The New Black: Mourning, Melancholia and Depression

‘Persuasive and hearting … essential reading. A valuable contribution to our thinking about the life of the mind’ Daily Telegraph

Why is modern medicine wrong about depression? What lies beyond its surface symptoms? How do we deal with the experience of loss?

In The New Black, Darian Leader argues that mourning an melancholia lie at the heart of what we call depression, but that we neither fully understand nor appreciate the influence of either on our inner lives.

By looking more deeply at how we respond to experiences of loss, he seeks to free us from the grip of feelings that, if we let them, may destroy us.

‘Leader’s analysis of the work of mourning is exemplary.

A fine writer who can untangle the complexities of the great psychoanalytic thinkers.

The New Black is a book that might actually help’ Independent

‘An important and timely investigation into contemporary ideas about depression, the mourning process and loss’ London Review of Books

‘Provocative and controversial … a fascinating view of a global issue that may provide new answers to those who have loved and lost’ Daily Record

‘Rigorous and engaging … audacious, rich, cogently argued’ Irish Times