Overview

The New York Times bestseller from the author of Chasing the Scream, offering a radical new way of thinking about depression and anxiety. There was a mystery haunting award-winning investigative journalist Johann Hari. He was thirty-nine years old, and almost every year he had been alive, depression and anxiety had increased in Britain and across the Western world. Why? He had a very personal reason to ask this question. When he was a teenager, he had gone to his doctor and explained that he felt like pain was leaking out of him, and he couldn't control it or understand it. Some of the solutions his doctor offered had given him some relief-but he remained in deep pain. So, as an adult, he went on a forty-thousand-mile journey across the world to interview the leading experts about what causes depression and anxiety, and what solves them. He learned there is scientific evidence for nine different causes of depression and anxiety-and that this knowledge leads to a very different set of solutions: ones that offer real hope.

Full Product Details

9781632868305

Table of Contents

Reviews

If you have ever been down, or felt lost, this amazing book will change your life. Do yourself a favour--read it now. - Elton John Wise, probing, and deeply generous Hari has produced a book packed with explosive revelations about our epidemic of despair . . . I am utterly convinced that the more people read this book, the better off the world will be. - Naomi Klein This is a bold and inspiring book that will help far more than just those who suffer from depression. As Hari shows, we all have within us the potential to live in ways that are healthier and wiser. - Arianna Huffington Through a breath-taking journey across the world, Johann Hari exposes us to extraordinary people and concepts that will change the way we see depression forever. It is a brave, moving, brilliant, simple and earth-shattering book that must be read by everyone and anyone who is longing for a life of meaning and connection. - Eve Ensler, author of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES This is one of those extraordinary books that you want all your friends to read immediately--because the shift in world-view is so compelling and dramatic that you wonder how you'll be able to have conversations with them otherwise. - Brian Eno One of the world's most important and most enlightening thinkers and social critics. - Glenn Greenwald, winner of the Pulitzer Prize Johann Hari is again getting people to think differently about our mood, our minds and our drug use, and that is something we need a lot more of. - Bill Maher Depression and anxiety are the maladies of our time, but not for the reasons you think . . . An important diagnosis from one of the ablest journalists writing in the English language today. - Thomas Frank, author of WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS Hari aims to demonstrate that the feelings of depression and anxiety experienced by individuals are symptomatic of a larger societal ailment that must be addressed. He makes a good case for this theory, supplying the reader with overwhelming (and engrossing) evidence. - Publishers Weekly This is a bold and inspiring book that will help far more than just those who suffer from depression. As Hari shows, we all have within us the potential to live in ways that are healthier and wiser. - Arianna Huffington Johann Hari is again getting people to think differently about our mood, our minds and our drug use, and that is something we need a lot more of. - Bill Maher If you have ever been down, or felt lost, this amazing book will change your life. Do yourself a favour--read it now. - Elton John Like a secular oracle Johann Hari stands on the periphery observing what is coming. This book is a prescient and compassionate Rosetta Stone for those trying to understand mental illness. Beautiful. - Russell Brand An exquisitely lucid treatise on why no person is, has been or ever should be an island. This book is the most exciting thing I've read this year. From slightly seedy to suicidal--however you are feeling--read this book and it will honestly help you to understand which roads we must walk if we want to see true, lasting change. - Emma Thompson Through a breathtaking journey across the world, Johann Hari exposes us to extraordinary people and concepts that will change the way we see depression forever. It is a brave, moving, brilliant, simple and earth shattering book that must be read by everyone and anyone who is longing for a life of meaning and connection. - Eve Ensler, author of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES and IN THE BODY OF THE WORLD Depression and anxiety are the maladies of our time, but not for the reasons you think. In this compulsively readable history of these ailments, Johann Hari tells us how the science went wrong and how the obvious got overlooked. An important diagnosis from one of the ablest journalist writing in the English language today. - Thomas Frank, author of WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS This is one of those extraordinary books that you want all your friends to read immediately--because the shift in world-view is so compelling and dramatic that you wonder how you'll be able to have conversations with them otherwise. A highly personal book, written with humility, humor and candor, it nonetheless heralds a crucial new discussion about our mental health--and health of the world we've created for ourselves. I haven't been so gripped for ages . . . I honestly couldn't put it down. What a stunning piece of work. - Brian Eno Lost Connections is an important, convention-challenging, provocative and supremely timely read. It is about time we looked at mental health through the prism of society rather than, simply, medicine. This brilliant book helps us to do that. - Matt Haig, author of REASONS TO STAY ALIVE As with his book on drugs, Johann Hari has delivered a remarkable tour de force on a difficult, complex and controversial subject and made the reader think anew. - Alastair Campbell, author of THE HAPPY DEPRESSIVE Johann Hari follows his groundbreaking and revolutionary book on addiction with an equally vital, compelling and eye-opening examination of the myths we have been taught to believe about depression and anxiety. With this book that brilliantly interweaves science, philosophy and searing personal experience, and which methodically dissects the truth around mental health, Hari again proves that he is one of the world's most important and most enlightening thinkers and social critics. - Glenn Greenwald, author of NO PLACE TO HIDE Wise, probing, and deeply generous Hari has produced a book packed with explosive revelations about our epidemic of despair. Yes, it is about depression but it is also about the way we live now--and the havoc perennial isolation is wrecking on our collective mental health and general wellbeing. I am utterly convinced that the more people read this book, the better off the world will be. - Naomi Klein, author of NO IS NOT ENOUGH: RESISTING TRUMP'S SHOCK POLITICS AND WINNING THE WORLD WE NEED A special writer, a great researcher and a great wordsmith . . . This look at depression will change everything you think about it. - Toure Johann Hari has a knack of making me reframe the way I look at issues. This book is a game changer. - Davina McCall This is an astonishing book that transforms our understanding of one of the crucial issues of our times. Johann Hari asks the big questions and provides the big answers--answers that have been neglected for far too long. You cannot fully understand this great curse of our age until you have read it. - George Monbiot In Lost Connections, Johann Hari has written a wide-ranging and informative exploration of the epidemic of depression that plagues our culture, with a special emphasis on the nature/nurture split that continues to underly the discussion. Beginning as a true believer in purely organic causes of depression, Hari journeys to a more expansive view that takes in a psychodynamic origin as well. Most importantly, he looks to the unnutritious values that our society espouses for an explanation--as well as a possible solution--to this pervasive and painful malady. - Daphne Merkin, author of THIS CLOSE TO HAPPY Hari spent three years meticulously researching and footnoting the book, which puts a vivid human face on our behemoth and often abstract anti-drug efforts. - The Atlantic on CHASING THE SCREAM A riveting book. - San Francisco Chronicle on CHASING THE SCREAM Hari's empathy and keen eye for detail bring a disparate group of characters to life. . . . It's a testament to Hari's skill as a writer that the most discomposing portrayal is of Marcia Powell, a mentally ill drug addict whom he never had the chance to meet. - New York Times Book Review on CHASING THE SCREAM Johann Hari is again getting people to think differently about our mood, our minds and our drug use, and that is something we need a lot more of. - Bill Maher Hari aims to demonstrate that the feelings of depression and anxiety experienced by individuals are symptomatic of a larger societal ailment that must be addressed. He makes a good case for this theory, supplying the reader with overwhelming (and engrossing) evidence, though his preferred solutions are somewhat grandiose and utopian. - Publishers Weekly Through a breathtaking journey across the world, Johann Hari exposes us to extraordinary people and concepts that will change the way we see depression forever. It is a brave, moving, brilliant, simple and earth shattering book that must be read by everyone and anyone who is longing for a life of meaning and connection. - Eve Ensler, author of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES and IN THE BODY OF THE WORLD Depression and anxiety are the maladies of our time, but not for the reasons you think. In this compulsively readable history of these ailments, Johann Hari tells us how the science went wrong and how the obvious got overlooked. An important diagnosis from one of the ablest journalist writing in the English language today. - Thomas Frank, author of WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS Hari spent three years meticulously researching and footnoting the book, which puts a vivid human face on our behemoth and often abstract anti-drug efforts. - The Atlantic on CHASING THE SCREAM Hari's empathy and keen eye for detail bring a disparate group of characters to life. . . . It's a testament to Hari's skill as a writer that the most discomposing portrayal is of Marcia Powell, a mentally ill drug addict whom he never had the chance to meet. - New York Times Book Review on CHASING THE SCREAM A riveting book. - San Francisco Chronicle on CHASING THE SCREAM Through a breathtaking journey across the world, Johann Hari exposes us to extraordinary people and concepts that will change the way we see depression forever. It is a brave, moving, brilliant, simple and earth shattering book that must be read by everyone and anyone who is longing for a life of meaning and connection. - Eve Ensler, author of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES and IN THE BODY OF THE WORLD Hari spent three years meticulously researching and footnoting the book, which puts a vivid human face on our behemoth and often abstract anti-drug efforts. - The Atlantic on CHASING THE SCREAM Hari's empathy and keen eye for detail bring a disparate group of characters to life. . . . It's a testament to Hari's skill as a writer that the most discomposing portrayal is of Marcia Powell, a mentally ill drug addict whom he never had the chance to meet. - New York Times Book Review on CHASING THE SCREAM A riveting book. - San Francisco Chronicle on CHASING THE SCREAM Hari spent three years meticulously researching and footnoting the book, which puts a vivid human face on our behemoth and often abstract anti-drug efforts. - The Atlantic on CHASING THE SCREAM Hari's empathy and keen eye for detail bring a disparate group of characters to life. . . . It's a testament to Hari's skill as a writer that the most discomposing portrayal is of Marcia Powell, a mentally ill drug addict whom he never had the chance to meet. - New York Times Book Review on CHASING THE SCREAM A riveting book. - San Francisco Chronicle on CHASING THE SCREAM

Hari spent three years meticulously researching and footnoting the book, which puts a vivid human face on our behemoth and often abstract anti-drug efforts. - The Atlantic on CHASING THE SCREAM Hari's empathy and keen eye for detail bring a disparate group of characters to life. . . . It's a testament to Hari's skill as a writer that the most discomposing portrayal is of Marcia Powell, a mentally ill drug addict whom he never had the chance to meet. - New York Times Book Review on CHASING THE SCREAM A riveting book. - San Francisco Chronicle on CHASING THE SCREAM

Lost Connections offers a wonderful and incisive analysis of the depression and alienation that are haunting American society. - Hillary Rodham Clinton If you have ever been down, or felt lost, this amazing book will change your life. Do yourself a favour--read it now. - Elton John Wise, probing, and deeply generous Hari has produced a book packed with explosive revelations about our epidemic of despair . . . I am utterly convinced that the more people read this book, the better off the world will be. - Naomi Klein This is a bold and inspiring book that will help far more than just those who suffer from depression. As Hari shows, we all have within us the potential to live in ways that are healthier and wiser. - Arianna Huffington Through a breath-taking journey across the world, Johann Hari exposes us to extraordinary people and concepts that will change the way we see depression forever. It is a brave, moving, brilliant, simple and earth-shattering book that must be read by everyone and anyone who is longing for a life of meaning and connection. - Eve Ensler, author of THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES This is one of those extraordinary books that you want all your friends to read immediately--because the shift in world-view is so compelling and dramatic that you wonder how you'll be able to have conversations with them otherwise. - Brian Eno One of the world's most important and most enlightening thinkers and social critics. - Glenn Greenwald, winner of the Pulitzer Prize Johann Hari is again getting people to think differently about our mood, our minds and our drug use, and that is something we need a lot more of. - Bill Maher Depression and anxiety are the maladies of our time, but not for the reasons you think . . . An important diagnosis from one of the ablest journalists writing in the English language today. - Thomas Frank, author of WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS Eye-opening, highly detailed . . . The book is part personal odyssey, in which Hari gets to grips with the flaws in his own treatment, and part scholarly reflection, where he sifts through the varying perspectives of scientists, psychologists and people with depression . . . Hari is clear about the difficulties of the task ahead and, in offering new ways of thinking, presents not surefire solutions but, he says, 'an alternative direction of travel' . . . A compassionate, common-sense approach to depression and anxiety . . . His book brings with it an urgency and rigour that will, with luck, encourage the authorities to sit up and take note. - Guardian, Book of the Day, 17 January 2018 A bold call for a complete re-evaluation of what is causing the western epidemic of mental illness. - Sunday Times Brilliant. - Mail on Sunday This book has a great deal to offer. Lost Connections isn't as much about science and mental health as it is about society, and the stories we tell around mental illness . . . This book's value lies in its attempt to change the stories we tell about the depressed and anxious, and perhaps help some of those suffering change how they think about themselves. - Independent You might think Lost Connections is a self-help title but in reality it's a book that aims to change society, not individuals . . . Lost Connections is an important and controversial book because it asks questions about the biggest problems we have in the world. - Attitude Magazine Thought-provoking . . . His comprehensible and penetrating study features extensive research and interviews with everyone from leading scientists and medics to members of the Amish community. This heartening book reveals the mutual social benefits of reconnecting with others and helping them to help yourself. *****- Western Mail

Author Information

Johann Hari is the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing the Scream. He was a columnist for the Independent in London for nine years and was twice named Newspaper Journalist of the Year by Amnesty International UK. He has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Le Monde, and others.

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