Willow Weep for Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression

I found this book in my college bookstore and couldn't put it down! I have been in therapy and on medication for many years and was able to relate to a lot of what Meri wrote about. It was refreshing to hear about depression in this format. I recommend this book for friends and family members of loved ones with depression, for all genders, races, nationalities, etc. who are or may be suffering from depression, and the professionals who work with them. Ms. Danquah does an excellent job describing a journey of pain, denial, discovery, acceptance, and empowerment.

As I read through Danquah's story of her journey through depression, it was as if she was telling my story, and the story of my friends and sisters that suffer with depression. Finally, I felt that my daily struggle with dispair was not unique. If other Black Women have suffered from depression, experienced a variety of health care treatments, and survived to experience something better . . . than maybe so can I. Maybe I won't loose my job, my husband, my home, and my friends as I slide into my world of emptiness. There is hope. - A lawyer in Richmond, Virginia.

I read a review of this book in a magazine about two years ago and kept in stored in the back of my mind to read, mainly because it is titled after one of my favorite Billie Holliday songs, but also because it was the first book dealing with Black women and depression that I'd every seen. After a recent bout of depression, my therapist loaned me the book from the counseling center's library. Too depressed to do the hundred other things that were begging to be done after that session, I started reading the book, finishing it in about a day because I just couldn't believe that there was someone else out there who was hurting the way I was for as long as I had been. I had to know how it all turned out for her.The book gave me hope. Meri's story is very similar to mine (save the alcoholism and single parenthood). Her story gave me hope, answered my questions about the effectiveness of drug therapy, and showed me that while depression can be a chronic illness, it is not untreatable if one has courage and faith. I have been working a lot with some of the suggestions that she made in the book and have had a marked improvement in many areas of my life. I feel truly blessed to have read that book and I am grateful that Meri was humble enough to share her story with all of us sisters who have suffered in shame and silence. God bless her; God bless us.

I have been suffering from depression for longer than I care to admit. I grew up with a depressed mother who never sought help. I am about the same age as the author and have experienced many of the same things she has been through. I am still struggling with therapy, medications and trying to adjust to being a newly divorced single mom of a very sick little girl. I love to read and this is the first book I have read in a long time that I can truly relate to and find some hope for my future. I am so happy to know that I am not alone. I will try not to feel so guilty that I am not the strong black women that society has told me I need to be. This book has taught me that I am strong; strong enough to deal with this condition and keep moving forward.

WILLOW WEEP FOR ME is a powerful book that really touched me. I felt like I was going through the ups and downs along with the author. It was a totally personal journey and Ms. Danquah was extremely brave to write such a a personal account of her life. WILLOW WEEP FOR ME was long overdue, because it focuses on how depression affects Black women and how it reveals itself in our lives. It opened my mind to reflect on my own life and some of the behaviors I have witnessed not only in myself, but in family, friends and associates. People in the Black community still seem to attach a stigma to mental illness in general, while so many in the Black community -- particulary "depressed" i.e., poor communities -- are suffering; and we don't even know it until finally suffering a nervous breakdown or some other "dysfunction". It was a real eye, heart and soul opener. I highly recommend it to all.