Review: Depression and Your Child: A Guide For Parents and Caregivers

Welcome to my stop on the tour for Depression and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers by Deborah Serani. This tour is presented by Pump Up Your Book.  Read on to learn more about this insightful book and my thoughts on it.

About the Book:

Title: Depression and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers

Author:  Deborah Serani

Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers

Published: September 16, 2013

Genre: Self Help, Parenting

Source: Received via Netgalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Format: Kindle

Pages: 242

My Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis:

Seeing your child suffer in any way is a harrowing experience for any parent. Mental illness in children can be particularly draining due to the mystery surrounding it, and the issue of diagnosis at such a tender age. Depression and Your Child gives parents and caregivers a uniquely textured understanding of pediatric depression, its causes, its symptoms, and its treatments. Author Deborah Serani weaves her own personal experiences of being a depressed child along with her clinical experiences as a psychologist treating depressed children.

Current research, treatments and trends are presented in easy to understand language and tough subjects like self-harm, suicide and recovery plans are addressed with supportive direction. Parents will learn tips on how to discipline a depressed child, what to expect from traditional treatments like psychotherapy and medication, how to use holistic methods to address depression, how to avoid caregiver burnout, and how to move through the trauma of diagnosis and plan for the future.

Real life cases highlight the issues addressed in each chapter and resources and a glossary help to further understanding for those seeking additional information. Parents and caregivers are sure to find here a reassuring approach to childhood depression that highlights the needs of the child even while it emphasizes the need for caregivers to care for themselves and other family members as well.

Melissa's Musings:

This book is full of a lot of useful information. Depression is unique to each individual that experiences it, and this book has information on a variety of methods of treatment. It covers everything from talk therapy, to medications, to nutrition, to aromatherapy and more. The book also discusses warning signs of depression in children and also how to approach and talk with children about their experiences and feelings.

I think the variety of treatments discussed throughout  is one of the highlights of this book. Not every treatment method works for every child. This book has a lot of options and ideas, so that parents and caregivers can find something that works for their child. The variety of options adds and extra element of positivity to the book. Depression is tricky to deal with, and it can't be addressed the same way for each person. I think the fact that there are so many different options covered is very helpful to parents and caregivers because not everyone looks at depression from all angles. Some professionals only look at it from the viewpoint of medication and talk therapy, and that's it. This book provides alternative treatments. I also enjoyed that the author does not try to say that any one type of treatment is better than another, just that all of the options are meant to help supplement the overall goal of helping the child to feel better again. The different options are all "tools in the toolbox" for managing depression. I'm very much a big picture person, and think that this wide range of options is particularly helpful for anyone who is trying to help a person suffering from depression.

 Another thing that helps make this material more accessible is the fact that the author intersperses her own experiences with depression into the book as well. I always enjoy when non-fiction books have the authors own experiences written along with the material because it shows that they really relate to the subject on a deeper, more personal level.

While the book itself focuses on children, the material is easily applicable to adults as well. One quote sparked quite a realization for me personally, when I read it.

"Introverts require a certain amount of quietness in their life. Introverted children expend a lot of energy being with others, which can leave them feeling tired and setting them into meltdown mode, which can certainly look like depression." (Location 220-221)

I am an introverted person by nature, and I have always enjoyed quiet time alone. On really busy days, or after long days at work I find myself exhausted and looking forward to just being able to come home and sit in the quiet. Reading this quote helped me to realize that it's because I'm an introvert by nature, but everyday life requires a lot of interaction with others, which is also great, but can be tiring. So, I look forward to getting my alone time to recharge.

One thing that I noticed about this book is that if you are reading it on a Kindle it may be somewhat difficult to read the charts and tables that are used in the book, just due to space and formatting.

This is a great book with lots of valuable information and resources. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in psychology.

Review: Life Got in the Way

Title:  Life Got in the Way

Author: Deborah J. Davis

Publisher: Self Published

Published: June 11, 2012

Format: Paperback

Genre: Women's Fiction

Pages: 336

Source: Received from the author

in exchange for an honest review

Read: December 29-30 2012

In A Few Words: Nice story, but hard to connect to characters

My Rating: 2 stars

Goodreads: Add to your to-read shelf

Synopsis From the Back Cover:

Life Got in the Way  is the story of two women, Jackie Colson and Dana Talbert, who meet during their freshman year at Wilberforce University and become lifelong friends. Both are bright optimistic students with high expectations of future success. They naively think that the road will be relatively simple and neither is prepared for what life brings them. Little do they know that so many things will be out of their control.

Jackie Colson,  orphaned at birth and raised by her grandmother, is determined to become a partner in a law firm before she's forty. Dana Talbert had a perfect life plan until an unexpected and determined boyfriend got in the way. We journey with them as they face major life issues; marriage, divorce, infidelity, illness and aging. Throughout all their challenges the one thing that remains constant is their bond of friendship. In Life Got in the Way Deborah Davis explores the changing roles of women as they move from the seventies to the present facing changing goals, aspirations, and expectations and the realization that they can do it all, but at what cost.

Melissa's Musings:

 The first few chapters are of the present day, of situations going on that set the pace for the rest of the story, so you can see where it is these women ended up, but the real story starts with Jackie and Diana's graduations. They are just about to graduate from high school and go off to bigger and better things. The friendship between Dana and Jackie is constant throughout the book. It's very simple, and sweet, and mirrors how friendships are so close when you're young and change (not necessarily in a bad way) as you get older and life gets in the way. These two women go through a lot together, which is true of any long lasting friendship. 

The book starts in the present, then jumps backwards to the past and then progresses toward the present again. This is a nice way to tell a story, and connects the characters well. I really appreciate that the author stuck to the first few chapters being in the present day and then going into the past and continuing chronologically rather than jumping back and forth between past and present because that can sometimes be confusing

As pleasant as the friendship is between Diana and Jackie, we never really get to see the two women interact fully and completely. This might sound like an odd statement, but I do have a reason for saying it. The reason we don't get to see them interact completely is because rather than the book being told from one of their perspectives, or even both, the entire book is narrated. Not by another character, but it's just written in a full  narrative style. The style lead to me feeling that the whole book was a "tell".

In writing you're often told that it's better to "show not tell." Showing allows you to fully develop characters, setting, plot etc. In this books' case, the telling style was nice at first, but I was really hoping that as the book went on, there would be more interaction between the characters, and that one or both of their perspectives would take over the style. The style of writing left the characters feeling flat, and under developed. It also made them very difficult to connect with or feel for. 

In all honestly, I started to feel bored with their situations. Some of the events, while they would have been shocking if told from the characters point of view, such as Jackie's discovering her husbands' infidelity, just felt blah. It was like, "Okay...and?" I didn't really have much of a reaction. These situations also resolved themselves very easily without much conflict.

One good thing about the narrative style is that it does make for an easy read. 

I did appreciate the cover and it's connection to the book. One of the characters in the book, Gran, makes a comment about friends coming and going, and how some stay in your circle for a long time, and others are only in your life for a short time. The cover feels like it represents these circles of friendship. It also could be a symbol of the way that life can sometimes be confusing, and how people can sometimes get diverted from their dreams, or feel like they're just going through a maze and will never find their way out, but how different life choices can eventually lead to what you're looking for.

In order to enjoy this book I'd say that you really have to enjoy narratives rather than character driven books.

Have any of you read this? If so what did you think? How long has your longest friendship lasted?

Women on Writing Blog Tour Stop: Review: A Whisper to A Scream by Karen Wojcik Berner

Today I'm happy to be bringing you a review of A Whisper to A Scream by Karen Wojcik Berner as part of WOW Blog Tours.

Title: A Whisper to A Scream

Author: Karen Wojcik Berner

Series: The Bibliophiles-Book One

Publisher: Createrspace

Publication Date: March 20, 2010

Pages: 267

Source: Provided by the author for the purposes of this blog tour

in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 3 Stars

Buy the Book: Amazon

Synopsis: 

Ovulation detectors. Hormone surges. Anxiety-ridden dreams. This is the world in which Annie Jacobs is thrust when she and her husband John receive a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. A 37-year old PR executive, Annie has wanted to be a mother since she first cuddled her Baby Tenderlove at age five. She is dreading another Christmas of relatives asking when they will be hearing the pitter patter of little feet, and Uncle Joe slapping John on the back, telling him to relax and take a cruise. Lots of people get pregnant on vacation, you know.

Across town, stay-at-home mom of two, Sarah Anderson, attempts grocery shopping with a toddler intent on hurling items from the cart at passersby. She notices a box of rice heading straight for a gray-haired head. Leaping across the aisle, Sarah grabs it, saving the woman from certain doom, or at least a minor head injury. Little Alex screams at being thwarted. The unknowing octogenarian shakes her head and admonishes Sarah for not knowing how to keep her child quiet in public.

"A Whisper to a Scream" is the story of two women on opposite ends of the child-bearing spectrum who come to realize the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence. A vivid portrayal of contemporary marriage and its problems, the novel speaks to a longing in all of us, a yearning that might start as a vague notion, but eventually grows into an unbearable, vociferous cry

Melissa's Musings:

This book speaks to all women. Those who have children and those who don't. And for those of us who are thinking about it in the future, it gives you a very detailed picture of what having children can be like, and what a struggle that being a parent can be at times. It also gives you a painful look at the issue of infertility and the effect that can have on a family and a marriage.

Both Sarah and Annie are  women who are struggling, but for very different reasons. Sarah is struggling with being a mom, while her husband is away all the time. She's the one left raising the kids, and enduring the endless monotony of housework, dirty diapers, and late nights with the kids. Her husband Tom works hard, to provide for them, but as most parents know, something's gotta give. So, he's rarely home, and when he is, all he wants to talk about is work.

Sarah feels under appreciated because he doesn't acknowledge what she does, or offer to help out. Tom thinks that she should be grateful that he provides for them all the way that he does. He does change his ways to help at times when Sarah brings it up, but then his next big project comes up and he's back to working away for long stretches again, and Sarah gets frustrated and starts feeling trapped again.

I really felt for both of these characters. This was easy to do because the author painted such a clear picture of both ends of the spectrum that they were on. I could definitely understand Sarah's frustration at feeling under appreciated and like all she does is clean up after kids all day. I certainly wouldn't want to be in that position either.

And yet, I can also really feel for Annie's character as well. She really wants to be a mother, even though her own mother is less than caring. And it definitely has to be difficult to be surrounded by your husband's family who keep asking when you'll have children all the time. The infertility issues take a big toll on her well being, her marriage, and her work life. 

I really appreciate the fact that the infertility issue was brought up directly to both Annie and John's family. The reactions were less than stellar, on the family's part but I'm glad that the author wrote these scenes to show that it is okay to talk about as important issues as infertility and that they don't have to be hidden away all the time.

Speaking of the families, it felt to me like Sarah and Annie should have swapped families and they would have been  happier. Each seemed to have a personality more suited to the others' families or things that they would like better, although Sarah's relationship with her mother was very strong.

While the exposition of the issues is great, and very detailed, the dialogue can be a bit stiff at times, which took away from the reading experience for me. Not a whole lot, but it was slightly noticeable. The dialogue seemed too proper, and didn't flow well. It would have been okay if the proper dialogue was used only for certain characters, like Annie, or her mother because of their strained relationship and Annie's mother's need for everything to be perfect. But the stiffness occurred with each character so the flow wasn't quite as smooth as I was hoping for.

I liked the element of the book club in the story as well. It was great to see all the different members come together, somewhat awkwardly, and discuss great books. It was fun to see their different personalities, and to see how they all bonded with one another, particularly Sarah and Annie. I was hoping that the book club might play a more significant role, actually. Maybe it will in the next book in the series.

Another issue that I had with the book was the pacing towards the end, and the lack of resolution at the end. I felt like the book was somewhat unfinished somehow. There are the major events that happened for Annie (I won't say what they are so that I don't spoil them.) Then, it flashes forward to a year later and it doesn't really expand on what's happened to her since then. And I'm one of those people who just has to know what happens to people, especially with issues as serious as these.

Despite the issues I had with the book, I really appreciate its' ability to make me think. It's a great book for women who are on the fence about having kids. It may or may not sway you one way or another but it'll definitely give you an equally clear perspective on both sides of the coin about parenting and what that really entails.

I want to thank WOW Blog Tours for letting me be a part of the tour and allowing me to review this book*

*I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for this honest review.

Special note:

Be sure to check out the contest that Karen is having on her website. Until the end of the tour, October 12, she is holding a giveaway where TEN lucky people can win a copy of  A Whisper to a Scream

ENTER HERE!