"Down Came the Rain - My Journey Through Postpartum Depression" (hardcover version), was written by Brooke Shields. This book is the honest, detailed tale of actress Brooke Shields' personal experience with postpartum depression. In her story, she shares the harrowing medical procedures she endured to conceive, the tragedy of dealing with a miscarriage in the public eye, and the unexpected depression that consumed her after the eventual birth of a healthy baby.

The Basics
226 pages
Published in 2005
A relatively rare look inside the life a celebrity dealing with postpartum depression
A standard length novel, interesting, honest content, and a fairly quick read

What I Liked Most
The intimate writing style bridged the I-can't-relate-to-a-famous-person gap. At times I felt like I was having a personal conversation with Brooke Shields. She describes how she met her husband, their eagerness to become parents, and the difficult decision they made to begin fertility treatments in order to get pregnant. She even touches on the demise of her first marriage and the infamous public statements actor Tom Cruise made about the way she chose to treat her depression.

I enjoyed her introspective thoughts about her relationship with her mother and the way she was raised. I also appreciated her realization that experiencing a depressive episode makes one empathetic to those who suffer from chronic depression.

Here are a few of my favorite lines:
"...becoming a mom has brought to the surface a sensitivity the depth of which I never knew existed."
"...I am just more alive and present in my own life than I ever remember being."

What I Liked Least
Throughout the book, Shields frequently mentions that she never had thoughts of harming her child. Although I realize that she intended to emphasize that most moms suffering from postpartum depression do not hurt their babies, I found it to be a repetitive refrain. I also found her preoccupation with weight gain during and after her pregnancy to be disconcerting.

Library or Purchase?
Should you buy this book or borrow it? Have you suffered through postpartum depression? If so, you may want to invest in this book so that you have a reminder that you can survive it and have a healthy, happy relationship with your baby.

NOTE: I obtained this book on my own, read it and provided this review with no incentive from the author or publisher.

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My name is Rayna Battle and I suffer from Major Depression, Cyclothymia, and Generalized Anxiety. I am not a mental health professional. Instead, I am a fellow sufferer, researching and fighting to understand the illnesses that threaten our happiness.

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Thank you for reading! I encourage you to share your opinion of it in the Depression forum, a community of people who understand.

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