Genre: Non-Fiction/Autobiographical
Synopsis: For years Gareth O'Callaghan, one of Ireland's most popular broadcasters, suffered severe depression. No one guessed that as soon as he was off air, he would retreat to his bed, sometimes suicidal thoughts, and barely able to function as a husband and father of three small children. As soon as he was diagnosed, Gareth began a determined fight back to health. Here he shares his insight, practical knowledge, and convictions in a mission to spread hope to all those affected by it.
***
Review: I don't really know how one should begin reviewing a book which a man has written about his struggle with his will to live, so I guess I'll start by saying this is less a review and more an account of the thoughts evoked in me whilst reading this incredibly honest story.
Gareth's early years contain shocking revelations which I cannot begin to imagine, as well as studies, interests and a general path in life that is also beyond my ability to relate to. Early on, I thought that these things would distance the story of his depression - once it had taken root how it affected him, and how he dealt with it - because I couldn't relate to how he came to suffer from it. I was wrong about that. Both the unusual and the horrifying events in his early life serve to illustrate just how universal depression, and its effects, are - no matter what the cause. This book has been a comfort to many, I would imagine.
His honesty blew me away. It was often a difficult read, not least when I found so much of myself in his words. It was also incredibly insightful - a qualified counseller now, Gareth explains a lot of medical attitudes towards depression alongside his own experienced opinion of what it is and how it can be treated. I found myself, towards the end, disagreeing with certain elements of what told himself, mostly pertaining to a higher power, in his fight against depression - so I'm not sure this would be for everyone. I don't believe in a higher power - but what I do believe in, as does Gareth, is the power of the mind enabling power of the will to live, so there's definitely a universal undercurrent of, as the title implies, hope - for anyone who reads this book seeking it.
