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

by Jan Wong

Overview

For twenty years, Jan Wong had been one of her newspaper’s best-known reporters. Then one day she turned in a story that set off a firestorm of controversy, 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 severe clinical depression. Yet she resisted the diagnosis, refusing to believe she had a mental illness. As it turned out, so did her company and insurer. With wit, grace and insight, Wong tells the harrowing tale of her struggle with workplace-caused depression, and of her eventual emergence … Out of the Blue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780987868510
Publisher:	Jan Wong Publishing
Publication date:	05/05/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	259
File size:	433 KB

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."

Editorial Reviews

"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."

"Wong's book reveals a thousand cuts to her body and soul. A great and perceptive writer, she has the gift of precision."

"Required reading for anyone interested in journalism. It is also required reading for anyone interested in the way employers treat employees with mental illnesses."

"The first of a new genre: the workplace divorce memoir . . . a page-turner suffused with suffering and pluck."

From the Publisher

"Required reading for anyone interested in journalism. It is also required reading for anyone interested in the way employers treat employees with mental illnesses."

Ottawa Citizen

"Wong's book reveals a thousand cuts to her body and soul. A great and perceptive writer, she has the gift of precision."

Toronto Star

"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."

Dr. Irwin Wolkoff

"The first of a new genre: the workplace divorce memoir . . . a page-turner suffused with suffering and pluck."

Maclean's

"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."

Shelagh Rogers

Because of her honest book, conversation can continue within families, businesses and institutions, when a person’s behaviours suggest a mental health issue. Instead of being left to sink even deeper into illness, with support of therapists, friends and family, they can find their way to healthier and happier life.

Beaver River Banner

Out of the Blue is a page-turner suffused with suffering and pluck.

Macleans magazine

Her latest memoir, Out of the Blue, reaffirms Wong as a brilliant writer and reveals a side of her we dont usually see: she is human like all of us.

Ricepaper.com

There’s the W5 of Wong’s personal narrative: what happened to her, how she felt about it, what she did about it, etc. Which, as might be expected of a best-selling career journalist, is eminently readable and engaging.

Rover.com

Wong may have travelled al long road, but Out of the Blue signals her courageous return.

Quill & Quire magazine

In this rare exploration of workplace depression, Wong asks the reader to confront issues many of us have had to deal with, no matter how long we have been in the traditional workplace she had worked for the Globe for two decades. For example, for those that ascribe to the I work therefore I am motto, like she did, it makes you wonder about your own life, and you will begin to ask yourself some tough questions.

Openbooktoronto.com

As Wong states one in five individuals will be afflicted with a serious mental illness during their lifetime. Knowing this statistic, readers from all walks of life not to mention those employed as human resource representatives would definitely benefit from reading Out of the Blue.

The Coast