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Everybody Needs a Vacation

The Loss of Sadness by Allan V. Horwitz and Jerome C. Wakefield

The belief that one should always be happy, smile and act social is against human nature, unbalanced and extremely idiotic.

‘The Loss of Sadness’ came to cement the above. Yes, there exist real cases of depressive disorder caused by chemical imbalances. But about prescribing serotonin busters to someone who is experiencing a melancholic period caused by losses in its life, robs that person of a magnificent solitary state that one can experience during that time. It also leads to stigmatization and numbness.

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The cover reminds me of Norman Manea’s novel  ‘The Hooligan’s Return‘, briefly reviewed here.  The banner Depression is a flaw in chemistry, not in character stands for an interdiction of sadness in the US paradise, in Manea’s book.

You can go through a preview on Google Books.

Waiting for: Three Trapped Tigers , reading The Black Book of Communism and Understanding Close-up Photography.