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The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live by Heather B. Armstrong

From blogger Heather B. Armstrong (dooce), author of It Sucked and Then I Cried, comes The Valedictorian of Being Dead (Gallery), an irreverent new memoir – reminiscent of Brain on Fire – about her experience as one of only a few people to participate in an experimental treatment for depression involving 10 rounds of a chemically-induced coma approximating brain death.

For years, Heather Armstrong has alluded to her struggle with depression on her website, dooce. It’s scattered throughout her archive, where it weaves its way through posts about pop culture, music, and motherhood. But in 2016, Heather found herself in the depths of a depression she just couldn’t shake, an episode darker and longer than anything she had previously experienced. She had never felt so discouraged by the thought of waking up in the morning, and it threatened to destroy her life. So, for the sake of herself and her family, Heather decided to risk it all by participating in an experimental clinical trial involving a chemically induced coma approximating brain death.

Now, for the first time, Heather recalls the torturous eighteen months of suicidal depression she endured and the month-long experimental study in which doctors used propofol anesthesia to quiet all brain activity for a full fifteen minutes before bringing her back from a flatline. Ten times. The experience wasn’t easy. Not for Heather or her family. But a switch was flipped, and Heather hasn’t experienced a single moment of suicidal depression since.

Disarmingly honest, self-deprecating, and scientifically fascinating, The Valedictorian of Being Dead brings to light a groundbreaking new treatment for depression.

Author: Heather B. Armstrong
The Valedictorian of Being Dead:
The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live
Binding: Hardcover
Publication date: 04/23/2019
Publisher: SIMON & SCHUSTER TRADE
Pages: 272
ISBN13: 9781501197048
ISBN10: 1501197045
List Price $26.00

# new books
Heather B. Armstrong
The Valedictorian of Being Dead

• fleursdumal.nl magazine

More in: - Book News, Archive A-B, DRUGS & MEDICINE & LITERATURE, MONTAIGNE, NONFICTION: ESSAYS & STORIES

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