Manufacturing Depression: The Secret History of a Modern Disease

Gary Greenberg

Feb 2010 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Kirby Heyborne

About this audiobook

"Am I happy enough?" This has been a pivotal question since America's inception. "Am I not happy enough because I am depressed?" is a more recent version. Psychotherapist Gary Greenberg shows how depression has been manufactured-not as an illness but as an idea about our suffering, its source, and its relief. He challenges us to look at depression in a new way. In the twenty years since their introduction, antidepressants have become staples of our medicine chests. Upwards of 30 million Americans are taking them at an annual cost of more than $10 billion. Even more important, Greenberg argues, it has become common, if not mandatory, to think of our unhappiness as a disease that can-and should-be treated by medication. Manufacturing Depression tells the story of how we got to this peculiar point in our history.

About the author

Gary Greenberg is a practicing psychotherapist in Connecticut and the author of The Noble Lie, as well as a contributing writer to Mother Jones.

Kirby Heyborne is an accomplished actor, musician, and comedian who has received a number of AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook narrations. He has had starring roles in over a dozen features and many short films. Kirby is also a cofounder and director of the Los Angeles-based improv comedy group The Society.