The effort to alleviate the pain of depression in a loved one inevitably fails and the most well-intentioned interventions of friends and spouses can leave all concerned feeling helpless and alienated. While intended primarily as a guide to recovery for the sufferer, it is also written with the relatives and friends of the sufferer in mind in the hope that it can make sense of what can be a difficult problem to grasp from the 'outside'. Understanding of the problem by all who are affected can act as a bridge between people who feel isolated by depression and those who care about them.

Part One explains what happens when someone gets depressed and what kinds of experience cause depression.

Part Two focuses on a step by step recovery plan to overcoming depression and

Part Three considers what has been learned in the past ten years about staying well and preventing relapse.