Hello Boomer Friends, May is National Mental Health Awareness Month as well as Women's Health Awareness Month. So...I had the good fortune to read our Eagle's book about depression and overcoming depression. I've written the following review, and decided to post it here so you too can have a look see! Love and Light, Lynn

Review of Eagle Born to Fly: Finding Life Beyond Depression by Sharon C. Matthies. Published by Book Coach Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2003. 150 pages. ISBN: 0-9680347-9-9 paperback.

Everyone can relate to having “the blues” on a bad day, when the weather is gloomy, the traffic is tied up, and business and/or children make impossible demands. Anyone can associate a night without sleep to a day without energy. However, when feeling down persists month after month, it’s time to consider the possibility of clinical depression. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (http://www.nimh.nih.gov) depression can occur at any age and affects almost 10 percent of American adults. Research indicates that the risk of depression exists with an interaction of difficult life events and a genetic predisposition. The symptoms of depression include:

q Restlessness, irritability
q Appetite and/or weight changes
q Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
q Persistent sad, anxious, or empty mood
q Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
q Decreased energy, fatigue, being slowed down
q Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
q Insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
q Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
q Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies & activities that were once enjoyed

If five or more symptoms are present daily for two weeks or more, then it may be time to have an evaluation for depression.

Imagine suffering through each day for years with all of these symptoms! This is what Sharon C. Matthies candidly and courageously shares in her book.

Until the age of five, Sharon enjoyed a happy and relaxed childhood in Canada. But the death of her newborn sister brought the family to grief so deep it was unspeakable. This was in direct conflict with the fairy tales of happy endings that children are so fond of reading. What Prince Charming would rescue the family from the trauma of an infant’s death? Which Fairy Godmother would reassure Sharon of her secure place in her family? Where was the Good Witch that would fill the family with love and laughter potions again? The lack of communication and affection from her family caused Sharon to believe that the void existed within her. Furthermore, her self-worth deteriorated when her grieving mother would snap: “Go away, leave me alone, don’t be such a nuisance.” Sharon became convinced that she “was indeed a nuisance.” Sharon developed the core belief that she was a misfit in her own family. By the time she was thirteen, Sharon’s “fear and insecurity grew unchecked and unchallenged, somehow accumulating into a full-blown death wish.” Surviving her own death wish became the focus of Sharon’s existence, so much so that she was unable to see “the possibility of other possibilities.”
Despite her chronic and acute feelings of failure, or perhaps because of them, Sharon sought solace as a camp counselor, in school and church activities and with music. Just as she was spreading her seeds of success in adolescence, her parents decided to move, uprooting what was familiar. However, Sharon was graced with an experience of profound connectedness to the Holy Sprit on “Sacred Ground” at a prayer meeting in her new neighborhood. This seemingly coincidental and chance meeting would form a foundation of spirituality that would sustain Sharon even as she sank deeper into the depths of depression. Sharon says that she drifted through detours on her journey through life, without an accomplishment to mark a measure of success, except for the spirituality that ultimately saved her.

Indeed, Sharon needed divine intervention to save her from a suicide attempt. She writes that the void was so wide and vast that “there was nothing left inside of me.” Yet, even as she swallowed pills, she prayed for salvation. Finally, a True Friend rescued Sharon by following her own intuition to guide herself to Sharon’s door. Meanwhile, Sharon has a dream that affirms her security in the spiritual realm, and propels her back to consciousness.

Sharon shares the long road to recovery, which began with “authentic self-knowledge.” What Sharon needed to know was that she is “loved and has a rightful niche in the world.” The road was difficult, with set backs and pit falls of doubt and distrust. These worsened when her father and mother died. Meanwhile, Sharon plodded along in tedious yet demanding careers, and inhabited dingy and infested apartments.

In the meantime, Sharon tried prescribed medications, but a recommended yet unsupervised switch from one anti-depressant to another left her unaccompanied in a detoxification experience. Chronic fatigue also held her hostage in her own home.

Sharon ultimately found a psychologist with whom she “muddled through the mangled chaos” of her anxiety ridden mind. Carrying the spiritual epiphany that “I am, therefore I’m worthy” Sharon began an uphill climb out of the depths of depression. The void she had experienced became filled with her love for God and His love for her. Sharon experiences the love of a spouse, the connection to friends, and the grounding of a happy and healthy home. Therein lies the happy ending.

The reader learns life lessons because Sharon generously shares her Truth and Knowledge. The reader is also grateful that Sharon survived to offer her poetry, dreams, and narrative, which give reason to hope. In this reviewer’s opinion, what Sharon shares with others is a great achievement. Those reaching through depression for themselves or others, and those seeking to understand the dynamics of depression, will benefit from reading Eagle Born to Fly.

For ordering information, email eagleborntofly@magma.ca