#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A literary tour de force that chronicles a prize-winning author's descent into an almost suicidal depression.

'Compelling ... Harrowing ... a vivid portrait of a debilitating disorder ... It offers the solace of a shared experience.'—The New York Times

A work of great personal courage and a literary tour de force, this bestseller is Styron's true account of his experience of crippling depression. Styron is perhaps the first writer to convey the full terror of depression's psychic landscape, as well as the illuminating path to recovery.