Still Life: A Memoir of Living Fully with Depression - Softcover

"Gillian Marchenko generously lets us know her and walk her journey, and in the process we grow to love her. You won't find pat answers or bland reassurances here; you'll find a real and courageous woman, a serious fight with mental illness and faith-fueled hope. If you live with depression or care about someone who does, you must read this book."--Amy Simpson, author of Troubled Minds and Anxious

"If you've never struggled with depression but want to know what it's like, Still Life paints an accurate picture. If you have lived on that fearful ledge called depression, you'll find an ally in Gillian Marchenko. With heartfelt honesty, Marchenko describes life with double depression (Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymia). In my dozen years as a licensed professional counselor, I've never read a more accurate book about depression and the toll it takes on the one who suffers, as well the impact on those closest to the sufferer. This book holds no cure, no magic wand, but it does extend hope."--Lucille Zimmerman, LPC, author of Renewed: Finding Your Inner Happy in an Overwhelmed World

"Life with depression is still life, which means beauty and dignity are still found even when not felt. Life with depression is also a still life, a straightforward painting depicting commonplace objects, something that causes us to stop, look and listen, and if we do, to possibly realize that this ordinary object is infused with the beauty of God. Marchenko's book has been a still life for me, allowing me to stop and study the intricacies of a life with depression, and in doing so, to begin to see my own areas of darkness as places capable of framing a masterpiece."--Beth Slevcove, author of Broken Hallelujahs

"I stand on the edge of a cliff in my own bedroom."Gillian Marchenko continues her description of depression: "I must keep still. Otherwise I will plunge to my death. 'Please God, take this away,' I pray when I can."For Gillian, "dealing with depression" means learning to accept and treat it as a physical illness. In these pages she describes her journey through various therapies and medications to find a way to live with depression. She faces down the guilt of a wife and mother of four, two with special needs. How can she care for her family when she can't even get out of bed?Her story is real and raw, not one of quick fixes. But hope remains as she discovers that living with depression is still life.