Depression

His new book on depression, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, (Scribner) came out of a 1998 New Yorker article. He draws on personal experience as well as interviews with patients, physicians, philosophers and drug designers.

Comedian Richard Lewis. His new book is called “The Other Great Depression,” (Public Affairs, 2000) and chronicles his recovery from alcoholism. He’s an award winning stand up comic and has appeared in over twenty movies and TV shows. Currently, he co-stars in Larry David’s HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Conway grew up in a remote sheep station in the Australian outback, and later became the president of Smith College. Her girlhood memoir, "The Road from Coorain," was a bestseller, In her new book, "True North," she continues her story, writing about organizing for women's rights on campus, and creating a marriage in which she and her husband are equal partners. Conway was the first female vice president of The University of Toronto, and from 1975 to 1985 was the president of Smith.

In 1985, novelist William Styron fell into a deep depression. He documented the years he was incapacitated by the illness, and how he coped, in his new book, Darkness Visible. Looking back at his early writing, Styron believes depression informed his novels, like The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie's Choice.

Actor, writer, and Monthy Python member John Cleese and therapist Robin Skynner. The pair have co-written a new book, "Families and How To Survive Them."

Dr. Harry Zall is a psychiatrist at the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital. He joins the show to discuss mental depression.