EVERY BRILLIANT THING suggested read: THE HILARIOUS WORLD OF DEPRESSION

 

Interested in exploring more of the theme’s found in EVERY BRILLIANT THING? We recommend to all ticket holders to check out THE HILARIOUS WORLD OF DEPRESSION by John Moe.

This narrative explores depression’s universal themes including “struggles with identity, lack of understanding of the symptoms, the challenges of work-life, self-medicating, the fallout of the disease in the lives of our loved ones, the tragedy of suicide, and the hereditary aspects of the disease.” Learn more or purchase the book here.

 

Make it a book club pick and check out these recommended discussion questions:

  • Talk about Moe and the narrator's family background. To what degree has his family history contributed to his own depression?

  • (Follow-up to Question) What is known about the hereditary aspects of depression?

  • Both Moe and the narrator see depression at a young age. In what ways were they different and in what ways were they similar? What particular symptoms during those adolescent years did Moe see in himself?

  • What effect does his brother's suicide have on Moe? He writes of a "salad of regret, anger, confusion, and horror." How does it differ from the narrator’s mother’s suicide as well as her attempts?

  • Moe digs deeply into the various characteristics of depression. Talk about the problems of identifying the disorder and then acknowledging it, of self-medicating, and of the way depression affects the lives of families and loved ones.

  • If you are comfortable doing so in a group, talk about how Moe's book and EVERY BRILLIANT THING relates to your own life—if not to you, specifically, than perhaps to someone you know and love, a family member or a friend.

  • Why the book's title: what is "hilarious" about depression?

These questions are adapted from LitLovers. More questions can be found HERE.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line: Text MN to 741741
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911

 
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