Black Rainbow

“The greatest gift a depression memoir can offer… the writer has survived. Rachel Kelly’s memoir goes one better … she adds a selection of the poetry that helped her. Black Rainbow is moving, written with compassion and insight.” — The Guardian

“It’s a book we should all read, especially women… Those with new babies, exhausted from pregnancy, sleepless nights and the sheer shock of motherhood, are often consumed with fear bordering on terror. That’s what depression is, and if it applies to you or your daughter, take heart. Help is available. And it will help to read Rachel Kelly’s Black Rainbow.” —The Daily Mail

A Sunday Times bestseller, Black Rainbow (October 2015; Quercus) is the powerful and uplifting story of former London Times journalist Rachel Kelly’s struggle with depression and her heartening recovery applying a unique “prescription” with no side effects—poetry.

After recovery from a debilitating episode of depression that saw Rachel hospitalized, the descent that had startled her family and friends struck a second time during a glamorous Christmas party. Soon, she was no longer sure she wanted to live.

“I have a privileged life, but I don’t have privileged health,” Rachel notes.

Black Rainbow breaks through the stigma associated with depression, offering consolation, hope, and practical advice for anyone seeking to understand depression and new ways to treat it. In Rachel’s frank and moving story, poetry—“prescribing words instead of pills”—emerges as a powerful therapeutic tool.

Applying her keen mind to resolve the mix of feelings and family, career, and social roles that had left her with crippling anxiety, Rachel analyzes why poetry can be one solution for easing depression—an illness known more for its opacity than clear answers.

The book contains 40 poems that brought comfort during her two sudden slides into depression, including words from W.H. Auden, Dorothy Parker, Emily Dickinson, and more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rachel Kelly is a former London Times journalist-turned-mental health advocate and author of three books. She uses her experience with depression as fuel to run workshops in prisons, for mental health charities, on behalf of companies, and in bookshops.