Sorrow's Web

Chapter 1

Shedding New Light on an Old Problem

An eminent child psychologist once observed that all children need at least one adult who is irrationally enthusiastic about them. I lacked such a parent because my mother suffered from a chronic depression that prevented her from feeling enthusiastic about anything, including me. Neither she nor I is alone in the brand of lasting grief her depression caused us both. One in every four women will suffer from this illness at some time during her life, often during her childbearing years. Although depression is not contagious in the sense that measles and tuberculosis are, its presence virtually ensures that those closest to the depressed person will in their turn suffer from the depression's fallout. Even the most selfless, caring moms cannot, when they are depressed, avoid causing pain and problems for those they love.

Searching my childhood memories for images of my mother, I find I am a poor navigator, unable to hold a true course. I am buffeted by the ill winds of our later relationship, which was an unhappy one. Those recollections are clear, unlike the few remaining from a mor ... read full excerpt from: Sorrow's Web: Overcoming the Legacy of Maternal Depression ebook