Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness
What happens when the place you've loved working at for twenty years asks for a divorce and breaks your heart?

"Tapping into her journalistic rigour, [Wong] gives a complete profile of the disease and its history." — Now Magazine

"Jan Wong is a wonderful writer and as she tells her own story, she speaks for me and for many. Some say depression is a gift. Well, it's not. But this book is."  — Shelagh Rogers

Self-published in 2012 because publishers were afraid of the backlash from the author's criticism of the biggest newspaper in Canada, Jan Wong's formidable memoir made the Globe and Mail's own bestseller list and exposed a much needed look at depression in the workplace. Now it's back by popular demand.

For twenty years Jan Wong had been one of the Globe and Mail's best-known reporters. Edward Greenspon, her then editor-in-chief, described Wong's writing as "intrusive, edgy, insightful, significant — and funny. Everything Jan touches becomes memorable."

Then one day her world came crashing down. A story she wrote sparked a national firestorm, including death threats, a unanimous denunciation by Parliament, and a rebuke by her own newspaper. For the first time in her professional life, Wong fell into a clinical depression. She resisted the diagnosis, refusing to believe she had a mental illness, as did her employer and her insurer. Out of the Blue is the harrowing and sometimes surreal story of her struggle and her eventual emergence — out of the blue.

1110841771
Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness
What happens when the place you've loved working at for twenty years asks for a divorce and breaks your heart?

"Tapping into her journalistic rigour, [Wong] gives a complete profile of the disease and its history." — Now Magazine

"Jan Wong is a wonderful writer and as she tells her own story, she speaks for me and for many. Some say depression is a gift. Well, it's not. But this book is."  — Shelagh Rogers

Self-published in 2012 because publishers were afraid of the backlash from the author's criticism of the biggest newspaper in Canada, Jan Wong's formidable memoir made the Globe and Mail's own bestseller list and exposed a much needed look at depression in the workplace. Now it's back by popular demand.

For twenty years Jan Wong had been one of the Globe and Mail's best-known reporters. Edward Greenspon, her then editor-in-chief, described Wong's writing as "intrusive, edgy, insightful, significant — and funny. Everything Jan touches becomes memorable."

Then one day her world came crashing down. A story she wrote sparked a national firestorm, including death threats, a unanimous denunciation by Parliament, and a rebuke by her own newspaper. For the first time in her professional life, Wong fell into a clinical depression. She resisted the diagnosis, refusing to believe she had a mental illness, as did her employer and her insurer. Out of the Blue is the harrowing and sometimes surreal story of her struggle and her eventual emergence — out of the blue.

21.99 In Stock
Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness

Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness

by Jan Wong
Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness

Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness

by Jan Wong

Paperback(New Edition)

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Overview

What happens when the place you've loved working at for twenty years asks for a divorce and breaks your heart?

"Tapping into her journalistic rigour, [Wong] gives a complete profile of the disease and its history." — Now Magazine

"Jan Wong is a wonderful writer and as she tells her own story, she speaks for me and for many. Some say depression is a gift. Well, it's not. But this book is."  — Shelagh Rogers

Self-published in 2012 because publishers were afraid of the backlash from the author's criticism of the biggest newspaper in Canada, Jan Wong's formidable memoir made the Globe and Mail's own bestseller list and exposed a much needed look at depression in the workplace. Now it's back by popular demand.

For twenty years Jan Wong had been one of the Globe and Mail's best-known reporters. Edward Greenspon, her then editor-in-chief, described Wong's writing as "intrusive, edgy, insightful, significant — and funny. Everything Jan touches becomes memorable."

Then one day her world came crashing down. A story she wrote sparked a national firestorm, including death threats, a unanimous denunciation by Parliament, and a rebuke by her own newspaper. For the first time in her professional life, Wong fell into a clinical depression. She resisted the diagnosis, refusing to believe she had a mental illness, as did her employer and her insurer. Out of the Blue is the harrowing and sometimes surreal story of her struggle and her eventual emergence — out of the blue.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780987868503
Publisher: Jan Wong
Publication date: 05/05/2012
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 264
Product dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jan Wong is the author of five national bestsellers. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her work and is now a professor of journalism at St. Thomas University. Her most recent books is Apron Strings: Navigating Food and Family in France, Italy, and China.

Table of Contents

Preface 9

Part I Fall

1 The Demon of Depression 13

2 Tick Tock 22

3 L'Affaire Wong 33

4 A Threat Close to Home 42

5 The Working Wounded 53

6 Crack-Up 63

Part II Denial

7 The Geographic Cure 71

8 Death by a Thousand Cuts 77

9 Despair Beyond Despair 88

10 Melancholia Through the Ages 93

11 A Darker Shade of Blue 102

12 The Music Cure 115

Part III Blue Print

13 A New Section Called "Life" 126

14 Shrink-Fit 136

15 Relapse 141

16 Running in the Family 151

17 Cipralex, Celexa, Effexor, Wellbutrin 160

18 The Upside of Being Down 169

Part IV Healing

19 Fight or Flight? 178

20 Smile, You're on Candid Camera 184

21 Berries 195

22 Flight, Again 203

23 Year of the Rat 210

Part V Happiness

24 The Art of War 218

25 Fired Up 223

26 Hush Money 228

27 Eat Bread. Butter, Too 236

28 Roses 243

Afterword 252

Acknowledgments 255

Selected Bibliography 258

What People are Saying About This

Toronto psychiatrist, writer and broadcaster - Dr. Irvin Wolkoff

Jan Wong has clearly and accurately presented the history, signs and symptoms of depression and its underlying and associated pathological correlates. Her research is thorough and presented clearly. Bravo! Perhaps more importantly, she has painted an accurate and evocative portrait of a person trying to live a life with major depression, in a way that will edify, disturb, or comfort the reader.

From the Publisher

Jan Wong is a courageous journalist who has walked into fire, literally and metaphorically, to bring us the truth. In Out of the Blue, she does so again, but this time it's personal. As she tracks her spiral into unipolar depression, she applies the same rigor that has made her renowned as a reporter. Who knew that Jan Wong, one of the toughest journalists in Canada, could be incapacitated by the disease? Out of the Blue proves that it doesn't matter who you are: depression is an equal-opportunity soul stealer. It proves that even enlightened workplaces have yet to fully come to terms with mental illness. It also proves that recovery and understanding are absolutely possible. Jan is a wonderful writer and as she tells her own story, she speaks for me and for many. Some say depression is a gift. Well, it's not. But this book is.

Jan Wong has clearly and accurately presented the history, signs and symptoms of depression and its underlying and associated pathological correlates. Her research is thorough and presented clearly. Bravo! Perhaps more importantly, she has painted an accurate and evocative portrait of a person trying to live a life with major depression, in a way that will edify, disturb, or comfort the reader.

Shelagh Rogers

Jan Wong is a courageous journalist who has walked into fire, literally and metaphorically, to bring us the truth. In Out of the Blue, she does so again, but this time it’s personal. As she tracks her spiral into unipolar depression, she applies the same rigor that has made her renowned as a reporter. Who knew that Jan Wong, one of the toughest journalists in Canada, could be incapacitated by the disease? Out of the Blue proves that it doesn’t matter who you are: depression is an equal-opportunity soul stealer. It proves that even enlightened workplaces have yet to fully come to terms with mental illness. It also proves that recovery and understanding are absolutely possible. Jan is a wonderful writer and as she tells her own story, she speaks for me and for many. Some say depression is a gift. Well, it’s not. But this book is.

Toronto psychiatrist, writer and broadcaster - Irvin Wolkoff

Jan Wong has clearly and accurately presented the history, signs and symptoms of depression and its underlying and associated pathological correlates. Her research is thorough and presented clearly. Bravo! Perhaps more importantly, she has painted an accurate and evocative portrait of a person trying to live a life with major depression, in a way that will edify, disturb, or comfort the reader."

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