Magda Herzberger is a force of nature. To meet Magda is to encounter a bundle of energy whose indefatigable spirit and beauty both inside and out belies her being witness to one of the darkest chapters in human history. From her riveting autobiography "Survival" to the published collections of her captivating poetry, she has guided us into a world that seems almost unimaginable-its highs, its lows, its mysteries, its contradictions. And in the process she provides us with insights that make all us all richer. Now she takes those life experiences and provides us with a compelling blueprint, both spiritual and practical, in how to tackle life's unpredictable and at times tortuous challenges. In the stress of our twentieth century world, we face a drug culture that seeks escapism because the pain of reality is just too great or the high of a dangerous, temporary fix is too irresistible to pass up. Even among the more mainstream population, we have become accustomed to treatments and medications that promise to help us tackle physical and mental challenges and often a sense of hopelessness and being overwhelmed by the challenges of life. In America alone it is estimated that we spend close to half a trillion dollars each year to find ways to treat our psychological frailties. In "Surviving Hard Times," Magda shares with us the lessons of an extraordinary life that combines her story of hard grit and her relentless sense of purpose. The hard times she experienced are raw and unvarnished, and now she wants to pass on her insights to all of us.

“A carefully argued and convincing case.” —Ann Levin, Associated Press Do antidepressants actually work, or are they just glorified dummy pills? How can we tell one way or the other? In Ordinarily Well , the celebrated psychiatrist and author Peter D. Kramer addresses the growing mistrust of antidepressants among the medical establishment and the broader public by taking the long view. He charts the history of the drugs’ development and the research that tests their worth, from the Swiss psychiatrist Roland Kuhn’s pioneering midcentury discovery of imipramine’s antidepressant properties to recent controversial studies suggesting that medications like Prozac and Paxil may be no better than placebos in alleviating symptoms. He unpacks the complex “inside baseball” of psychiatry—statistics—and reveals the fascinating ways that clinical studies and their results can be combined, manipulated, and skewed toward a desired conclusion. All the while, Kramer never loses sight of the patients themselves. He writes with deep empathy about his own clinical encounters over the decades as he weighed treatments, analyzed trial results, and considered the idiosyncrasies each case presented. As Kramer sees it, we must respect human complexity and the value of psychotherapy without denying the truth—that depression is a serious and destructive illness that demands the most effective treatment available.

Almost everyone has been touched by at least a mild form of depression, and thus has some sense of what severe depressive illness must be like. In addition to the most serious clinical cases which can lead to institutionalization or even suicide, this book explores the "normal" depression we all experience--the inevitable blues that accompany troubled personal relationships, career setbacks, or the death of a loved one. It provides a compelling treatment of questions about the nature of depression, where it comes from, who's at risk, and what it indicates about human experience. Depression is a highly prevalent health problem, affecting about 11 million Americans every year. Its costs are staggering - $43.7 billion annually in lost productivity, lost income, and increased health care costs. These numbers put depression on a par with heart disease as one of the most expensive diseases in the United States today. But, unlike heart disease, depression is widely misunderstood. About two-thirds of the cases of depression go undiagnosed and untreated. With a compelling mix of information, illustration, and interpretation, David B. Cohen explores the current state of knowledge about depression, including the powerful influence of genetics. In addition to depressive illness, the book deals with related ideas and topics such as mourning, mania, the rhythms of sleep, self concepts, and suicide. Insights from psychology and psychiatry are blended with history, literature, current events, and personal observation, and topped off with a dose of common sense.