary culture as the book maven with over 200k followers on twitter, where she created the popular #fridayreads. She regularly contributes to the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Lit Hub, and sits on the boards of the Pen Faulkner foundation and the National Book Critic’s Circle.