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A review by emilyjoy828
Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness by Joshua Wolf Shenk
4.0
"I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me." (Quote from Lincoln) (Not a quote from me as I struggled through reading this book...)
When I started reading this book, Obama was still president. Women in Saudi Arabia still weren't allowed to drive. The UK was still a part of the European Union. The spire of Notre Dame still stood in pristine glory. And Meghan Markle...who dat?
It took me over three years to finish this book, but I think that has more to do with my inability to focus and finish when it comes to historical nonficition, rather than any problems with the book itself.
Overall, I am glad to have read Lincoln's Melancholy, as much as I didn't enjoy the slog at times. It gave me a much richer understanding of not only Lincoln (who BTW, is totally a 4w3), but also mental illness and culture's historical perception of depression.
Before reading this, I'd never heard of Lincoln's lifelong battle with severe chronic depression. I was shocked to learn his friends put him on suicide watch multiple times. I'd never read his poems full of despair and suicidal ideation. I didn't know that nearly everyone who knew or met him remarked on his deep sadness and melancholy. And I wonder why I'd never learned of this. Is it because mental illness is not something we'd find desirable in a great historical leader? Or maybe because "'biographies tend conventionally to be structured as crisis-and-recovery narratives in which the subject undergoes a period of disillusionment or adversity, and then has a "breakthrough" or arrives at a "turning point" before going on to achieve whatever sort of greatness obtains.' Lincoln's melancholy doesn't lend itself to such a narrative."
The main point of this book isn't that Lincoln was strong DESPITE of his depression, but that he was actually strong BECAUSE of it. "The burden was a sadness and despair that could tip into a state of disease. But the gift was a capacity for depth, wisdom- even genius... Whatever greatness Lincoln achieved cannot be explained as a triumph over personal suffering. Rather, it must be accounted for as an outgrowth of the same system that produced that suffering. This is not a story of transformation but one of integration. Lincoln didn't do great work because he solved the problem of his melancholy. The problem of his melancholy was all the more fuel for the fire of his great work." Shenk argues that when our culture treats all mental suffering as something to be cured, as well as something unmasculine and weak, we miss out on great works of creativity and ingenuity that often grow out of adversity and mental suffering. "The hope is not that suffering will go away, for with Lincoln it did not ever go away. The hope is that suffering, plainly acknowledged and endured, can fit us for the surprising challenges that await." (This isn't to say that one should never take medicine or get mental health treatment, FYI.)
I think my overall favorite thing about this book was how connected it made me feel to Lincoln as a person. Obviously, I am not saying that I am basically the female version of Honest Abe, but it was really fascinating for me to see how much I could relate to a person who had previously seemed like a stiff historical figure who started every sentence with, "Four score and seven years ago..." The way that Lincoln described his depression was spot on, and the way he used humor as a coping mechanism was something I could fully relate to. This humor, incidentally, often left his friends feeling whiplashed. How could he go from so sorrowful and despairing one minute to cracking a joke the next? But when you've been in that place of despair, you understand that humor and laughter are sometimes the only things that make you feel sane. "The psychologist George Vaillant... identifies humor as the most effective [coping mechanism] of all, even among a handful of other 'mature strategies.'.. One can be lively without pushing from his mind what is painful and real."
While the author doesn't shy away from Lincoln's faults, overall, I left this book with a greater respect for him as a man and leader. One of my favorite quotes: "Once a minister remarked to Lincoln something along the lines of 'I hope the Lord is on our side.' Lincoln said he didn't agree, adding, in substance, 'I hope we are on the Lord's side.'" Would any president now even dare to venture that his side might not be the right side/the Lord's side?
I'll leave you with one last note from Lincoln: "I will make no apology, gentlemen, for my weakness."
When I started reading this book, Obama was still president. Women in Saudi Arabia still weren't allowed to drive. The UK was still a part of the European Union. The spire of Notre Dame still stood in pristine glory. And Meghan Markle...who dat?
It took me over three years to finish this book, but I think that has more to do with my inability to focus and finish when it comes to historical nonficition, rather than any problems with the book itself.
Overall, I am glad to have read Lincoln's Melancholy, as much as I didn't enjoy the slog at times. It gave me a much richer understanding of not only Lincoln (who BTW, is totally a 4w3), but also mental illness and culture's historical perception of depression.
Before reading this, I'd never heard of Lincoln's lifelong battle with severe chronic depression. I was shocked to learn his friends put him on suicide watch multiple times. I'd never read his poems full of despair and suicidal ideation. I didn't know that nearly everyone who knew or met him remarked on his deep sadness and melancholy. And I wonder why I'd never learned of this. Is it because mental illness is not something we'd find desirable in a great historical leader? Or maybe because "'biographies tend conventionally to be structured as crisis-and-recovery narratives in which the subject undergoes a period of disillusionment or adversity, and then has a "breakthrough" or arrives at a "turning point" before going on to achieve whatever sort of greatness obtains.' Lincoln's melancholy doesn't lend itself to such a narrative."
The main point of this book isn't that Lincoln was strong DESPITE of his depression, but that he was actually strong BECAUSE of it. "The burden was a sadness and despair that could tip into a state of disease. But the gift was a capacity for depth, wisdom- even genius... Whatever greatness Lincoln achieved cannot be explained as a triumph over personal suffering. Rather, it must be accounted for as an outgrowth of the same system that produced that suffering. This is not a story of transformation but one of integration. Lincoln didn't do great work because he solved the problem of his melancholy. The problem of his melancholy was all the more fuel for the fire of his great work." Shenk argues that when our culture treats all mental suffering as something to be cured, as well as something unmasculine and weak, we miss out on great works of creativity and ingenuity that often grow out of adversity and mental suffering. "The hope is not that suffering will go away, for with Lincoln it did not ever go away. The hope is that suffering, plainly acknowledged and endured, can fit us for the surprising challenges that await." (This isn't to say that one should never take medicine or get mental health treatment, FYI.)
I think my overall favorite thing about this book was how connected it made me feel to Lincoln as a person. Obviously, I am not saying that I am basically the female version of Honest Abe, but it was really fascinating for me to see how much I could relate to a person who had previously seemed like a stiff historical figure who started every sentence with, "Four score and seven years ago..." The way that Lincoln described his depression was spot on, and the way he used humor as a coping mechanism was something I could fully relate to. This humor, incidentally, often left his friends feeling whiplashed. How could he go from so sorrowful and despairing one minute to cracking a joke the next? But when you've been in that place of despair, you understand that humor and laughter are sometimes the only things that make you feel sane. "The psychologist George Vaillant... identifies humor as the most effective [coping mechanism] of all, even among a handful of other 'mature strategies.'.. One can be lively without pushing from his mind what is painful and real."
While the author doesn't shy away from Lincoln's faults, overall, I left this book with a greater respect for him as a man and leader. One of my favorite quotes: "Once a minister remarked to Lincoln something along the lines of 'I hope the Lord is on our side.' Lincoln said he didn't agree, adding, in substance, 'I hope we are on the Lord's side.'" Would any president now even dare to venture that his side might not be the right side/the Lord's side?
I'll leave you with one last note from Lincoln: "I will make no apology, gentlemen, for my weakness."